Snapchat Memories: is the millennial’s favourite app growing up?

Snapchat released its biggest ever update this July, with the rolling out of its new “Memories” feature. The size and scope of this update can’t be underestimated, and it may change the course and direction of the app forever.

What is it?

Snapchat Memories has 3 primary functions, which significantly alter the ephemeral nature of the app. Put plainly, users will be able to share stories and snaps from any time rather than them disappearing into the Snapchat wilderness after 24 hours.

The first function of Memories is that it allows you to import all your saved Snaps on your phone into a gallery on the app. This gallery stores the Snaps in the cloud, and allows you or your friends to quickly scroll through your favourite Snaps that you’ve saved in reverse-chronological order.

The second function is that Memories allows you to re-share either your saved Snaps, or any image on your phone’s Camera Roll, onto Snapchat (either as a story or to a friend). You can edit these images or videos as you would a normal Snap, but any image imported from Memories will have a white border around it when shared onto the app. This is to alert your friends and followers that it’s a Memory, and not a present Snap.

The final function, which is a nod to the early days of Snapchat, is the introduction of a “My Eyes Only” tab. This section is password-protected, and allows you to store all of those Snaps that are intended only for you. Whilst this may seem funny, and throwback to 2011 and the early beginnings of the app, it allows users to pass their phone to friends who might want to scroll through their Memories without fear of an embarrassing Snap popping up.

“Memories is a meaty question-mark that could make investors salivate”

The importance of this update for Snapchat’s future potential for marketers and brands cannot be overstated. The problem for both content creators and advertisers was the same — with content constantly disappearing, what was the benefit on spending budget on it? Who was seeing it and reacting with it?

“Memories” affects content creators and brands because it allows content to be pre-made and planned before being shared on the network. This relieves the pressure on community managers and strategists to create content regularly and in the present, and also allows brands to re-use content on the network multiple times. Suddenly, with Memories incorporated, Snapchat becomes viable to more brands both big and small.

The big effect of Memories for advertisers is that it’s clear Snapchat is making a play to become the primary camera app for users. They can store photos on its cloud (with unlimited storage for free at the moment), they can share old photos and videos with friends, and they can capture events in the moment. This will significantly increase the amount of time users spend on the app, which of course will greatly interest advertisers.

Snapchat is growing up rapidly, and Memories is the biggest swipe yet at the unquestioned dominance of Facebook.

AM