10 Amazing Ways To Level-Up Your Snapchat Ads Strategy
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Since its initial release more than 10 years ago, Snapchat has embedded itself into daily life for a large majority of the population. This platform is available in over 35 languages and has captured the creativity of the youth in many countries. This why its essential to start advertising on Snapchat... and if you're already doing so, we can give you the top 10 ways to improve your success rate!
1) Data gathering is a must!
As with any great campaign you need to know what and who you're dealing with. You need to ensure that you have the least targeting options possible for a broad initial investigation. A wide scope can be the opening of your data funnel, and allows you to have the best insight into how your marketing strategies will come into play later on.
2) Use the correct ad format, or lose out
Nobody likes to think they're losing out on sales, but if you're not using the right ad format for your end goal then you're not making the most of Snapchat. There are 4 vastly different ad formats within the platform; Dynamic, Story, Single Image/Video and Collection. Based on your goal, and the on-going data gathering, you should work closely with your marketing team to discover what your intended audience are attracted to the most. If they're not even viewing your ad thumbnail or preview, then it's time to analyse your research again.
3) Target your audience and reap the benefits
Optimising your advertising campaign may have been tricky in the past, however, Snapchat has a great range of services to help you get the most out of your potential consumers. Through the 'customer audience' option you can build highly targetted campaigns and reach people who really want your products, for example; Snap Audience Match allows you to show adverts to users who have interacted with your brand in the past. This particular option can help you build brand loyalty and LTV.
4) Tracking user behaviour can bring critical insights
Within Snapchat's Ad Manager section you can find Events Manager. Within this there is a handy tool called SnapPixel which allows you to track the actions that online Snapchatters take when they access your website. For instance; do they go straight to a product or do they click your 'about us' page? Knowing the behaviour of your target audience means that you can adjust your marketing to better suit them, therefore bringing you more sales.
5) When you have the magic formula, it's time to level-up
So, once you have followed the above strategies and you have begun to consistently hit your targets in terms of sales and engagement, it's time to start making use of the Snapchat Goal-Based bidding. This means that you can optimise your campaigns further by bidding on a specific action the user will take when they see your ad, such as tapping the add, purchasing a product, joining a mailing list etc. By only paying for a certain action (goal) you may find that your budget goes further, as well as getting a better CRO.
6) Measure and manage your campaigns with the Snapchat tools
Having your own reports and insights is great, but what about when it comes to gathering data directly, or the effort of having to search a platform for the stats you're looking for? This can be timely, and sometimes human errors can occur. Snapchat Ads Manager has everything you need in one place, and it's easy to see what parts of your campaign are going well. You can then replicate this formula to get the best ROI.
7) Create your creatives with Snapchat in mind
If you are not familiar with the social media platform, it can be easy to generalise and assume that an ad you make on Facebook or Instagram can simply be ported to SC. We suggest making use of the templates and tools that SnapPublisher provides. You need to make your ads feel native to Snapchat, this encourages users to fluidly interact with them, rather than feel that they are being 'advertised' to in a non-personal way. Blanket pop-up ads across the online market rarely do as well as targeted creatives.
8) Retarget to direct your customers through your funnel
Retargeting is not a new strategy, but it is something to bear in mind when advertising on Snapchat. The process involves showing the user a series of adverts based on the actions they took on the first ad that was presented to them. Remember, SC mainly has a youthful demographic with a shorter attention span. If you can get that first click, then quickly place yourself tactfully in front of the same customer you are more likely to get a second sale or prompt them to take further action... because they remember you, and it appears that you know what they need/want.
9) Be consistent with your content
Again, this might seem obvious, but sometimes Snapchat can be a 'second thought' when it comes to marketing. As of April 2021 there were 319m users on the platform which has steadily increased its grown year on year since a plateau in 2018 where it hit 186m users. This is not something to be ignored! Most people that have SC also have accounts on IG and TikTok which means if you are promoting your brand on all three spaces consistently you will have an amazing opportunity to engage new customers.
10) Does your brand fit with the Snapchat culture?
Finally, and this is a debatable point, does your business fit with Gen Z or Millennial culture/demand? Brands that work well on SC are usually from the retail sector, they can integrate themselves into the fast-paced, bright world of the platform without feeling overtly 'salesy'. You're looking for quirky, honest, relevant ads that match the pace of the users. There's a fine line between Gen Z ironic use of a meme to grab attention, and simply being awkwardly outdated; walking that tightrope can seem almost impossible. Use your younger team members who fit into the above categories and ask for their opinions and advice.