By various accounts, Snapchat is in the decline. The Independent reported in August that Facebook (who once tried to purchase Snapchat but were rejected) and subsidiary, Instagram, are bringing former Snapchat users their way. Earlier in the year, Business Insider reported the steep dive in stock price of Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, is experiencing. As of October, that number is even lower. Recode tried to pinpoint why this was occurring. Still, it appears as if Snapchat isn’t going to go down quietly. They have employed a quartet of contemporary advertising techniques that have brought prominence back to the platform.
In a first example of contemporary advertising techniques, Snapchat has drawn on influencer marketing. Influencer marketing works like the more traditional advertising methods of sponsorship and spokespeople. Influencers have a wide following of fans and comment on their enjoyment of consuming certain brands. Snapchat recently further empowered these influencers, known as Snapchat Stars, verifying their accounts to give them the same standing as elite athletes or move stars, for example. A rise in celebrity culture through social media as brought it to the forefront. Now Snapchat is capitalizing on it.
AR, or Augmented Reality, is continuing to gain traction after being thrust into the limelight by Pokémon Go. This continued growth is being facilitated, in part, by advertisers, with Snapchat being at the forefront of this. AR uses a mobile device to project an image onto a physical space. The user sees the image and can facilitate and engage with it’s placement around them. In Snapchat’s first dive into AR, the company went the route of contemporary advertising techniques. Snapchat users were able to project ads for Bud Light or the upcoming film Blade Runner 2049.
According to Marketing Land, Snapchat is working to bring contemporary advertising techniques to location-based search. They’re not lying. This month, Snapchat doubled down on location-based search, rolling out a new feature known as Context Cards. This allows user to engage with tagged locations in Snapchat, reading reviews about a restaurant that has been tagged or calling a Lyft for pickup to a popular tourist destination. This does wonders for Snapchat’s digital marketing strategy, allowing themselves to align as advertising allies with startups.
Similar to the contemporary advertising techniques seen in Context Cards, Geofilters are another location-based feature. When users are in a specific location, they are able to add specific filters to their photos. In addition to locations, Snapchat has made the feature available to advertisers. This affords advertisers the ability to include branding as a filter option. Geofilters were first introduced several years ago but have grown ever since. Snapchat needs to continue growing the feature to ensure it continues facilitating use of the platform, thus keeping Snapchat afloat.