Social Media Video Advertising: Snapchat Quick Snap Ads 

If expanding your social media marketing is a goal this year, then exploring the robust advertising options that Snapchat has to offer is a must. With three main types of video ad content: Snapchat Story Ads, Quick Snap Ads, and Long Form Video Ads, Snapchat provides telehealth brands with a wide array of advertising modalities to choose from.  

But, marketer beware – you’ll want to be clear on both what your target audience wants to engage with and the right video format that will resonate with them and compel them to click. 

Here are the top considerations for Quick Snap Ads, which are also referred to as “In-Between Stories”. 

Design your video ads with the dimensions in mind.  

Quick Snap Ads are generally vertical, full-screen videos that will appear in between a Snapchat user’s stories. Because these are shot vertically, you’ll want to consider what types of imagery would be best suited to this orientation. In some cases, you can submit horizontal videos, but vertical video ads are preferred.  

When recording your video ad footage, consider what parts of the shot may be hard to view or cut off completely in a vertically oriented video. You’ll want to be very mindful of what may run off the screen and it’s always best to air on the side of caution and shoot with a smaller recording view, just in case. 

Study which content type works best.  

As the telehealth brand, it is entirely up to you as to what you record in your Quick Snap Ad. However, it is important in trying to maximize your ad results to consider what video style types work best for your target audience. Selfie-style videos where you are talking directly into the camera tend to perform best, at least to capture the viewer’s attention in the first few seconds.  

It is best practice to play around with various video styles to see which one performs best on the platform. In addition, adding captions can also be helpful to increase ad engagement, as studies have found that 92% of ad viewers watch with their volume turned off.

Think about where to place branding.  

Quick Snap Ads have a minimum length of 4 seconds and a maximum length of 10 seconds, but the first 3 seconds are the most important to focus on. People that get past the first 3 seconds are 65% more likely to watch the entire ad.

What you’re aiming for is to include something as soon as the video ad is clicked that will immediately catch the viewer’s attention and encourage them to keep watching and complete your call to action. Snapchat marketing experts recommend placing your telehealth brand logo and a specific call to action on the screen within the first 2 seconds of the video ad. 

Ad Format 

When it comes to which types of Quick Snap Ad formats tend to perform the best, here are a few additional design elements to keep in mind: 

  • Motion graphic videos – not only is this format highly-visual, but it can pull your viewer in and hold their attention without them realizing they’re watching an ad. This would require more production and planning than just a standard selfie-style video. 
  • GIFs – dynamic (moving) images always outperform standard non-animated images. The key is to make the GIF either funny, interesting, or “strange” to get Snapchat users to want to click. 
  • Slideshow – this gives you the ability to add more than one image to your video ad. This can be especially useful if you have multiple services or products you’d like to highlight within the same video ad. 

The sky really is the limit when it comes to advertising on Snapchat. The goal is to get very creative while also clearly conveying the key benefit(s) and calls-to-action you want users to take as a result of your video ad. As with any form of social media or digital marketing, having a performance metrics plan in place to study what’s working and what isn’t will be essential to evolving how and what you advertise on the platform.  

Not sure where or how to start with Snapchat advertising?  

Let’s connect and we will walk you through some important first steps.