Snapchat on the rise

At MEC Manchester, one thing we have been discussing recently, is how to speak to a teenage audience in an environment they love and trust.

This audience have grown up with smartphones, which explains why they are on the leading edge of technology and social media use - but their focus is no longer on Facebook and Twitter – apparently it’s all about Snapchat.

When looking at the online behaviour of a teen, they love peer-to-peer communication – so Snapchat does make sense. It allows users to communicate with their friends without broadcasting it to the whole world – especially as any content is easily hidden from parents and teachers. According to Topher Burns, group director at Deep Focus, “Snapchat’s major advantage is that it’s entirely rooted in the user behaviour and values of a digitally native demographic, not in those of a demo who started using social media in college”

Snapchat has only been in existence for 4 years, but it already has 100 million daily users worldwide, who consume 7 billion video clips per day. According to the IAB, it’s the most used app for 12-15 year olds , with 24% of all Snapchat users opening the app more than 10 times a day….

As part of this, marketers need to embrace Snapchat as it allows brands to communicate with a teenage audience in an environment where they are comfortable to share and consume content – something other social channels can’t guarantee.

The thing that has really captured our attention is the use of Snapchat’s Sponsored Lenses, which allows Snapchatters to express themselves in a very creative and dynamic way and then share this with all their friends. It’s also a great opportunity for brands to communicate with this audience in an interactive and personal way…..

So far this has been used by Pepsi, Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Beats and Dirty Grandpa – and once brands realise the importance of the platform in communicating with youth audiences, there will certainly be more.