{"id":7159,"date":"2017-10-04T16:01:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T14:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hiops.cherrypickdev.es\/?p=7159"},"modified":"2018-11-06T14:13:01","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T13:13:01","slug":"is-snapchat-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/digital-marketing-2\/is-snapchat-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Snapchat Dead?"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the <\/span>4th Annual Online Marketing Agencies Meeting<\/a><\/strong> hosted by Aula CM in Madrid\u2019s C\u00edrculo de Bellas Artes, the first panel was about social media platforms, the good and the bad, and ultimately, best practices. One of the panelists declared \u201cSnapchat is dead.\u201d<\/strong> But, should we be so quick to deem this statement true? And, what is Snapchat anyway?<\/span><\/p>\n

Snapchat<\/a><\/strong> is an application that allows users to post and send temporary photographs (showing up from 3 to 10 seconds on a screen) or videos that disappear after 24 hours.<\/strong> Users can also send text messages to friends about certain photographs or videos. Snapchat is also known for pioneering many features: Stories, which allows users to upload content onto their profile for 24 hours, geo filters for public places, and image filters that let users enhance or transform their selfies with other features.<\/strong> Snapchat is also a public company, listed on the <\/span>New York Stock Exchange<\/a><\/strong> since March 1<\/span>st<\/span>, 2017, making it the biggest technology IPO since Facebook\u2019s in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why investing in Snapchat stock may not have been the smartest move<\/h4>\n

After its first quarter as a public company, Snapchat saw a loss of $2.2 billion<\/strong>. When we look at the financials, some figures<\/a> <\/strong>do not bode well: “Snap’s high valuation, lack of profitability and slowing user growth have made it a controversial stock on Wall Street since its IPO\u2026\u201d The same Forbes<\/em><\/a><\/strong> article cited Thomson Reuters figures that Snap\u2019s stock is valued 44 times the expected sales in the next 12-month period. Facebook\u2019s figure is 14 times while Google parent Alphabet\u2019s is seven times.<\/p>\n

But what else besides the performance of its stock could be leading people toward the exits? Some factors have led to a dire prognosis for Snapchat. First off is bJeremy Goldman quoted SocialFresh’s Jason Keath in an\u00a0Inc.<\/a><\/strong> magazine article that: \u201cSnapchat was on the rise in 2016 because they had no competitors who were able to capture their magic[.]\u201d And that\u2019s because Facebook<\/a> has been coming along and copied many of Snapchat\u2019s pioneering features.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, Instagram <\/strong><\/a>started with adding a Stories feature just like Snapchat, then added geo filters, and in its latest move, has added face filters<\/strong><\/a> to its roster of Snapchat-copying. While Instagram VP of Product Kevin Weil stated that this copying reflects how the tech industry works because a format pioneered on one platform will spread widely across multiple platforms, Snapchat then loses many of the features that gave it a competitive advantage. And Facebook has also recently introduced several features<\/strong><\/a> to copy Snapchat: Stories to both their regular newsfeeds and to Messenger, camera effects that are similar to Snapchat filters, and allowing direct messaging to Facebook users.<\/p>\n

It also may not help that excerpts from a deposition have highlighted that founder Evan Spiegel<\/a> <\/strong>supposedly scoffed international expansion to India and Spain because he considered them to be \u201cpoor countries” and also once stated that Snapchat was an app for “rich people.” This may not be the right mindset if you want an app to take on the world. And naturally, this did not help Snapchat’s share price.<\/p>\n

Why Snapchat is still alive and kicking<\/h4>\n

While it is easy to scoff poor financial figures and the fact that Instagram and Facebook are copying many of Snapchat\u2019s features, we cannot discount the one thing that competitors have failed to copy: its loyal fan base<\/a>.<\/strong> 35% of Snapchat\u2019s 60 million users don\u2019t use Facebook on the same day they are also using Snapchat. Plus, 46% of Snapchat users don\u2019t have accounts on Instagram. Not only that, Snapchat has a demographic benefit that Alan Wolk<\/a><\/strong> calls its secret weapon: \u201cit is home base for Generation Z, the 12\u2013to\u201322\u2013year olds who populate the nation\u2019s middle schools, high schools and colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just how important is Snapchat to Generation Z? These statistics might put it into perspective. A recent article from The Drum<\/em><\/a><\/strong> highlighted results from an online study of high school and college students that calmed 89% of subjects valued Snapchat for staying touch with friends.<\/strong> In the same demographic, more of them cited the daily use of Snapchat (78%) than Instagram (76%) or Facebook (66%). On average, users check Snapchat at least six times a day<\/strong>, and according to SCG’s Michael Cherenson, “[a]lmost 25 percent indicated Snapchat is essential to their relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may be that Snapchat may have to be seen as more of a niche brand because of its diminished ability to compete with Facebook and Google, says Keath<\/a>.<\/strong> Two developments are coming out of Snapchat that could lead to it being more niche. Snapchat\u2019s Snapchat Discover<\/a><\/strong> feature is a window of opportunity for media outlets like BuzzFeed<\/strong><\/a> and Cosmopolitan<\/strong><\/a> (who joined Discover when it was first launched two years ago, as well as for advertisers. They are planning to prioritize content specially made for the platform over other types of media content. Regarding advertising, Snapchat Discover lets publishers sell space in different channels before splitting revenue, which minimizes the risk more often associated with traditional <\/strong>ad spends.<\/strong> Snapchat is also pushing into television, with Snap TV<\/a><\/strong>, which will host original, short-form shows from well-known providers such as VICE<\/a>, ESPN<\/a>, the NFL<\/a>, ABC<\/a>, and A&E<\/a>.<\/strong> The episodes will be from three-to-five minutes long and are meant to serve as a compliment to traditional television. The episodes will be accessible using the Stories feed.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the verdict?<\/h4>\n

In Module 2, we\u2019ll break down the different social media platforms, their uses, as well as their advertising capabilities. It\u2019s fundamental that your digital marketing strategy is best optimized to the channels you\u2019re going to use because the same actions or tools won\u2019t work the same on each network.<\/strong> And, you\u2019ll be able to decide for yourself, and for your brand, whether Snapchat is worth it or not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ready to join in on the action?<\/h5>\n

If you’re dying to know more about the Digital Marketing, Social Media and Analytics: An Omnichannel Strategy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>HiOP, check out our homepage<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to get a copy of our informational brochure. And, if you’re already set on joining us,\u00a0get started on your application<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the 4th Annual Online Marketing Agencies Meeting hosted by Aula CM in Madrid\u2019s C\u00edrculo de Bellas Artes, the first panel was about social media platforms, [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[379],"tags":[380],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7159"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8151,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159\/revisions\/8151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}