Hey, are you looking to get into advertising on Snapchat, but are not sure where to start?
Well you’re in luck, because Snap Inc. recently published a new video which provides an overview of the entire Snap ads process, including best practices, presentation options and notes on their newer ad formats (including Story Ads).
The full video is 23 minutes long, but it’s worth checking out if you’re looking to get a better understanding of Snapchat’s ad options, and how to make them work for your business.
Among the highlights and points of note (and I’m slightly paraphrasing the notes here):
Super Short Ads Work Best
As explained by Snapchat:
“We intentionally open to the camera so people can capture their everyday life right then, versus building up to a big moment. Because of this, content doesn’t usually have a build-up, Snappers get straight to the point. What this means is that you’ll see better results for your brand if you talk to Snapchatters in that same way.”
When advertising on Snapchat, or any social platform, you need to align with common usage behaviors to maximize performance. On Snapchat, that means getting to the point quickly, because that’s the habitual behavior the format is designed to cater to.
Snapchat specifically advises that the first two seconds are key. Interestingly, a report released earlier this year indicated that the average view time for Snap ads is currently less than two seconds, which raised concerns for some advertisers. As it turns out, that may kind of be the point – on Snapchat, shorter works better, despite it being more restrictive.
More Like TV
“Unlike a news feed, which is based on a reading-based architecture, with Snap Ads, you have a full-screen canvas, with sound on, which is much more akin to a cinema or TV ad. This means that you need to take the key components from a News feed creative template and put them into the Snap ad creative. We recommend front-loading these key messages within the first two seconds”
Essentially, Snapchat says that rather than users looking around the screen for various information cues, as they would with a newspaper or news feed-based format, Snap ads, again, need to get to the point, and use the presentation format to advantage.
Consider how users are viewing Snaps – it’s not like reading, not the same as regular feed scrolling.
The Golden Rules
The Snapchat team also outline their top four ‘golden rules for success’ with Snap ads, which are:
- Build top Snaps for five seconds or less – “The first two seconds matter the most”
- Keep objective in mind – “If you want people to take an action, like swiping up for more info, make that clear”
- Feature a singular message – “Snap ads perform best when you focus on a single value proposition per ad”
- Use purposeful sound design – “Almost 60% of Snapchatters have sound on, so use this to advantage”
There’s a heap more in the full video, some really interesting insights to get you thinking about how to make best use of Snap ads, aligning with how users actually use the app.
And while Snapchat hasn’t had the best of times of late, research shows that it’s still more popular than Facebook among teen users. If you’re considering Snap ads, this video is definitely worth a look.