Nikki Gilliland says, “I recently wrote about how Instagram’s copycat tactics could be damaging Snapchat. Well, Facebook’s been at it again. It’s just announced the introduction of disappearing photos and videos into its messaging app, WhatsApp. Which, yes, is a feature that is pretty much identical to Snapchat Stories. So, what will this mean for users of both? And what about brands? Here’s a bit more on the story. What is the ‘Status’ feature? WhatsApp has always provided users with the option of having a ‘status’. It’s the little phrase beside a person’s name that... [...]

Eric Siu says, “One of the golden rules of marketing is that the first companies to hop on a new platform usually see the biggest returns on their investment. Back in the 1990s, it was normal to have email open rates over 90 percent. Back when AdWords first started, it was easy to get highly competitive keywords for rock bottom prices. When Facebook first let marketers run ads, the cost per lead was much lower than it is today. As platforms become more established, they also end up costing more. That’s why the best marketers usually take advantage of new platforms before everybody else. Today,... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “On Thursday, Snapchat filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public. The move, which has been anticipated for some time, paves the way for the biggest initial public offering (IPO) since Facebook made its debut on the NASDAQ exchange in May 2012. Snapchat’s S-1 filing with the SEC revealed lots of information about the company and its business. Here are 10 of the most interesting titbits. Snapchat’s revenue is pretty big and getting bigger, but its losses are pretty big too Snapchat is generating just over $400m in revenue annually,... [...]

IR team says, “Snap Inc. reveals that Snapchat has 158 million daily active users, and it could raise up to $4 billion in the initial public offering. Snap Inc., the maker of the disappearing photo app Snapchat, filed publicly for an initial offering, the first U.S. social-media company to do so since Twitter Inc. more than three years ago. The company filed with an initial size of $3 billion, a placeholder amount used to calculate fees that may change. Snap plans to raise as much as $4 billion in the IPO, people familiar with the matter have said, for a market value of as much as $25 billion. Snap’s... [...]

Amanda Zantal-Wiener says, “Here at HubSpot, we’re not shy about our fondness of Snapchat. Heck, we even devoted an entire day to recruiting via Snapchat. But maybe not everyone is as crazy about the app as we are. Personal feelings aside, it’s time to start taking it seriously. If nothing else, there’s something to be said for Snapchat’s off-the-charts growth. It’s shown a 12% average year-over-year increase in revenue since 2014, and is estimated to earn just short of $1 billion is 2017. Why is it worth so much? Because people are listening and watching. In... [...]

Tamar Weinberg says, “Snapchat is launching a new Facebook-inspired ad platform. While it has had an API since 2016, today marks its official opening of the platform out of beta with 16 partnerships already in play and a goal of reaching a wider user base, including brands and agencies, and allowing them to buy directly on the social network. To date, the Snapchat API has benefited more than 100 brands. With the help of marketing technology platform 4C, US brands like Gatorade and Nissan have already captured the eyeballs of millions of Snapchat’s users. The official API launched in October... [...]

Laura Forer says, “Snapchat has more than 150 million users, but many marketers don’t yet know how to tap into its audience. Delmondo, a video analytics software platform and creative studio, has put together an infographic containing facts about Snapchat as well as tips on how to use its marketing and advertising features. “Snapchat is ideal for real-time social media marketing because it can give the audience direct access to live events,” the infographic states. Snapchat’s most expensive offering is Discover ads, starting at over $40,000, according to the infographic. But... [...]

Tom Brant says, “Snapchat’s news section, called “Discover,” often resembles the magazine rack at the checkout line in your local supermarket. This afternoon, for example, its top stories have headlines like “9 Epic Stage Falls You Need to See to Believe” (from People) and “Iggy gets jiggy with new man” (from the Daily Mail), with raunchy and wacky photos to accompany each one. Although Snapchat may be open to publishers who blur the line between news and clickbait, it is worried about crossing over that line into the realm of fake news, according... [...]

Travis Bernard says, “Snapchat’s current geofilter product is a nightmare for event managers, brands, and any commercial business because anyone can coat-tail or hijack the space. Let’s say you’re holding a political rally at City Hall, and you want to buy a geofilter for the augmented Snapchat space at the event. When you go to purchase it from Snapchat, your plan gets rejected. Why? Someone else has already bought the augmented space. Snapchat’s current policy is “first come, first served,” and you can’t reserve a geofilter more than 30 days in advance. The first person to... [...]

Josh Constine says, “Snap Inc.’s quest to earn enough money to IPO sees it flip-flopping after pledging not to use “creepy” ad targeting. Snap will now allow advertisers to use Oracle’s Data Cloud (formerly Datalogix) third-party data about what users buy offline to target ads on Snapchat, according to The Wall Street Journal. Snap tells TechCrunch that this rolled out over the last few weeks, and will allow targeting to 100 different customer demographics like “cosmetics shopper” or “consumer tech shopper.” That’s a 180 from what VentureBeat reported Snap CEO Evan Spiegel... [...]