Snapchat Ads : How to make a commercial on Snapchat

Snapchat has become one of the top popular social channels worldwide. It’s the fourth most used channel in Saudi Arabia, with more than 24 million users. You can attract youth to your business and harness the power of real-time marketing by leveraging Snapchat ads.

Snap ads are full-screen vertical video ads that appear between Snapchat's user-generated content. They can include interactive elements like swipe-up actions that allow users to access additional content or visit a website.

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Why are Snapchat ads so effective?

Businesses of all sizes are turning to Snapchat to reach their target audiences, and they see some fantastic results. Snapchat boasts about some success stories such as Depop and Marriot Bonvoy. Achieving a significantly lower cost per acquisition compared to other channels, Depop started allocating 50%of their total social media spend specifically to Snapchat. Marriot experienced a 3.4x higher ROI. 

Here are a few reasons that might trigger you and impact your social media marketing strategy:

• They're highly visual: which means they can capture attention. And because Snapchat is still a relatively new platform, there are many opportunities to reach users who might not be exposed to your brand elsewhere.
• Snapchat ads are affordable: they're a great way to get started with advertising on social media with a minimum budget.
• Snapchat appeals to Gen Z and millennials: globally, statistics show that the largest audiences on Snapchat are females between the ages of 13-17 and males between 25 and 34. Millennials possess significant purchasing power and potential. Leveraging Snapchat ads will win you a critical audience.
• Free templates would be handy, especially for small businesses that still need to acquire marketing teams. It makes the process easy and quick.
• Augmented reality experience: "These AR experiences inform and enrich – helping you do things like translate languages, take spatial measurements, and scan real-world objects." AR experience is the next groundbreaker in marketing, and snap already made it possible. Using this feature will improve customer satisfaction and trust.
• Ad awareness: Snapchat commercials have 5x higher ad awareness than other mobile video ads.

So if you're looking for a new and exciting way to reach your target market, Snapchat is worth considering. Keep reading to find out how to get started. 

Types of Snapchat ads

Before using the platform, you must be familiar with the different features and types of content available.

There are different types of Snapchat ads, each with its benefits. Here is a brief overview of some of the most popular types of Snapchat ads:

• Single Image or Video Ads are full-screen displayed between content on Snapchat. You can add links to your images or videos to convert potential customers and call them to take action.
• Snapchat filters are unique overlays that can be applied to images or videos in real-time. They are often used to promote special events or products and can be customized to include branding or other marketing messages.
• Snapchat lenses: These are similar to filters but are interactive and can be used to change the appearance of a user's face in real-time. They use augmented reality technology to make the shopping experience more fun and authentic. They are often used for promotional purposes.
• Snapchat stories: short, attention-grabbing videos or images appearing in a user's "story" feed or a tile in Snapchat's Discover section with a collection of 3 to 20 images or videos.
• Product catalog ads: "shapable ad formats" to showcase your products.
• Commercials: are non-skippable ads that appear in between content. They can be up to three minutes long.
• Influencer snaps: influencer marketing is one way to leverage the power of Snapchat and reach many users. You might want to avoid building your business account and wait to achieve visibility, which might take a long time. Influencers can be of great assistance in this case. Simply reach out to reputable influencers on the platform and discuss a strategy with them. 

Snapchat ads can be a great way to reach out to potential customers, but choosing the right type of ad for your needs is crucial.

Next, you will get to know how to create a Snap Ad, step by step. 

How to create a Snap Ad?

Creating ads on snapchat is quite easy and doens’t require you be a social media or tech savvy person. All you have to do is create a snapchat account, log in to snapchat ads manager. And follow these steps:

• Choose Advanced Create to enjoy full control of your ad
• 2. Select your objective

• 3. Campaign Setup: name your campaign, choose start and end date and time

• 4. Fill in your Ad set details and enable snapchat ID tracking

• 5. Choose your budget and schedule

• 6. Choose your ad placements: A. recommended placements or
• b. Edit the palements: locations, demographics

• Audiences and devices 

• 7. In Delivery, Choose your bidding strategy 

• 8. Create your ad creative in Ad details: fill in a name, choose a format, choose a public profile, and choose if you want the ad to be shareable

• 9. Add a call to action
• Input your delivery status

• 10. Review your ad and click on publish 

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Ad specs and requirements

• File type: .jpg, .png, .mp4, or .mov
• Aspect ratio: 9:16
• Resolution: 1080 px x 1920 px
• Length: 3–180 seconds
• Brand name: Up to 25 characters, including spaces
• Headline: Up to 34 characters, including spaces
• Call to action: snapchat will place the CTA on the ad.

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Snap ads' best practices

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To master Snapchat advertising, here are a few best practices to remember.

Highlight the first 3 seconds 

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Snapchat ads should always focus on the first two to three seconds. This is because people are more likely to scroll through their feeds quickly, and you want to make sure your ad stands out. Incorporate something to hook your audience and push them to keep watching.

Capitalize on your brand and value proposition

Leading with your brand and value proposition is essential. This will help grab people's attention and let them know what you're all about. The brand logo will help revive customers' memories of your business, while the value proposition will make you stand out from the competition.

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Use the Snapchat lifestyle categories

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This feature allows you to target people based on their preferences. You will only serve ads that are relevant to what they have been watching or are interested in; hence they will not be spammed by all types and themes of ads.

Include a visual call to action

This could be something as simple as an arrow pointing to your snap code or website.

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Use the retargeting feature

Snapchat offers a retargeting feature called Ad Engagement Audiences. It is specific to actions taken on Snapchat and can retarget people based on their initial actions on your first ad. You can leverage the feature to nurture potential customers throughout the funnel.

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Link your snapchat ads to the right landing page

Choosing the right landing page for your ad is key to the success of your campaign. Which landing page is the right one will depend on your ad content and objective. Still, you can either send them directly to a product page, or if you are not targeting previous customer, you can send link to a piece of content to continue working on your conversion funnel. 

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By following these best practices, you'll be sure to create successful Snapchat ads that convert! 

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