- Snapchat is a messaging app that users use to send pictures and videos that are automatically deleted after a short time.
- The majority of users are between 13 and 25 years old.
- About 200 million people worldwide use the service every month, 100 million even daily.
- In addition to normal people, these include numerous celebrities and online multipliers, as well as more and more media houses and brands.
- Snapchat isn’t just a US phenomenon. The app is also popular in Europe. Snapchat is still underestimated on the German market.
Mark Zuckerberg recognized the future potential of Snapchat as early as 2013 and wanted the start-up to develop further in the Facebook cosmos. But Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel gave the industry leader a basket. Apparently, even then, he understood the appeal of disappearing content for users. And that the hype surrounding his company should not be a short-term affair. So Spiegel turned down the offer of three billion dollars.
“There are very few people in the world who get the opportunity to build a company like this. Trading that for short-term gain isn’t particularly interesting,” Spiegel told Forbes at the time . The advances has made to date prove the brains behind the app right. Although it can be argued whether the development of the company’s current fabulous course of estimated 19 billion dollars actually justified. At the same time, however, the course shows why the platform is probably the most underestimated social network in Germany. In our Snapchat business public profile series, we highlight a different aspect of the Snapchat ecosystem in each installment. In the first part we address the question: What is Snapchat, who uses it and how do you communicate via the app?
More and more people are sending short videos and pictures – so-called snaps – to friends. The app records an insane seven billion video views – every day. For comparison: Facebook doesn’t do much more with eight billion. About 200 million people worldwide use the service every month, 100 million even daily. In addition to normal people, these include numerous celebrities and online multipliers, as well as more and more media houses and brands. They all – bloggers and influencers, journalists, companies, stars and starlets – share their everyday life with other people via the app with the little ghost as a trademark.
The customers of tomorrow
Snapchat is still underestimated on the German market. There is currently a little hype surrounding the app. However, only a few seem to be aware of the real scope of the disruption that Snapchat could trigger. One can speak of underestimating above all because the majority of people active on Snapchat are between 13 and 25 years old. Tomorrow’s customers account for 71 percent of users. Young women in particular are enthusiastic about the app – 70 percent of users are female.
The fact that Snapchat isn’t just making waves on the other side of the pond is shown by the following figures : 25 percent of smartphone users in Great Britain use Snapchat. In Norway, it’s a whopping 50 percent, while the app “only” reaches 11 percent of the digital US population. In an international comparison, the USA still has the most users. But the positive European examples show that the trend is not just a US phenomenon, but also promises success on the local market. For example, Ireland has the highest density of Snapchat users in the world.
From early adopters and fans
This user pattern makes Snapchat interesting for all people who want to get in touch with the young target group. Platforms like Snapchat are worth their weight in gold, especially for celebrities. Here, a wide variety of public figures, from soccer pro David Alaba (Snapchat: da_twentyseven) to singer Lena Meyer-Landrut (Snapchat: helloleni) to Arnold Schwarzenegger (Arnoldschnitzel), can show that they are close to their fans.
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But bloggers, Instagrammers, YouTubers and Co. also show their skills as early adopters. In other words, as people who are not afraid of new, innovative concepts in the digital world and who try them out without prejudice. Both groups – stars and influencers – do this by actively seeking interaction with their followers. “I can communicate very directly with the followers on Snapchat,” explains blogger Mathias Winks (Snapchat: MC_Winkel) about the added value that Snapchat offers, among other things.
How does this work?
Users communicate with their “friends” via Snapchat. Unlike WhatsApp, for example, the focus is not on text, but on images. The term “friends” is broad on Snapchat. This includes private contacts, closed groups or accounts from stars or companies. In general, the app offers two different forms of communication.
The most popular so far is the purely private one, in which friendly users – this is what WhatsApp has in common – can send each other photos, videos or text messages. These are only ever visible to the recipient for a predetermined number of seconds. After that, users can no longer see the images. The Snapchat Stories are another way to keep in touch with friends. All snaps within 24 hours are combined into one long film strip. A story can be retrieved multiple times. Unlike normal snaps, it is not deleted after viewing it once, but is available for 24 hours.
However, not all of the various possible uses of the app are immediately apparent. Many people are confused by the interface when using it for the first time. This isn’t self-explanatory, and without a lot of experimental touchscreen swiping, Google, or a Snapchat-savvy friend to lend a helping hand , the first attempt can be frustrating. However, those who overcome the initial difficulties often get hooked on Snapchat.
What’s next?
In the next part of our Snapchat series, we’ll explain in more detail how the app works and what’s possible with it. In addition, we show in other parts how celebrities and multipliers use Snapchat for their purposes and which things work particularly well.
