Deciding which platform to use in your influencer marketing campaign is not always straightforward. New platforms are constantly emerging, and established ones can face controversies that shake user trust. Snapchat, once plagued by these issues before it seemingly fell from grace in 2018, has evolved significantly and remains a mainstay to its core users, many of whom have grown up using the platform as their primary method of keeping in touch with peers and friends. So, the question for marketers is this: Is it still worth investing in Snapchat for your social marketing campaigns in 2024? Let’s dive in and find out.
The Disappearing Message App? It Never Went Away
So, Snapchat’s claim to fame was that it was the first social platform to offer the unique feature of disappearing messages – messages that remained visible for only 24 hours. When it first came out, that was a huge draw for the young users who frequented the app, and this concept has helped many influencers, from local personalities to major celebrities, engage authentically with their followers.
Uh… disappearing messages? That just sounds like Instagram Stories. 🤨
Yep. That’s because Instagram’s Stories feature was based on Snapchat’s popular disappearing messages.
Despite past controversies, such as algorithm changes…
…. and high-profile celebrity criticisms – thinking specifically about Kylie Jenner’s verbal eye roll…
and Rihanna’s criticism for a horribly inappropriate gamified Snapchat ad…
Snapchat has continuously evolved to maintain its relevance. Boom.
Why Snapchat? Because Young Adults Are All About Snap
I’ll be honest with you, when the Kylie thing and the Rihanna thing happened, I sort of wrote off Snapchat. #youredeadtome
But Snapchat remains popular among younger consumers. A few quick Snapchat stats:
- The app has more than 400 million daily active users, and 800 million monthly active users.
- It reaches 75 percent of 13- to 34-year-olds.
- In the second half of 2023, Snapchat was the seventh most downloaded app, according to Data Reportal.
- The average daily user accesses the app 40 times a day, according to Snap Inc’s 2023 Investor Recap.
- And Snapchat has a highly engaged community with 60 percent of its users also creating snaps.
Who is the Snapchat community in 2024?
Gen Z, hands down. Now considered OGs, the original group of Gen Zers who were avid Snapchat users back in the day (I’m talking six to ten years ago) are still the most active generation on the app. In fact, 18 to 34-year-olds account for more than 61 percent of global Snapchat users (Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, Slide 358).
For this cohort, Snapchat also gets more love than TikTok. According to Pew Research, 65 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds say they’ve ever used Snapchat, compared to 62 percent who say they’ve used TikTok.
With younger generations, the numbers are significantly lower – only 18.6 percent of Snapchat users are teens between the ages of 13 to 17. The numbers are similar for older users, as 17.6 percent of Snapchat users are over the age of 35. Interestingly, the young adults who used Snapchat to talk to their friends in middle school and high school still rely on the app for interpersonal communications today.
Why? Well, because Snapchat is the friendship app, at least for Gen Zers.
Snapchat recently commissioned a study on Online Communications in the Relationships of 13- to 40-Year-Olds. The study, conducted by NORC, found that amongst 13 to 40-year-olds, interacting with close friends, friends, and acquaintances happens more often online using social media or messaging apps than in person.
My quick and dirty line of questioning to my own Gen Zer (who penned this article on Snapchat stats for us) revealed an interesting tidbit. According to Kira, she and her friends (all in their early 20s) communicate primarily using Snapchat. Text messages, she says, are reserved for employers, parents, emergencies, and sharing TikToks.
Yeah… that is wild.
Snapchat: The Basics
Now that I’ve done a solid job of establishing the viability of Snapchat as a marketing channel, let’s dive into the ever-changing, Gen Z world of Snapchat, and see where it takes us.
Just in case Snapchat hasn’t really been your jam, let’s start with a rundown of Snapchat basics to make sure you’re up to speed with what this social media app has to offer.
How It Works
Snapchat is a photo-sharing platform where users can send still shots or videos to either individual users or to their own public “Story”. These images can be decorated with stickers and text and, like an in-person conversation or a phone call, the messages disappear.
Because of the fast-paced and fantastical nature of the app, it quickly became popular with teenagers and young adults, as it suited their evolving style of communication.
With their famous face filters, Snapchat became the go-to app for social media influencers to give their followers a snapshot of their everyday lives. And these snapshots were much more realistic than the posts they shared on other networks.
A few years ago, experts positioned Snapchat as the real-life app, full of candid shots. It was the app where it was okay for you to be imperfect. The flipside was Instagram, with its curated feeds, consistent color schemes, filters, and on-brand messages. Snapchat was pegged as the platform where you could be yourself—a very appealing idea to teens.
The wide range of quirky stickers that users can paste on top their images gives influencers the chance to indulge their creative sides. They can turn simple images into kitsch works of art.
And, on top of simple emojis and bubble writing, the introduction of city-specific stickers helped to further the app’s popularity among influencers, especially in the travel space.
The Value of Marketing on Snapchat
Marketing on Snapchat offers unique value propositions that can boost brand visibility and engagement, especially among younger demographics. Snapchat continues to be a powerful platform for reaching younger audiences and engaging with them through entertaining content. To effectively market on Snapchat in 2024, you’re gonna need to know best practices that leverage the platform’s unique features and user behaviors. Here are some of the key benefits:
Access to a Young, Engaged Audience
Snapchat’s user base skews young, with a large percentage of users under the age of 24. This demographic is known for its high engagement levels and preference for dynamic, visual content. By marketing on Snapchat, brands can tap into this active audience, reaching them through content formats that they naturally engage with. According to recent statistics, 90% of the 13 to 24-year-old population in the US uses Snapchat, making it an ideal platform for targeting Generation Z and younger Millennials
Snapchat is ALL about UGC (user-generated content), so you need to be prepared to loosen the reigns a little bit to allow influencers to speak in the language and vibe of the platform. This ain’t your mother’s soap commercial (or grandmother – the generational lines get murky here, depending on if you have a Gen X or Boomer mom). Anyway, the point is Snapchat is an altogether different world than the super-styled branded content you might be used to on other platforms or mediums.
Snapchat is about “real life” – and the quotation marks there are VERY necessary. This is still social media, so it should be noted that nothing is 100% real (sorry to break it to ya kids!), but people log on here to see behind-the-scenes content – not manicured model-level imagery. So bear that in mind when deciding to go ahead with an influencer campaign.
And since the snaps only last for 24 hours – you need to be sure your content is is eye catching, engaging, and shareable. You have a very small window to close the deal with Snapchat.
The good news is influencers in this space know exactly how to bring viewers in and keep them there. They are expert storytellers. They just need you to tell them what story you want them to tell.
UGC is necessary… but it’s risky. No matter how stringent your brand guidelines are, there is always room for interpretation and you risk an influencer putting together a campaign that isn’t exactly what you envisioned, or worse yet suffering from no vision at all.
Planning and communication are key. Give yourself enough time to put together a BOSS campaign and maintain open lines of communication.
INFLUENCER TRUST
Compared to other platforms, influencers on Snapchat tend to have higher levels of trust from their followers. Snapchat’s young audience members tend to follow accounts of people they already know or, at least, know of.
And, because the content has more leeway to be unpolished, it comes across as more authentic. There should never be too much planning and scripting going into Snapchat posts – that’s not what people are looking for.
This is ideal for newer brands, or those looking to repair any kind of negative reputation. This kind of trust will really help you to build a solid customer base that believes in your product and wants to come back to you time and time again.
Snapchat Making Headlines
Okay. We can’t talk about launching a campaign on Snapchat without also addressing the issues that arose earlier this year.
Out of all the social media platforms, Snapchat seems to have been eating up more than its share of news time in recent months (even with Facebook’s controversial algorithm change) – and unfortunately, most of it hasn’t been all that positive.
NEW DESIGN, WHO DIS?
The first major headline hitter was when Snapchat decided to change its appearance and layout. And this did NOT go down well with users. There was an uproar of disgruntled teens who found themselves no longer able to connect with other users in the same way anymore.
The app had moved all their friend’s messages and stories to a different spot on the app, and then jumbled up the order to boot. People were so unhappy with this that there was even a Change.org petition set up to get Snapchat to revert back to the old design. A petition signed by over 1.2 million people.
Snapchat responded to this outrage by saying that it would eventually bring out an update for the update, but also made it clear that users would simply have to buck up and get used to the new regime.
DON’T UPSET THE KARDASHIANS…
The second, and biggest, knock to the company’s popularity was when social media queen Kylie Jenner herself tweeted the following:
Ouch!
The tweet gained over 76k retweets and 376k likes, meaning her slam of the social media app has been heard far and wide. Many reports also claimed that she single-handedly managed to wipe more than $1 billion from the networks value in just one day. And, although Snapchat was already having problems thanks to its not-so-well-received update, it’s possible that she did have at least a little bit of influence in that area.
The long-time advocate for Snapchat has certainly been a huge part of their popularity in recent years, but it seems here that her social media influence may have backfired for them with this tweet. As the unofficial face of her generation, what Kylie says really does matter for today’s youth.
THAT RIHANNA AND CHRIS BROWN AD
And the most recent misstep made by Snapchat? An ill-conceived ad shown between snaps, of their own design, asking an ever popular “would you rather” question, with a very unpopular choice.
Users were quick to jump on social media and criticise the app for their bad taste is creating something that made light of the previous issues of domestic violence between the two famous music stars. In 2009, rapper Chris Brown was charged with assault by Rihanna as he attacked her while the pair were still in a relationship.
This “would you rather” question seemed to be making a very thinly veiled reference to that incident, and users were not happy.
Rihanna herself even condemned Snapchat for making light of such an important issue like domestic violence by sending out an Instagram story with her message to the platform.
And, once again, the platform saw a huge drop in its value thanks to a popular and widely loved star damning its actions. Things are not going well for them it would seem.
Is This the End of Snapchat?
Not by a long shot. Despite all the negative press, unwanted updates, and exiting stars, the platform is still going strong with the younger users and is still a viable place to invest resources in terms of influencer marketing.
But, if you’re targeting this demographic, it may be wise to invest in cross-platform campaigns to make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Many Snapchat influencers are also big names on similar platforms like Instagram or YouTube – both also wildly popular with the younger generation.
Using Snapchat as part of a broader campaign can give your customers a unique, behind-the-scenes look at what your brand is all about, while making sure they are also seeing high-level, beautifully crafted content on other platforms.
STORYTELLING POWER
One thing that this platform really has going for it, is it’s ability to create unique and engaging stories that users can follow each and every day. The top influencers on Snapchat really know how to condense all the best bits of a story into short video clips and images by using their unique storytelling abilities and skill sets.
Influencers like Branden Harvey who we had the pleasure of interviewing here at The Shelf about how he creates the perfect Snapchat campaigns for both brands and his followers.
Every one of his Snaps oozes character, comedy and intrigue – ensuring that his followers are always left wanting to see more. In our interview, he talked about his favorite campaigns, as well as his top nuggets of advice for brands that are looking to get started with their own influencer marketing campaigns. You can read the interview in full here.
REFRESHING CONTENT
As we said before, content on Snapchat is a world away from the perfectly posed, super-filtered, and expertly hash tagged images we usually see on social media. You know, the kind of images that people are beginning to get tired of?
People want real content that they can believe in and trust. They want to see celebrities with no makeup, just chilling at home. They want to see influencers talking about products they really love AND hate; and they want to see their friends pulling hilarious and ugly faces – because it’s more fun that way!
This is why Snapchat has done so well in the past, and will most likely continue to thrive. The content shared on here doesn’t last forever, so users are free to have more fun with it than they usually would. They can share their fails, their fumbles, and their fun times without the fear of it sticking around permanently. And that kind of freedom just doesn’t exist outside of Snapchat right now.
MORE TOOLS FOR INFLUENCERS
One thing that the platform has been praised for in recent months is its expansion of the services and tools available to its influencers. When the platform initially launched, all users were treated equally – which may sound like a good thing, but it actually meant that influencers didn’t have access to the kind of analytics they need to create successful campaigns for the brands they partnered with.
But now, thanks to this update, influencers have access to the kind of information they need to ensure their content is achieving the best results possible. Statistics that include:
- Snap views
- Unique views
- Time spent watching snaps
- Audience demographics
- Follower interests
- Followers locations
All this data will be invaluable for influencers, both in growing their own audience, and for sharing with brands to help them measure the ROI of their campaigns. A big check in the plus column for sure!
Without this information, influencers were left completely in the dark when it came to the performance of their snaps. They could never pass on any information to brands about exactly who their content was reaching, and so brands could never know for sure if their audience was right for them.
Now, brands can feel much more confident when selecting an influencer, as they will finally know if their audience, and the target audience for the campaign match up.
To Snapchat or Not to Snapchat?
Before you decide to launch into an influence marketing campaign on Snapchat, you need to really think about who your target market is, what kind of content you want to produce, and how much creative control you are willing to hand over.
No, Snapchat is not for everyone – but it is for more people than you might think. And, despite all the trouble it’s faced in recent months, it’s still here, and it’s still going strong. If that’s not an indicator of it’s popularity, I don’t what is!
Still unsure? Get in touch with the team here at The Shelf. They can help you decide which platforms, and which influencers are the best for your campaign.
