Dive Brief:

• Snapchat is now providing marketers with three new ways to target its users, including by email address, device-specific advertising identifiers, content-based categories and even lookalike audiences, according to Marketing Land.
• The three new ad targeting options are called Snap Audience Match, Lookalikes, and Snapchat Lifestyle Categories. The targeting tools can be used for advertising in places where Snapchat's vertical video ads can run, including between Stories, in Live Stories and on the Discover portal.
• The new targeting capabilities can’t be used to target Sponsored Lenses. The Snap Audience Match and Lookalikes targeting tools are already available, while the Snapchat Lifestyle Categories tool is expected to be rolled out widely later this year.  

​Dive Insight:

Unlike most social media platforms, Snapchat notoriously did not offer the ad measurement and targeting tools that marketers have come to expect. Snapchat maintained it wanted to help users avoid "creepy" advertising, but the platform has been changing its tack since earlier this year: Even though Snapchat has been careful to protect its user base from intrusive ads, it has been making moves to attract advertisers by launching an API and improving targeting and measurement capabilities. Snapchat has recently added measurement tools, partnered with third party measurement firms, and rolled out expanded targeting options to help advertisers quantify the value of advertising on the platform.

The expanded targeting options will make it easier for marketers to reach a highly desired millennial and Gen Z audience within Snapchat’s 150 million daily users. Snapchat’s basic targeting already includes age, gender, location, device or OS, mobile carrier, and content affinity based on the Discover portal. In late August, it announced a new behavioral targeting category based on users’ activity in the app.

According to eMarketer, Snapchat’s user base is expected to grow 27% this year and continue with double digit growth into next year as well. However, the growth may dilute some of Snapchat's appeal: The new users are expected to be older than Snapchat’s millennial and Gen Z-heavy user base.