About author: Jack Evans brings his extensive experience in digital marketing to the table, specialising in paid social strategies that drive growth for e-commerce and DTC brands.
Snapchat ads can drive exceptional results for your brand, whether you’re trying to increase brand awareness or generate app installs.
But if you want to maximise the performance of your Snapchat video campaigns, it’s vital to follow creative best practices and expert strategies.
If you can produce high-quality video ads that are tailored specifically to the Snapchat platform, the sky is the limit for your campaigns.
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Let’s explore how Snapchat video ads can effectively engage your target audience at scale and help your business grow.
What are Snapchat ads?
Snap ads are full-screen image or video ads that appear across the Snapchat app.
Snapchat ads are typically served between organic videos on the platform that have been uploaded by other users or publishers. Since your paid ads will be appearing among these organic posts, it’s very important to create content that feels native, authentic, and engaging.
Short-form video ads are particularly effective on Snapchat because they’re easy to consume and less intrusive for users.
Since your target audience will be constantly exploring streams of new content on the platform, you’ll need to create ads that instantly stand out in a cluttered feed.
Are Snapchat video ads worth it?
Snapchat can help businesses from many industries to smash their marketing goals.
The platform is ideal for connecting with younger demographics, driving jaw-dropping scale, and establishing a strong social media presence.
But as always, if you want to achieve outstanding performance with Snapchat ads, you’ll need to be equipped with a super smart, data-driven marketing strategy.
That means targeting the right audiences, producing optimised video ads, and making informed campaign optimisations.
For brands looking to generate optimal results with their ad spend, enlisting the help of a Snapchat ad agency can be a game-changer. A Snapchat ads specialist can help marketers to build profitable audience segments and run ultra-efficient campaigns on the platform.
3 key benefits of Snapchat video ads
So why are Snapchat video ads so popular with brands around the world? And how can they help you to crush your business objectives?
It’s time to explore 3 major benefits of including Snapchat ads in your paid social campaigns.
1. You can reach a younger demographic
If you’re trying to grow brand awareness or drive conversions among younger customers, then Snapchat is the perfect marketing tool.
Almost 20% of Snapchat users are aged between 18-24, making the platform ideal for brands looking to engage Gen Z and younger millennial audiences.
Plus, with the help of the Snap Pixel, you can build granular audiences that enable you to target high-value prospects.
2. You can leverage multiple video formats
Advertisers can also utilise several video ad formats on Snapchat.
Different formats can help brands to achieve a wide range of objectives, and the right combination of placements can deliver mind-blowing performance.
For example, a standard in-feed video ad can allow businesses to reach relevant audiences at scale, driving mass reach and engagement. Non-skippable Commercials are ideal for increasing brand awareness, while Collection ads can generate high volumes of sales.
3. Brands can reach a significant audience
Snapchat ads also allow you the opportunity to reach a sizable audience.
The Snapchat platform boasts around 319 million daily users, providing marketers with plenty of profitable prospects to reach and convert.
This enormous scale means that you can achieve incredible efficiency with Snapchat ads, as long as you’re targeting the right audiences. You can also smash various objectives (i.e. app installs, video views, brand awareness) while effectively scaling up your budget over time.
Snapchat ads best practices
We’ve already covered the benefits of Snapchat advertising – so now it’s time to explain how you can create video ads that engage your audiences and accelerate business growth.
Follow these creative tips, and you’ll be in a great position to blow your social media targets out of the water.
Place your product on the centre stage
Make sure that your products and selling points are the stars of your Snapchat video ads.
Lead with clear product images from the opening frame, and if you’re promoting any special offers or sales messages, highlight them clearly.
Your target audience is only likely to be viewing your Snapchat ad for a precious few seconds, so it’s crucial that you land any key product details as quickly as possible.
Keep your video ads short and sweet
Snapchat users have mountains of new content at their fingertips – and frankly, many of your target audience will have a short attention span.
Make sure that your video content is punchy and engaging to grab attention. Video ads should ideally run for around 6 seconds.
Use fast-moving images, bold text overlays, and eye-catching product shots to your advantage. You should also ensure that your brand name is unmissable for people watching your video ads.
Utilise the power of sound
Audio can be a very powerful asset in your Snapchat ad campaigns, and many marketers under-utilise sound when promoting their products or services.
According to Snapchat data, 64% of ads are viewed with sound enabled, so you have a golden opportunity to make your ads more engaging and compelling for audiences.
Audio can also be highly versatile. For example, you might utilise a specific sound that’s popular in Snapchat trends, or include spoken product testimonials so that users can learn more about your business.
3 high-performing Snapchat video ad examples
Let’s take a look at a few successful Snapchat video ads, and explore how these advertisers have maximised the potential of Snapchat’s creative tools.
Starling Bank
Starling Bank used Snapchat video ads to promote its financial services to local businesses and regular customers. The brand cleverly adapted a longer TV asset to suit the Snapchat platform, changing a few visual elements to make the video snappier.
(Source: snapchat.com)
The 10-second video ad included engaging visuals, key product points, and a clear brand name.
The campaign achieved a 7% increase in brand awareness and a 61% lower Cost Per Install versus other social platforms.
Dominos
Dominos utilised Snapchat video advertising to promote a new pizza, aiming to boost brand awareness and encourage people to buy the product.
(Source: snapchat.com)
Dominos created an amusing 10-second ad that showcased the size of its new pizza in a humorous way.
The ad was perfect for the Snapchat platform. The asset was high-quality and delivered a funny sketch that also highlighted a key selling point of the product.
The campaign was a big success for the business, driving an 8% increase in brand awareness as well as a 6% increase in action intent.
Chillys
Chillys launched Snapchat ads to drive conversions around Black Friday, a critical sales period for digital advertisers and e-commerce brands.
The brand combined an eye-catching video asset with data-driven targeting to tackle its marketing goals.
(Source: snapchat.com)
If you’re looking for a few tips about Snapchat’s creative best practices, this ad is a fantastic example to learn from.
The video is super simple but highly relevant and effective.
For one thing, the text overlays instantly deliver the key business info that audiences need. It’s immediately clear that Chillys is advertising for Black Friday, running a 50% discount promotion, and encouraging people to visit the online store.
Secondly, the video is packed with colourful and striking product images that make an instant impact. Finally, there’s a clear and visible CTA button for users to click.
Chillys ticked all of the right boxes with this ad, and it showed in the results – the campaign generated a 64% reduction in CPAs, and a 32% lower CPC versus other platforms.
Snapchat video ads are a must-have addition to your paid social marketing arsenal.
If you can follow best practices when creating your assets, you’ll be on the right track to deliver insanely efficient results for your business. Just follow the tips in this guide, check out Snapchat case studies for inspiration, and focus on messages that will resonate with your audience.
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