If you’re looking to make an impact with your affiliate marketing this year, it’s important for you to get to grips with the different social media platforms and content styles that are in vogue right now. After all, digital marketing is constantly changing, and it’s important for you to maximise on the latest formats if you want to reach as many people as possible.

One of the most essential types of content to work on this year is ephemeral content. Ephemeral simply means ‘lasting for a very short amount of time’ and, in this context, it refers to temporary content on social media. It’s a great style to use if you want to pique people’s interest and get them engaged with your brand- therefore, it works well for affiliate sales.

The best platform to use for this sort of marketing is Snapchat. If you’re looking to reach a modern, energetic audience, this is a platform that you absolutely cannot afford to leave out of your affiliate content marketing strategy this year.

In this blog post, we’re going to be taking an in-depth look at Snapchat and what affiliate marketers need to know about it. We’ll be covering;

●  What the platform is and who uses it
●  The types of Snapchat content and adverts that suit affiliate marketers
●  Important things to consider when marketing with Snapchat

If you’re looking to make an impact with your marketing, this guide will help you to do so.

 

What exactly is Snapchat?

To make sure that we’re all on the same page, let’s take a quick look at what Snapchat actually is. Snapchat is a unique messaging app, created in 2011. It allows users to send temporary picture and video messages to each other, upload imagery to personal stories (hubs for temporary pictures that others can view) and engage with chats, too.

On a deeper level, there are a number of handy features that Snapchat offers. There’s a map function, where people can view other users and engage with geo-location based stories. There are celebrity and brand stories, photo filters, private memory folders and playable games in the camera, too.

Put simply, Snapchat offers a lot of potential for content marketers and brands. As this handy blog post points out, around 265 million people use Snapchat every day, around the world. The 13-24 age group is thriving on this platform, sharing their daily lives and opinions with their friends. Users create over 210 million pieces of content on this platform every day.

Thankfully, Snapchat is relatively simple to use. If you’ve not used it before and you’re wondering about whether it could benefit your content marketing strategy, why not download it today? The setup process is quick, and you can get a first hand feel for what people are engaging with by using the app yourself.

 

Who uses Snapchat at the moment?

We briefly covered the audience style on Snapchat, but it’s worth covering this in more depth. Snapchat is relatively unique when it comes to social media marketing, and platforms, considering its audience and content styles. As this useful blog post points out, the audience tends to be much younger and they go from here to Instagram and TikTok.

In terms of the UK market specifically, just over 75% of users are within the 18-24 age range, closely followed by the 35-44 age range. It’s known as being a teenage platform, and it’s worth noting that globally, the most common age range on the platform is 13-24.

While this may seem vague, it says a lot about the different styles and content formats that Snapchat users will come to expect. They expect fast paced, ever-changing content, covering pop culture and current trends equally. This is an incredibly fast moving platform, with new trends and influencers popping out all the time.

Generally speaking, if you’re looking to market to a younger segment of customers and generate a passionate, lively audience over time, this is absolutely the platform for you- especially if you’ve found success with Instagram stories and TikTok content, too.

 

What types of content can you create with Snapchat?

There are plenty of different kinds of content that users can create with Snapchat, and it’s good to have a decent understanding of these, in order to understand what your audience is spending their time doing on the platform.

We’ve already covered that people can send multiple types of messages on Snapchat. These include photo messages, video messages, voice notes and text messages.

The messaging section of Snapchat is relatively simple, and the most important thing to note is that the content disappears unless saved. For example, a user can send a photo and select ‘play once’ when sending, meaning that it cannot be seen again. If the other user takes a screenshot or screen capture, the first user will receive a notification.

The story section of snapchat is the most notable. Users can upload videos and photos to their own personal stories, where other users can view them and engage with them. The audience for these stories is determined by the creator e.g. someone can set their story to custom, so that only a select group can view it.

Brands and businesses can create story-styled content, too. These can be found on the stories page, along with short form video content, a subscriptions tab and news stories from mainstream news publications, too. Another key feature of Snapchat that’s worth noting is the filters. One of the main things that kick-started Snapchat’s rise to popularity is the fun, quirky mix of photo and video filters that the app offers in its built in camera. This can include ‘beauty’ filters that remove blemishes or add makeup, or silly things like dog ears and flower crowns.

The map feature on Snapchat allows for story-styled content with geo-locations added, which is another unique feature. By heading to the map tab, viewers can zoom out and view where their friends are, and engage with multicoloured dots on the world map that relate to location-tagged story content around the world.

Generally speaking, Snapchat offers a huge variety of content styles and ways to interact with the world. The short form video content aspect competes nicely with Instagram Reels and TikTok and the story aspect competes with Instagram too. It’s the ideal platform for finding your audience and engaging with them on a personal level.

 

What types of Snapchat adverts are there?

As we’ve covered Snapchat from the perspective of a consumer now, let’s dive into how content creators and affiliate marketers can utilise this platform effectively. The main types of adverts and content that you should be looking to create include;

●  Single piece adverts. To start off with, some adverts utilise just a single image or video. There isn’t one particular business objective that they cover- they’re ideal for everything from garnering brand awareness, to generating affiliate sales.

As this advert style is non intrusive, they’re great to start off with if you’ve never marketed on Snapchat before. Spend some time trying out different types of content- e.g. turn your video advert into a fun GIF, to see whether this boosts sales.

●  Personalised filters. Filters can be added to photos and videos by users, and they can be branded to promote your work effectively. These are particularly effective for generating brand awareness, and often work with a relatable, personable touch. Try creating one that shows off your brand values, or the city that you started off in.

●  Branded lenses. In a similar vein to filters, lenses are added to photos and videos through the usage of augmented reality features. They’re ideal for encouraging brand engagement, entertaining audiences and generating brand awareness further, too.

●  Story adverts. You can display a collection of content in the ‘discover’ tab, to help capture the interest of new audience members and build up excitement about any new product launches or releases.

●  Product catalogues. This shoppable advert format truly lends itself to affiliate marketing, and is an amazing way to generate sales in the long term.

●  Video commercials. Finally, video commercials are amazing for encouraging website sign-ups and sales, too. They’re non-skippable for 6 seconds, which can generate annoyance for some viewers, so it’s important to keep them fun and engaging.

No matter what kind of product or service it is that you’re looking to promote, you’re sure to find the perfect type of advert to work with on this platform. It’s worth trying out a few different types and keeping tabs of the results, in order to perfect your strategy.

 

What should you consider with a Snapchat campaign?

Now that we’ve taken a look at what Snapchat is and how affiliate marketers can use it effectively, let’s dive into the important elements that make up an effective social media marketing campaign on the platform.

For starters, it’s essential to remember that Snapchat is an inherently personal platform. While platforms like LinkedIn have a serious and professional tone and Twitter is fast paced and energetic, Snapchat is known for being informal and providing relatable content.

This means that if you want to find success here, you have to be authentic.

As we’ve noted, the audience on Snapchat tends to skew younger. Younger consumers have grown up with the internet and social media, and they can tell when a brand is being inauthentic or using outdated tropes very easily. People log onto Snapchat to entertain themselves, and to interact with their favourite celebrities or brands.

Take a look at this article as an example of how younger audiences can spot poor marketing efforts.The brand went in with good intentions, but used an outdated format and tried to fit in too aggressively. The results were negative, and the brand was left feeling out of sorts. Being authentic and keeping up to date with what’s current is vital here.

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours pouring over memes and cartoons online, of course. Simply spend some time each week looking through relevant hashtags and content hubs on various platforms online to get a grip for what your audience is enjoying, and use this to make quick, punchy content.

It’s worth noting that knowing your audience is equally as important for successful affiliate marketing sales via Snapchat, too. Two different people can log onto Snapchat at the same time and have a vastly different experience- depending on who they are, who they follow, where they are and what they’re interested in.

To really get the most out of your affiliate marketing content on Snapchat, we’d recommend spending some time looking at why your audience would want to purchase from you.

Editor’s note: RevSocial helps you monetise your social channel with our database giving you access to millions of discounts and offers your audience are likely to buy from.  

Sure, your product is great and you know that it’s high quality. But why should they care? Does it solve a problem or bring them joy? It may sound dull to do this for all of your individual products and services, but spending some time looking at the specific reasons why your audience should care will help to polish up your marketing efforts even further.

It’s also worth considering the ephemeral nature of Snapchat when you’re developing your affiliate marketing campaign. Snapchat stories, for example, disappear after a day. Why not promote an exclusive offer to them on your story? This will help to show them that your story is valuable and worth checking in on, and help to develop your relationship with them further.

All in all, Snapchat can be a fantastic place to run an affiliate marketing campaign- whether you’re an affiliate yourself or part of a team running a larger campaign. The most important things to remember is to be authentic, to know who you’re selling to and to give them a relatable reason why they need to get involved.

 

What targeting options are there for Snapchat sales?

Finally, it’s worth going over the different targeting options that are available on the Snapchat platform. One of the best things about Snapchat from the perspective of a marketer is that it allows for a lot of unique, personal touches to be added to a piece of content, in order to engage with the customer on a deeper level.

To start off with, you can utilise pixel custom audiences effectively on Snapchat content. By using this handy targeting feature, you can take a look back at audience members who have interacted with your website already, and provide them with niche, targeted content to help them find exactly what they’re looking for.

Another handy targeting feature that affiliate marketers can capitalise on with Snapchat is Snap audience match. Do you have a list of contact details that you want to use in your work? If so, you can use this to match your audience and target a specific group of them when uploading your content to the platform. It’s a very handy tool.

Following that theme, you can also utilise the lookalike audience feature- as set out on their official website here. This brilliant tool is a wonderful way to engage and interact with new people who are sure to enjoy your content, and it can be a great way to boost your affiliate sales on Snapchat as a whole, too.  

Snapchat also offers custom audience features, where you can generate your target audience based on advertising data. This allows you to create much more targeted content, based on existing data and saving you time in the process.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Snapchat offers brilliant retargeting features for affiliate marketers to utilise, too. Whether someone’s bought from you before, watched an advert or swiped up for a link, you’ll be able to target them more effectively with the built in analytical tools and features on the Snapchat account management platform.

 

Simplify your affiliate marketing with RevGlue.com today

All in all, Snapchat is a truly wonderful platform to consider if you’re looking to make the most out of your content marketing this year. It’s an ideal platform for targeting modern audiences and getting them to engage with your work on a personal level. Getting your brand personality and ideals across in marketing can be tricky, but Snapchat is the perfect tool to do this with.

If you haven’t checked out Snapchat before, now would be the perfect time to do so. The platform is only getting more and more popular nowadays, with new people signing up every day. Platforms with tools like stories are immensely popular, and other social media platforms are quickly adding these tools to their own repertoires.

While putting together a Snapchat campaign, make sure to have a good grasp of what your audience will be looking for. Consider how to make your campaign fun and approachable, focusing more on building trust with your audience than directly trying to sell them something. Snapchat is ideal for authentic content marketing styles.

Putting together this piece was great, as it allowed us to revisit the importance of ephemeral, personable content. We hope you found it helpful for your work. If you’d like to read more blog posts and guides, do make sure to take a look at our full website here. The team at RevGlue is passionate about supporting marketers and influencers, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy our work.

Would you like to ask any questions or learn more about our work? If so, we would be happy to help you out. Please do feel free to contact us here- a member of our team would be happy to answer any queries that you might have today.