How Companies Like Snapchat Are Saying ‘NO’ To Targeted Ads

Do social media sites track you? In recent years, we have seen social media giants being fined multi-million dollars for breaching privacy.

A simple click, a like, a plain share, used in measuring the effectiveness of the advertising campaign kept users in the dark about how their data was being tracked. And all this began with the need for targeted ads.

Targeted Advertising is a means of advertising where consumers’ online activities are analyzed through cookies and data-mining, and in doing so, intrudes the privacy of the consumer.

Snapchat, the ‘on-the-go’ platform for users, started gaining in popularity amongst the top social network marketing platforms due to its organic, unfiltered, and real-life content.

Why is Snapchat is continuing to say NO to targeted Ads?

In October 2019 talks at GS, Snap Inc. Co-Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel aptly discussed how social media and digital marketing have transformed the way people communicate. He has rightly touched upon the debate surrounding the privacy of social media users.

In spite of NO targeted ads, why are companies keen to use Snapchat to market their products?

The answer lies in their statistics –

– By December 2019, Snapchat reached 218 million active daily users (Statista Report – 2019).

– Snapchat users, open the app over 20 times a day and spend an average of 30 minutes creating 3 billion snaps a day on the platform.

– Of the Snapchat users, the millennials and Generation Z, almost ¾ of them are under 25.

– Snapchat has more than 14 billion video views per day

– 18% of all social media users also use Snapchat.

– 76% of Snapchat users are also online shoppers.

 What Marketing goals do marketers aim with Snapchat?

1. Brand awareness

Almost 4 out of every 10 Snap chatters discover brands through Snapchat celebrity endorsements and online posts by expert bloggers or via vlogs (as per Global web index, July 2018).

2. Lead Generation

For those trying to expand the top of your marketing funnel, Snapchat advertising lets you create ads within Ad Manager to drive users to download, form fill, or register.

3. Driving local traffic to your website

Custom audiences are a success on Snapchat’s platform. The smaller the audience size, and the more specific the user types, it is easier to reach them. You can choose audience sizes and specific cities/countries to target.

4. Increase Video Ads

Since ads are video-based, Snapchat provides a platform on its site for creating and editing video ads. This means without expensive outside or third-party editing services you can utilize the budgeted amount to increase the number of ads on Snapchat.

5. New audiences

If your product can appeal to a younger demographic but you are unable to connect with them on other platforms, then Snapchat could be your best bet.

6. Website views and conversions

A Snapchat ad encourages the user to swipe up, read more, or check out the website leading to a direct conversion through Snapchat advertising.

7. App Installs and Engagement

Snapchat advertising is uniquely targeted to mobile users in a way that Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and others can relate to but never quite imitate. The target audience is only a touchscreen away from the app store – or a tap away from a deep link placing them right where you want them in-app.

What are the available ad formats on Snapchat?

Snapchat offers three different kinds of ad formats.

i. Snap Ads: Snap Ads appeal to the widest range of advertisers. They come in three forms. Long-form video, website traffic, and app install.

ii. Filters: Filters show up when you take photos on the app. They are designed for brick-and-mortar locations or for large live events.

iii. Lenses: Like filters, lenses show up on selfie shots and are best reserved for wide-spread brand-awareness campaigns.

How will my marketing campaign work on Snapchat if there are no targeted ads?

Like on every social media platform test the waters. The advantages of Snapchat are,

a. Assess if your target market uses Snapchat

Depending on your product/service and the profile of your users, you can have a fair indication, if your target audience uses Snapchat. Or how about asking your Twitter followers if they are on Snapchat? Don’t simply conclude basis demographics that your product/service may not be fit to be marketed on Snapchat. CNN would not be on Snapchat if it thought youngsters are not really interested in world news.

b. Compare Snapchat data to your own demographic data on current customers

According to eMarketer, 6.4% of Snapchat users are going to be between the ages of 45 and 54 which is up more than 2% from 2017 and will be growing in numbers. Further 70% of users are women. Of these, 71% are less than 25 years old, and 38% of them enjoy an income of over $50,000.

Once your product fits the age, gender and lifestyle demographics of your current audiences, Snapchat may turn out to be a good place for your product.

c. Spend a small amount

As per Hootsuite, filter-based Snapchat Ads are as low as $5. The price only increases with the size of the reach. For example, Hootsuite found that an entire city cost $3,000 for them, while the immediate area around their office was only $13 for two days. This gives a first time advertiser to try out the platform without major spending

Conclusion

One of the reasons for the stupendous growth of Snapchat is the position it holds in terms of augmented reality. (Just launched Snapchat’s AR filters that are turning the floor into lava). Universal Pictures wasn’t the first company to place an advertisement on Snapchat, but it was the first to pay Snapchat for an ad. Taco Bell recently told Adweek.com that about 80 percent of its followers open its snaps and 90 percent of those people view the messages in their entirety. It’s easy to understand why brands might be willing to overlook some of Snapchat’s weaknesses when you compare it to the low single-digit engagement averages for organic posts.