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Snapchat Surging Ahead of Social Media Rivals

By Tinuiti Team

About one in five Americans will be Snapchat users this year. For the first time, Snapchat will pull ahead of Twitter and Pinterest in the US. These two mobile messaging apps will continue to fall behind Snapchat within the next four years. In addition, Snapchat is the fastest-growing chat app among teenagers and millennials. Its biggest user base happens to be between 18 and 24. As a result, Snapchat is a force to be reckoned with in the social media world and is primed to become a real player in the advertising world.

The Booming Business of Snapchat

Snapchat is expecting substantial growth in American users this year. Its user base is predicted to increase by 27.2 percent, allowing it to acquire 58.6 million new people. Furthermore, its expansion will go beyond that of general mobile messaging. This category will grow by 16 percent. Compared to other social media platforms,Snapchat is still in the lead. Snapchat has also seen growth in users over the after of 35, making it a desirable place for targeted advertising to reach those in demand demographics.

Twitter is expecting 56.8 million new users while Pinterest is looking forward to gaining 54.6 million. Over 26 million new users will join Snapchat by 2020, which is about twice the amounts of Twitter and Pinterest. But Snapchat is no match for Facebook Messenger. It will continue its reign as the most popular chat app, with 105.2 million new users in 2016.

Why Users Love Snapchat So Much


Snapchat offers photo and video capabilities that are more personal to users.

Snapchat provides users with a more colorful, interactive experience. The highly visual interface, innovative image modifiers, and the temporary nature of communication inspires more engagement among users. In other words, messaging people turns out to be more fun, compared to other social networks. No wonder America’s youth have fallen in love with this app more than other age groups.

Snapchat further impresses with its intimate messaging capabilities. It’s convenient to share content with a few loved ones rather than broadcasting it live for an entire network of users. This is a great option for those who value introverted activity on social media.

Snapchat for Your Business

With all of these attractive features and demographics, Snapchat is primed for an advertising explosion. In the past few months, they have opened up their API to a handful of new partners, including industry leaders 4C, Amobee, VaynerMedia, Brand Networks, SocialCode, TubeMogul, Adaptly and Unified. They have also recently rolled out Snap Ads Between Stories, which are directly placed in users story feeds, This is an expansion of placement outside of their original ad buys which were tied to the Discover feed.

While most of Snapchat’s current ad offerings are more geared towards awareness-focused advertisers, they are making strides to expand their direct response offerings. Once such ad product will allow users to swipe up during or after a video ad and be taken to a microsite optimized for an ecommerce experience. Snapchat is currently testing this offering through betas with brands like Lancome.

Snapchat is a practical tool to display advertising. If your business hasn’t explored this option yet, give it a try. Sure, it will take more creative thought to pull off, compared to other platforms. But Snapchat is committed to helping brands grow more than other popular apps right now. Why not get in on the action?

Instagram Stories: What does it mean for Snapchat?

Just this week, Instagram rolled out Instagram Stories, a nearly identical product to Snapchat, with disappearing photos, doodles and the like. The release has marketers wondering about the future of Snapchat. In an article from Mashable, Nick Cicero, CEO and founder of Delmondo told the publication that he thinks the two can co-exists due to the unique value of each of the platforms. “Snapchat has built value to their platform because they started out as a messaging channel and opened up to a broadcasting channel. Sure there are a ton of people who use Instagram and love it, but on the flip side, Snapchat takes a different tone and approach to all this,” he said.

There are currently not paid placements available through Instagram Stories, so in the short term, Snapchat still has the leg up in terms of paid content. Ian Schafer, CEO of digital agency Deep Focus, told Mashable. “Our clients budgets are growing on Snapchat. They’re steady on Instagram as well, but Snapchat is a way more engaging format.”

Overall, Snapchat is a practical tool to display advertising. If your business hasn’t explored this option yet, give it a try. Sure, it will take more creative thought to pull off, compared to other platforms. Why not get in on the action? To learn more about improving online advertisement, read our case study: Testing Facebook Ads To Sell Out Arenas.

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