To grow fast, Snapchat should bear in mind the following things
The first months on Wall Street weren’t fortunate for Snapchat. First quarter earnings were weak. Audience growth wasn’t satisfying. This has raised some concerns. But it’s too early to judge Spiegel’s efforts after IPO. Let’s focus on what Snapchat needs to grow, and to do it fast, of course.
Originally published at snapmytee.com
We believe that current Snapchat troubles are temporary. Even Rome wasn’t built in a day. Similarly, Facebook needed a few years to become social media tycoon. Thus, Snapchat requires time and patience. Of course, we want to speed up the case, so we took a look at some business areas which, in our opinion, are strategic for Snapchat’s sustainable growth.
Stop perceiving the young as the main source of income
As you probably know, Snapchat is a favourite app on smartphones owned to Generation Y and Generation Z. They usually use it to communicate with peers. However, according to Defy Media survey, people aged 13–20 don’t prefer Snapchat as a place where they could look for shopping recommendations or getting the latest news. In short, they don’t make money for Spiegel’s team.
Start attracting older people
Did you remember when you started posting on Facebook? At that time, teens, students, and alumni were flocking to Zuckerberg’s networking site. While Facebook became bigger and bigger, its audience was getting more diverse, demographically. Moms, fathers, and uncles of this young people set up accounts on Facebook. To put it briefly, currently, everyone is on Facebook — regardless of age.
And when it comes to Snapchat, a history is similar. Spiegel needs Generation X because of their power is money in their wallets. They’re accountable for 31% of total US income. Of course, Snapchat has taken action to grab their attention by Discover tab, a telly format tailored to mobile era. And it’s slowly bearing fruit. According to eMarketer data, US people aged 35–44 and 45–54 send snaps — almost 20% and 16%, accordingly. The olds are ready for Snapchat. They are waiting for Spiegel’s team to start looking after them seriously, though.
Similarly, US moms, who have launched an invasion on Snapchat two years ago, should be an apple of Spiegel’s eye.
Open its ads opportunities for small and medium businesses (SMB)
Snapchat ad manager available for everyone is incoming. It’s great news, indeed. Every marketer will soon check an effectiveness of advertising machine by this mobile app. For Snapchat, the marketing budget of businesses is like oxygen. It can’t live without it. That’s why the main mission of Spiegel’s team should to attract those entities which Snapchat hasn’t thought about them yet. That is, small and medium businesses.
There are two reasons to do it. First, the Facebook case. According to the latest data, this social network can boast 5 million advertisers. Only 25% of them represents big companies. In other words, small and medium enterprises are responsible for the lion’s share of Facebook revenue. Second, SMB sector is still an uncharted market. Recently, Manta reported that 50% of US small businesses don’t operate on Facebook. Spiegel’s team could take advantage of this status.
Invest huge money in long-term marketing actions outside Europe and North America
No business can grow without it. Google and Facebook have built their greatness based on it. And for them, it’s still a crucial weapon to continue expansion. Unfortunately, it’s the Achilles’ heel for Snapchat. Spiegel’s team does marketing focused only on selling Spectacles and developing Discover section for the English-speaking audience. It’s not enough.
Sooner or later, this mobile app will reach saturation in North America and Europe. Creating partnerships with celebrities and local media are the options to enter new markets. Although Snapchat is a niche mobile app in Latin America, North Africa, Middle East and Asia, favorable winds are incoming for Spiegel’s team. According to comScore data, Snapchat has 12 million Hispanics users. In the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, one million and seven million users send snaps daily, accordingly.
Audience potential is one side. Another side is competition which goes from the East: Meitu, Snow. Additionally, building status outside North America and Europe will be tough work for Snapchat because of its previous negligence of other markets.
Implement some features which users are waiting for
Currently, the user experience is the thing by which companies and brand can be more competitive and achieve success. Product improvement based on feedback from users is a clue. Snapchat should more often listen to its users because their insights are extremely valuable. Recently on the blog, we picked a few wishes about features which people mostly tweet.
Roll-out Snapchat app lite for Android users
While only 18% people use Apple smartphones, almost 82% mobile users have Google-backed smartphones, globally. This enormous difference should give food for thought to Spiegel’s team in consideration how to conquer the rest of world. They should start by solving one particular issue. That means this mobile app doesn’t work properly on Android smartphone. It often gets choked. Snapchat lite version for Android smartphones might be a solution.
Strategy, stupid!
In this article, Walter Frick from Harvard Business Review mentioned that a long-term plan aka roadmap is what Snapchat needs immediately. We all know that Snap brand is related to be a camera company. But it’s only a headword without vision which should be laid out a long time ago. This issue raises many questions. For example, according to eMarketer data, Snapchat Lenses will drive Augmented Reality market within next few years. Is Spiegel’s team going to take advantage of it? There are more questions than answers.
Collaboration-based features
A few days ago, Snapchat released another feature called Custom Stories. It allows Snapchat users to create a shared story. It reminds how big power is hidden in crowdsourcing or user generated content. Spiegel app has unique assets: innovation and privacy to name a few. Possibilities of creating cooperative undertakings among Snapchat users should be the next one.
