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29/Jan/2018
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Snapchat announced the arrival of a new Stories Everywhere feature earlier this week, but the drive to get users to share more content on the platform is unlikely to win over marketers and advertisers, who continue to focus their attention on Facebook and Instagram for targeting buying audiences.

Stories Everywhere is basically Snapchat’s way of connecting with the services users rely on every day. Any user-generated content will soon be able to be posted in emails and text messages, as well as Facebook and Twitter, without having to navigate away from the mobile app. The feature will arrive alongside a complete redesign in the coming weeks and is aimed at keeping more users locked into Snapchat.

However, its usability for brands is limited, and a spokesperson for the image messaging site even admitted the latest changes are consumer-focused and will not appeal to advertisers, as there won’t be any impact on ad units. Snapchat said in a statement that Stories Everywhere would make it easier for users to share their favourite moments with “friends and family outside of Snapchat”.

With that statement being aimed squarely at the general public, it is no surprise that some brands and agencies have confirmed that they will not be investing any more money into content and other experiences on Snapchat in the near future. Deutsch’s Senior Vice President Rachel Mercer said the move felt like a “Hail Mary” effort, as the platform has a diminishing relevance in the social media landscape.

Snapchat revealed that it has 178 million users during its third-quarter earnings report, but that was just a 4.5 million uptick from the previous quarter. Mercer believes advertisers already on the platform may see a small boost in engagement but that it would only be a “short-term gain”.

She added: “The reality is that the sophisticated advertising platform, from a targeting and marketing perspective, leans heavily towards Facebook, Instagram and depending on the context or needs, Pinterest and Google. Generally, Snapchat is most effective for awareness plays, and with diminished user reporting, I don’t know if it’s still applicable.”

Wavemaker Managing Partner Noah Mallin echoed these sentiments and added that social users will be less inclined to migrate to Snapchat now that there is the ability to share stories on other platforms. However, he claimed that may change “down the road” if Snapchat can bring new users to the platform.

T3 Director of Connections Angela Yang also believes that Snapchat’s walled garden was one of the reasons why it has been successful and is seen as a potentially viable alternative to the bigger social hitters. She said one area where it could differentiate itself is via visual content and strengthening its commitment to be a “camera company”.

She added: “For example, I created this amazing video for Snapchat. How much more mileage can I get out of it? It gives brands the opportunity to take pieces of content and get more eyes on it in other platforms. Snapchat’s got to think of new, innovative ways to capture the world around us for this to work.”


06/Nov/2017
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Snapchat’s rollout of a new Pixel tracking tool is indicative of a wider push by the industry’s major players to deliver more relevant metrics to marketers and make content campaigns more transparent and appropriate for both brands and end users.

A study published last month by social analytics enterprise Simply Measure found that measuring return on investment is the biggest challenge for social marketers. There is also growing pressure on social media platforms and tech giants such as Google, Facebook and others, to do more to provide meaningful metrics, cut down on fake news and improve brand safety.

Snapchat has not been a major force in the ad industry until now. Indeed, the social media platform only recently made the decision to monetise its content. However, it revealed earlier this week that its Pixel tool, which certain advertisers have recently trialled, is now set for a more comprehensive rollout to help brands improve their ad and content campaigns.

Snap Pixel works by creating code on websites that tracks the actions of a viewer or reader after they have consumed a piece of content online. This feature is hugely beneficial for brands, as it allows them to get a better perspective on how their creative is driving positive customer actions rather than having to rely on guesswork.

Facebook and Google offer similar features for advertisers, but Snapchat had previously appeared lukewarm on this sort of sophisticated targeting for ads, with CEO Evan Spiegel stating they were “creepy” because they allowed extensive tracking of consumer habits. However, the platform’s desire to match the heavyweights of digital advertising alongside the aspiration to flesh out its analytic and measurement capabilities means the feature is now going live to its users.

More specifically, Pixel will allow brands to access more in-depth stats and data about how content performs across various channels, as they will be able to link together insights for mobile apps and websites. The tool will be limited to measurement at launch, but Snapchat has said that retargeting options will follow before the end of the year. This practice will increase its usefulness further, as it will empower marketers to target audiences and consumers with whom they have already engaged more effectively.

“It lets marketers measure the revenue, performance, growth and acquisition driven by Snapchat — such as website visits, purchases, and sign-ups — across devices,” Snapchat said in a statement on Wednesday. “Over the coming months, we’ll release additional features beyond measurement — such as custom audience creation and real-time optimization — designed to help businesses drive the most meaningful user actions for them.”

TechStyle Fashion Group is among the brands that have already benefited from the new tool. Senior Vice President of Media Laura Joukovski said they expect to get more value from Pixel in the coming months. “It’s still pretty early days so there are some things that we’re testing and learning on, but we want to get as much data as we can. The pixel gives us a whole new and better way of seeing what’s going on and a new opportunity to harvest direct-response signals beyond the click.”