What's The Deal with Snapchat?
Have you heard of Snapchat? If you are even remotely hip or know people who are hip, which is pretty much a synonym for young, which is the stand-in for the buzzword “Millennials,” chances are you are aware of its existence or even use it. Snapchat is a photo-messaging application that lets users take photos or videos, add text or drawings, and send them to recipients of their choice. When sending the image, users can set how long the image will be available for the recipients to view, ranging from one to ten seconds, after which the image disappears from the recipient’s device.
Of all the social media platforms out there, Snapchat seems to be the most elusive, both literally and figuratively, to all of us who are trying to keep up with the varied and mercurial tastes of Millennials whose eyes and pockets will determine the future and longevity of most businesses. Research shows that the majority of user demographic ranges between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three, and despite postulations and mission statements regarding privacy, most users are in for the fun of it.
Whether or not one decides to engage in the metaphysics of the usefulness of any mobile app, what’s undeniable is Snapchat’s reach and potential for advertising. With the launch of the Discover feature in January 2015, which allows users to consume content from different editorial teams, Snapchat struck up ad partnerships with global media giants such as CNN and ESPN that advertise on the platform.
It is estimated that advertisements are seen 500,000 to 1 million times a day. Moreover, Snapchat’s 100 million daily users have access to made-for-mobile video and multimedia news and entertainment anywhere. Snapchat also has ambitions to produce original content to be distributed via Discover.
As such, Snapchat is quickly becoming a strategic game-changer for mobile media and marketing as well as a TV and media portal for mobile Millennials. How different businesses will harness Snapchat varies, but what’s certain is that, at least for now, Snapchat holds an ephemeral place in Millennials’ hearts.
