The Essential Snapchat Advertising Cheat Sheet for Small Businesses

When Snapchat was released in 2011, originally as Picaboo, teens and young adults clamored to download and use the app that let them send pictures or messages that disappeared after viewing.

This method of communicating with friends, family, and strangers through Snapchat pictures, videos, and stories has only continued to grow in the last 10 years with over 310 million daily active users last year–and counting.

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When Snapchat announced Snapchat advertising in 2014, big brands quickly jumped on the bandwagon and ran Snapchat ads to reach a desirable audience: millennials and Gen Z.

As more and more brands invest in Snapchat advertising, many small and local businesses are left wondering whether or not Snapchat advertising is for them, and if it is, how they can run Snapchat ads successfully.

In this guide, we’re going to share all the details you need to know about Snapchat advertising for your small business.

What is Snapchat advertising?

First, let’s cover the basics. If you’re not familiar with Snapchat, it’s a mobile app that allows users to share images, videos, and stories with their contacts. Once the recipient views the message, video, or picture, it is no longer visible. It also alerts the sender if a recipient takes a screenshot of their snap. You can add users as a friend through your contact or by searching their snap ID or scanning their unique Snap QR code.

Snapchat was one of the first big social channels to introduce filters, which allow users to add fun stickers, photo modulations, or voice modulations to their Snap creations.

Snapchat advertising is exactly what it sounds like: advertising that runs on Snapchat. However what’s a little more complicated is the details about how and why it works, which we’ll get into a little later.

Are Snapchat ads worth it?

Before we dive into the details of Snapchat advertising, let’s talk about the benefits. Why run Snapchat ads in the first place?

Here are five reasons small businesses should invest in Snapchat advertising:

You can reach Millennials and Gen Zers

Snapchat remains one of the most popular apps for millennials and Gen Z. In 2019, Snapchat reached 75% of all 13 to 34-year-olds, which, according to Hootsuite, “means Snapchat is reaching more 13 to 34-year-olds in the USA than Facebook, Messenger and Instagram combined.”

And Snapchat recently announced they have the ability to reach 90% of 13 to 24-year-olds across the US.

This means that if your audience falls into that demographic age range, it’s important for your business to be advertising on Snapchat.

But even if your target audience isn’t made up of Gen Z-ers, it’s important to start getting in front of them now as their contributions to the economy will only continue to grow. Over the next 10 years, Gen Z’s income will grow from $460 billion to 7x the size at $3.2 trillion.

Snapchat users are active and engaged

The average Snapchat user is on the app for an average of 30 minutes a day, and it’s the second most-visited social platform in the US.

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This means that you have the opportunity to reach and engage with an active base of users with Snapchat advertising.

Related: Get more Snapchat stats here.

Snapchat users are more likely to make mobile purchases

Every business wants to reach consumers on mobile–it’s where people are spending more and more time and where they’re becoming more comfortable making online purchases.

Snapchat users, specifically, are even more likely to make a purchase from mobile than those who don’t use Snapchat.

Now, who would want to miss out on an audience that’s more likely to make a purchase from them on their mobile devices?

Snapchat users are ready to buy

If you’re looking to reach an audience that’s ready to purchase, Snapchat advertising is the channel for you. Snapchat users are 60% more likely to make impulse purchases.

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And, Snapchat advertising has been found to be successful at driving online to offline sales.

Snapchat users are quick to share their purchases and experiences

The ultimate goal for small businesses is to turn your customers into brand evangelists so you can reap the rewards of referral marketing.

Snapchat users are more likely to play this role as 35% will send snaps to their contacts about products they’re interested in buying. This means that if you can reach and engage with one user through Snapchat advertising, you have the opportunity to reach even more through word-of-mouth marketing.

How small businesses can use Snapchat advertising

Snapchat advertising is not only attainable for small businesses–but it’s also effective at helping them reach a variety of marketing goals and objectives.

Here are a few ways your business can use Snapchat advertising:

Increase awareness for your business

If you want to introduce your business to a new audience, grow recognition for your brand, or get in front of consumers in another place they’re spending time online, Snapchat advertising is a great option for you.

Related: Find out the best brand awareness strategies for your business.

Drive website visits

With Snapchat advertising, you can include a call to action to drive traffic to your website. Users will then swipe up or click on the ad to visit your site and can then take further action to make a purchase or become your customer. Or, you can drive them to your website to simply learn more about your business.

Encourage in-person visits

Snapchat advertising has a feature that allows you to target local users near or in a certain location through the app. You can then use this to drive Snapchatters to visit your business.

Educate your audience

You can also use Snapchat advertising’s innovative features as a fun and easy way to educate your audience about your business or a local cause your business supports. This can also help drive awareness for your brand on Snapchat. 

Get more downloads for your app

If you’re marketing an app, Snapchat advertising is a great option to educate your audience about your app and get them to download it directly from their mobile devices.

Snapchat advertising formats

Snap ads are different from other types of social media advertising. While the platform is popular for its short video and photo messages, it actually offers a wide range of ad formats.

Here’s an overview of the different types of Snapchat ads you can use to promote your business.

1. Single Image or Video Ads

Single Image or Video Ads are like any typical display ad you see on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

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These full-screen ads can be either video or still images and can have attachments that allow users to swipe up and take action. It could be visiting a website or a landing page, installing an app, or watching a longer video.

In this Snapchat ad example, e.l.f Cosmetics used these ads to showcase its products and build brand awareness.

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The campaign was a success, as e.l.f Cosmetics saw a 20% increase in site visitation in Q1 2020 compared to Q4 2019 and a 39% increase in CPM efficiency over the same period of time. The campaign also boosted ad recall by 60% and brand awareness by 10%.

Here are some best practices for creating effective Single Image or Video Ads:

• Add a persuasive, clear, and captivating hero message in the opening frame.
• Incorporate captions or subtitles to make the ad accessible and understandable without audio.
• While video ads can be up to 3 minutes long, remember that shorter ads (3-5 seconds) often drive more action.
• Pick an early offer message and a catchy CTA to encourage users to swipe up.
• Test different types of image or video ads and pick the ones that work best.

Read more about Single Image or Video specifications.

2. Collection Ads

Collection Ads allow advertisers to create a collection of products, services, and content and invite users to purchase them. You can create them from a single item or multiple items.

The idea is that the user will be interested in purchasing the entire collection, which gives you more bang for your buck.

These ads have attachments, allowing viewers to swipe up and take action. Said action could be visiting your website, installing your app, watching a longer video, or trying an augmented reality Lens.

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Here are some of the key features of Collection Ads:

• You can include multiple images or videos in a single Snap.
• You can add text, filters, and stickers for each item in your collection.
• You can create collections for specific events or campaigns, like a new product launch or seasonal sale, or simply a product catalog.

Read more about specifications for Collection Ads.

3. Story Ads

Story Ads enable you to place a branded tile in Snapchat’s Discover section that opens into a collection of three to 20 images or videos.

They can be up to 180 seconds long, and they’re typically used to promote products or events. Your audience can also swipe up on a Story Ad to take further actions like visiting a website, installing an app, or exploring more content.

Here’s how Depop used Story Ads to showcase its online marketplace for fashion and lifestyle products.

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Their Story Ads featured different sellers and their unique styles, driving users to install the Depop app. Here are some quick best practices for creating engaging Story Ads:

• Use vertical videos or images that fill the screen and match the aspect ratio of 9:16.
• Keep your ads short and simple, with a clear key message and a strong call to action.
• Have a native style that blends in with the Snapchat environment and looks like organic content.
• Use high-quality images or videos to showcase your brand and highlight its features or benefits.
• Use relevant attachments to your goal and encourage Snapchat users to swipe up and take action.
• Test different creative variations, headlines, calls-to-action, and products to see what works best for your audience.
• Measure your performance using Snapchat’s reporting tools and optimize your ads accordingly.

Read more about Story Ads specifications.

4. Lenses AR Experiences

Snapchat’s Lenses AR Experiences allow you to create an interactive user experience. These ads allow businesses to overlay virtual elements (like animations, effects, or interactive features) onto users’ faces or the environment in real time.

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Snapchatters can simply activate Lenses by tapping on the Lens icon within the Snapchat app. The advertiser can also include promotional offers in these experiences (such as a discount code) to encourage active users to buy their products or services immediately.

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Here are some quick tips that will help you run effective Lenses AR Experiences ads on Snapchat:

• Incorporate your brand elements into the AR experience for brand visibility and reinforce brand identity.
• Include interactive features, challenges, or gamification to encourage user engagement and participation.
• Now, here’s a little secret: people love to share! Offer social sharing incentives, including exclusive content, discounts, or the chance to enter a contest.
• Use Snapchat’s targeting options to create tailored ads and align your AR experience with your audiences’ preferences and interests.

Additionally, lenses AR Experiences have the following requirements:

• Your logo or brand name should be visible on Face and World Lenses (ensure it’s not hidden by UI elements or the lenses option on the screen)
• Snapchat recommends placing the logo on the top left or top right under the UI elements
• Snapchat mentions the ‘SPONSORED’ slug, which appears for 2 seconds.

Read more about specifications and restrictions regarding Lenses AR Experiences.

5. Commercials

There are two types of Snapchat commercials: Standard Commercials and Extended Play Commercials.

The Standard ones are those non-skippable ads that last between three to six seconds—quick and snappy!

On the other hand, Extended Play Commercials can be anywhere from 7 seconds to a whopping 180 seconds, but only the first 6 seconds are non-skippable. So, you have more flexibility there.

Additionally, commercials have the following requirements:

• File type: .mp4 or .mov (H.264 encoded)
• Aspect ratio: 9:16
• Resolution: 1080px x 1920px
• Length: 7-180 seconds
• Attachments: Website, long-form video, or AR Lens

You can place these commercials right in the middle of Snap’s curated content, like Shows, Publisher Stories, or Snap Originals.

For example, Tinder used Commercials to promote its dating app and increase app installs. The Commercials featured different scenarios of young people enjoying their single life and meeting new people.

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The result? Tinder managed to decrease its cost per completed view (CPCV) by more than 9x and beat its CPCV goals by more than 4x.

6. Filters

Snapchat’s Filters are artistic overlays that you can apply to your Snaps by swiping left or right after taking a photo or recording a video. You can also customize them with your brand logo or name and even target specific audiences based on their location, interests, behaviors, or demographics.

Filters on Snapchat have the following requirements:

• File type: .png
• Resolution: 1080px x 2340px
• Brand logo or name should be visible, but any logos, text, and legal disclaimers shouldn’t be visible within 310px of the top or bottom of the canvas.

Here are some examples:

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How to advertise on Snapchat: Tips

If you’re ready to run Snapchat advertising for your small business, we’ve got some tips to help you get started. (But first, make sure you create a Snapchat business account, then you need to make a Snapchat public profile!)

Choose your Snapchat advertising objective

Snapchat advertising outlines three common business objectives for running ads:

• Build awareness
• Drive consideration
• Boost conversions

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These can tie into the ways you can use Snapchat ads for your small business that we outlined a little earlier.

Identify your target audience

Snapchat allows you to target users based on a variety of demographics and factors, similar to Facebook advertising.

While it may be tempting to narrow down your target audience, it’s also important to make sure your audience is wide enough to reach the optimum number of people to learn about your business and hopefully take an action.

Set your budget

With any online advertising your run, it’s important to set a budget. Many Snapchat ad campaigns start at as little as $5 a day, but your budget will depend on your ad type, goal, and target audience–and the more you spend, the more results you’ll get.

It might help to know how much Snapchat ads cost. While this varies, here are some benchmarks our team shared with us:

• Average swipe-up rate: 0.50%
• Average cost per swipe: $0.30-1.00
• Average CPM: $3-8

These benchmarks can help inform your budget and give you an idea of what to expect from your Snapchat ad campaigns.

Design the right Snapchat ad

Here’s the fun part: Because Snapchat is an image and video-based platform that skews toward a younger demographic, you have an opportunity to play around with your ad creative and make it appeal to users on the platform.

While you want to keep your ad consistent with your brand, you can also play around with bold colors, fun graphics, and silly videos to see what best engages your audience on Snapchat.

Understand how to measure Snapchat advertising success

Measuring your Snapchat advertising is important to understand how it’s contributing to your marketing goals. With Snapchat advertising, you can measure metrics like the number of swipe-ups your ad has received, impressions, and views. You can also see valuable information like the demographics of the audience that has viewed your Snap ads.

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By digging into the reporting you get from Snapchat advertising, you can better understand who’s engaging with your ads and how your campaigns are working to meet your overall marketing goals.

Snapchat advertising for small businesses

Snapchat advertising is the perfect channel to connect your business with a younger demographic and capture an engaged and active audience. By using the right mix of Snapchat ad types and strategies, you can see success on the platform no matter your business size or goal.

PS: Did you hear about our partnership with Snap Inc. to make Snapchat advertising easier for local businesses? Read about it here!