Brands Tackle Snapchat’s Discovery Problem

Snapchat is more brand-friendly than many assume. While content is made available for 24 hours at best through Snapchat Stories and there are no paid reach opportunities, the limited nature of the platform fosters exclusive. The 1:1 messaging creates an unparalleled intimacy as users feel like they are receiving a private message, unlike a Facebook status which could be seen by the world.

The main issue will be discovery given the rudimentary search functionality. Some brands have become very savvy about leveraging Snapchat exclusives to grow a user base and doing so through other media platforms. Take Acura, for example, which introduced its NSX prototype in a 6 second video to the first 100 people who added them or 16 Handles which uses the service to deliver exclusive coupon offers.