The Digital Marketing Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Title: Effective Snapchat Marketing
Hosts: Ciaran Rogers, Daniel Rowles
Guest: Miri, Fanbytes
Date: January 30, 2018
Main Theme:
This episode focuses on demystifying Snapchat as a digital marketing platform, with expert guidance from Miri at Fanbytes, specialists in Snapchat influencer marketing. The conversation delves into why Snapchat remains an essential channel—especially for reaching young audiences—despite negative media narratives, and provides a tactical roadmap for brands wanting to succeed on the platform.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The State and Unique Value of Snapchat (02:39–08:49)

• What is Snapchat?
  It's a mobile-first social platform focused on ephemeral visual content—photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours, making it feel “in-the-moment”.
  “It imitates real life… whatever you say, it's very sort of like in the moment and it goes away.” — Miri (02:39)

• User Demographics and Reach:

  • 178 million daily users (2018 data), skewing very young (13–25).
  • Snapchat is capturing attention from a demographic underserved by other networks.
  • Despite slower growth, engagement remains high—a “gold mine of undervalued attention” due to low ad saturation.

• Mythbusting the Narrative:
  Press overstates Snapchat’s decline; in reality, brand campaigns show extraordinary click-through and engagement rates, attributed to the novelty and native nature of Snapchat ads. “...the click through rate was just sort of like off the charts... there’s this massive amount of undervalued attention on Snapchat.” — Miri (07:05)

2. Effective Content and Creative Principles for Snapchat (09:53–16:31)

a. Show Human Faces and Keep it Personal

• Snapchat’s core is person-to-person visual sharing. Ad creative featuring people’s faces (especially influencers) sees a 73% higher engagement rate.
  “What we found out was that showing a human face in the snap increased engagement by 73%.” — Miri (11:33)
• The platform’s ad placement (snaps between friends’ stories) means polished brand graphics stand out awkwardly next to selfie-style content.

b. Grab Attention Quickly—You Only Have 2 Seconds!

• While the platform standard is 10-second snaps, real viewer decision time is just 2 seconds.
• Marketers must communicate value, energy, and message instantly. “When we tell them, hey, you don't actually have 10 seconds, you only have two.” — Miri (13:23)
• High-performing examples: Influencers getting to the point—e.g., starting with “Oh my God, my eyes hurt. I've been playing on this app all day. So addictive. Check it out.”

c. Speak the Audience’s Language

• Brands must use pop culture references, memes—content that “blends in” with youth communication styles. “If you're trying to reach young people, you gotta...speak their language—so pop culture references and memes and so on.” — Miri (16:31)
• Authenticity is key. Pure sales messaging (“buy now!”) is ignored.

d. “Advertainment” Over Pure Advertising

• Ads that entertain and provide value perform best. Example: Using viral memes or funny videos as the call-to-action rather than traditional sales pitches.
  “Something that we sort of espouse is called advertainment. So advertising, but entertaining at the same time.” — Miri (18:31)

e. Don’t Repurpose Other Platform Content

• Landscape, studio-polished, or re-edited TV/Instagram ads don’t work. Snapchat is vertical, mobile-only, and the most effective content feels casual and native to the space. “We found out content that was actually raw and unpolished did a lot, a whole lot better.” — Miri (21:13)

f. Shooting for Snapchat is Low Barrier

• Raw, iPhone-shot content outperforms professional studio work—a cost-saving advantage for smaller brands.

3. Snapchat Platform Features and How to Use Them (24:36–32:40)

a. Lenses & Augmented Reality (AR) (24:36–28:30)

• What Are Lenses?
  Augmented reality objects added to photos/videos—hugely popular for engagement. “Lenses are basically AR objects...used to make your snaps cooler and more fun.” — Miri (24:36)

• Big Budget to Accessible:
  Previously only accessible to large brands (e.g., Taco Bell’s lens, $700K per day). In December 2017, Snapchat launched Lens Studio, making custom lenses available to all. “Any sort of person can create their own AR object...That’s absolutely massive.” — Miri (27:14)

• Practical Tip:
  Even small businesses can freelance a lens, e.g., a “dancing donut” mascot for a local donut shop, creating experiential marketing moments.

b. Snapcodes (29:42–32:40)

• What Are Snapcodes?
  A unique, QR-like code linking directly to a Snapchat profile, website, or campaign. “Snapcodes are very integral to Snapchat...they allowed Snapchat to grow quite quickly.” — Miri (30:11)

• Brand Examples:

  • Used for friend-adding and web linking.
  • Pepsi’s campaign: Snapcodes on bottles linked to fun web experiences.

• Implementation Tip:
  Easy for brands to deploy; can be used for both digital and physical campaigns (on packaging, in-store).

4. Getting Started & Influencer Collaboration (33:17–36:43)

• First Steps:

  • Download Snapchat and play with it to understand the user perspective.
  • Set up a business account and begin experimenting with the three core principles (show face, get to the point, speak youth culture).

• Ad Solutions:

  • Snapchat Ad Platform: Good for budgets; moderate engagement.
  • Influencer Collaborations: Using micro-influencers is affordable and generally yields higher engagement because audiences are less saturated with paid content. “I would say the attention will be...a lot higher.” — Miri (34:45)

• Working with Influencers:

  • Research influencers’ style and audience to ensure brand fit.
  • Allow creative freedom to the influencer to maintain authenticity. “We spend a lot of time trying to map out the different features of someone's channel...so we make sure that it's a good match.” — Miri (35:51)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:39 | Miri | "It imitates real life... whatever you say, it's very sort of like in the moment and it goes away." | | 07:05 | Miri | "The click through rate was just sort of like off the charts... there’s this massive amount of undervalued attention on Snapchat." | | 11:33 | Miri | "Showing a human face in the snap increased engagement by 73%." | | 13:23 | Miri | "When we tell them, hey, you don't actually have 10 seconds, you only have two." | | 16:31 | Miri | "If you're trying to reach young people, you gotta...speak their language—so pop culture references and memes and so on." | | 18:31 | Miri | "Something that we sort of espouse is called advertainment. So advertising, but entertaining at the same time." | | 21:13 | Miri | "Content that was actually raw and unpolished did a whole lot better than content that was professionally edited and shot."| | 24:36 | Miri | "Lenses are basically AR objects...used to make your snaps cooler and more fun." | | 27:14 | Miri | "Any sort of person can create their own AR object...That's absolutely massive." | | 30:11 | Miri | "Snapcodes are very integral to Snapchat...they allowed Snapchat to grow quite quickly." | | 34:45 | Miri | "The engagement will be a lot higher [with Snapchat influencers]." |

Timeline of Important Segments

• [02:39] What is Snapchat?
• [04:55] Audience stats; addressing media “doom and gloom”
• [09:53] Key engagement techniques: show your face
• [12:54] The 2-second attention rule
• [16:31] The critical importance of culture and language
• [18:31] “Advertainment” vs. old sales pitches
• [19:51] The dangers of repurposing and the need for raw content
• [24:36] Snapchat Lenses and AR—now open to all
• [29:42] Snapcodes for campaigns and web linkouts
• [33:17] How to begin: business account setup and influencer campaigns
• [35:40] How to work with influencers on Snapchat

Summary and Actionable Takeaways

Who Should Use Snapchat?
Brands targeting teens and young adults (13–25), especially those able to create informal, entertainment-first content.

What Works:

• Show faces, keep content authentic and personal.
• Lead with energy and clarity in the first two seconds.
• Create native, vertical, unpolished content—avoid repurposing from other platforms.
• Use cultural touchstones, memes, and entertainment to drive interaction (“advertainment”).
• Experiment with features like Lenses (AR) and Snapcodes for engagement and linkouts.
• Tap into influencers whose style and audience align with your brand, letting them steer the creative.

Getting Started:

• Get familiar with Snapchat’s interface and culture through firsthand use.
• Start small with influencer collaborations or creative in-house content, focusing on authenticity over perfection.

Resource:
Fanbytes offers an eBook full of Snapchat “tricks and hacks,” linked in the episode's show notes.

This episode provides a vital, hands-on masterclass for any marketer looking to unlock the potential of Snapchat—not just by understanding its user base, but by rethinking what effective, entertaining digital marketing looks like for today’s youngest audiences.