The Advertising Power of Snapchat Story Ads for Retailers 

For e-commerce and retail brands looking to create an unshakable advantage in the market, tapping into the growing advertising power of Snapchat is a must. Boasting over 265 million active users a day Snapchat is a fast-growing platform for retailers to immediately leverage to attract Millennial and Generation Z-age consumers. 

Despite other, more established social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram garnering large advertising spending, Snapchat’s potential is still relatively untapped. In addition, Snapchat allows up-and-coming retail and e-commerce brands to effectively engage with their audience through short, live videos, which can quickly grow brand awareness by enabling retailers to make customizable ads for their various audiences. 

However, when it comes to Snapchat advertising, it’s important to know the options available to retailers, so you can choose the most appropriate avenue to advertise through. For Snapchat’s advertising platform, there are two main ad styles to choose from: Story Ads and Quick Snap Ads. 

Though Quick Snap Ads can be easier to create and run on the platform, the best ad type to pursue for retail brands are the Story Ads with the Discover Feature.  

The Discover Feature 

Snapchat allows e-commerce brands to post news and entertainment stories using the Discover feature. Many users spend time browsing the Discover page to read about the latest trends and viral videos – which makes this prime real estate for advertisers.  

Through story ads, retail brands and companies can compile a collection of 3 to 20 videos that users can view. You also have the ability to attach longer-form content to ads, including adding links to buy specific products or services via call-to-action buttons at the bottom of the story ad. 

So, how can retail brands effectively use Snapchat Story Ads to get results? 

Here are three important things to keep in mind for your first campaign. 

Make the first 3 seconds highly visual. Whether it is through a combination of imagery and audio or fast-action type visuals, it’s important to make the first few seconds as interesting as possible. Posing an intriguing question can also work to draw the viewer in and keep them engaged. This is where A/B testing can be helpful in giving you data points to compare video performance, so you know which types of video openings perform better than others. 

Make your call to action clear and compelling. Never assume that the user knows what to do next. Even if they watch all of the videos in your Story Ad, you want to be specific in the action step they need to take. Perhaps it’s buying a particular item directly through the ad or going to your website to shop a new collection, either way, you want to be clear on what action viewers should take. 

Choose topics that resonate with your target audience. You want your video ads to stand out by talking about topics that are important to your target audience. Consider your target audience’s interests and work to create videos that will draw them in and make it irresistible for them not to click.  

There isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to social media advertising for e-commerce brands, however, leveraging ad performance tools can be a highly effective way to study what is working and what may need to be changed. As you use Snapchat as an advertising channel, it will be important to spend time monitoring and studying key performance metrics and using that data to inform how you create new ads. 

Not sure where to start with Snapchat Story Ads? Let’s connect and we will be more than happy to share some winning strategies I’ve used to increase ad ROI.