Dive Brief:
- In an effort to expand their user bases on Snapchat, featured publishers on Snapchat Discover are looking to attract users on other social media platforms.
- The publishers are swapping out their respective Twitter and Facebook avatars with custom Snapchat QR Codes that will sign users up for the publisher’s Snapchat Story.
- Separately, with sponsored "lenses," marketers will also have a new ad option on Snapchat, which is expected to roll out over the next months in time for the holiday season.
Dive Insight:
Publishers featured in Snapchat Discover are taking a new approach to grow their user base by luring social media users from other platforms via custom Snapchat QR codes. The Huffington Post, Mic and Distractify are all testing the tactic, which allows web surfers to take a picture of the code with the Snapchat app and instantly become a follower of the publisher’s Snapchat Story.
Jake Beckman, Distractify vp of content strategy, told Digiday, “The friction here is pretty low. Snapchat users who see the code are already primed to think of Snapchat when they see it, and there’s a pretty low barrier to entry with it versus opening the app and searching for us directly.”
Snapchat upset its Discover partners recently after taking away a user's ability to share publishers’ ads with their friends. Seemingly to quell marketers' concerns, the ephemeral messaging app is also rolling out a new advertising option, sponsored “lenses." The one-day units expected to cost $750,000 for major holidays like Halloween and Christmas, and $450,000 on other days.
