How to Sell on Snapchat: 8 Methods For Success

Snapchat is home to 406 million users, making it a hot spot for marketing! With so many Snapchatters using the platform on the go, Snapchat has proven to be a powerful app for digital storytelling, connecting millions together. 

In recent times, the platform has paved its way into the eCommerce domain, which has helped small to big businesses advertise and sell their products. 

With an expansive user base, Snapchat mainly consists of the younger generations, especially Generation Z and Millenials. The app is dominated by 50% male users globally and is a prominent spot for teenagers and young adults. The majority of the traffic on the app is generated from the United States, India, the UK, France, and Pakistan, making it a great tool for building an international presence. 

Considering this, it’s important to formulate a marketing strategy that attracts the audience and can convert leads into buyers. In this blog, we have developed a structure you can implement for maximum results. 

Let’s dive deeper and understand how you can sell on Snapchat. 

How Can You Sell On Snapchat?

Selling on Snapchat entails – 

Creating A Snapchat Store 

A store on Snapchat is an extension of your online store. You can easily connect your product catalog and sell your products in one place. With a Snapchat Store, you can create a sales channel on your Public Profile, where other Snapchatters can easily view, engage, discover, and buy products directly from the store. 

The product data is supplied directly from the product catalog and helps create product detail pages. You can add a product catalog manually or with the help of data feed URLs. 

This feature is in the Beta stage. You might need to check if you’re eligible to create it. 

Running Snapchat Ads 

You can easily set up ad campaigns on Snapchat. There are various ways to advertise on the platform – through Snap Ads, Story Ads, Dynamic Ads, Collections, and Commercials. 

It’s easy to set up ad campaigns based on the marketing intent – 

• For Awareness 
• For Consideration 
• For Conversion

Leveraging eCommerce Platform Integrations 

Snapchat allows you to integrate eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc. You can easily connect your product feed from these platforms to Shopify and use it to create a Snapchat Store or run ad campaigns. 

If you’re a Shopify merchant, you can also get the Snapchat Ads app for your campaigns from the Shopify app store. 

You can use multiple ways to sell your products on Snapchat. But, before you begin with the selling process, you must have certain prerequisites set. 

Important Elements Needed To Sell On Snapchat

To drive higher engagement and reach the maximum Snapchatters you need these crucial elements to start selling on Snapchat.

Naturally, having the Snapchat app is a basic requirement before you delve into the selling process. Now, let’s focus on the subsequent elements and why you need them –

Snapchat for Business

Apart from sending Snaps and maintaining streaks, Snapchat also allows all types of businesses, small to big, to market their goods and services on the platform. Snapchat for Business helps with –  

• Running ad campaigns.
• Building brand awareness.
• Integrating online stores.
• Creating a Snapchat Shop.
• Reaching your target audience.
• Creating user-generated content.
• Analyzing customer (Snapchatters) engagement and gaining insights.

Snapchat for Business lets you access different features to create creative campaigns and content that speaks to your target audience. It helps you add the ‘fun’ element to your marketing with the help of Filters, AR (augmented reality), Lenses, Stories, Discover, Spotlight, and more.

To take your content to your audience, you need to set up the following – 

• Snapchat Business Account 
• Snapchat Business Manager 

Snapchat Business Account

This account lets you access all the creative features needed to market your products. Your business account creates a ‘Business Profile’ for your brand and a landing page for customers who wish to learn more about your products. 

This profile needs to be public to be accessible. To create it, follow these steps –

• Install the Snapchat app from the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android). 
• Set up your account by providing a username, password, location, etc. Fill in all the necessary fields and proceed. 

Now that your main account on Snapchat is set up, it’s time to switch it to a ‘Business account.’

• To create a business account, visit the Snapchat Business Manager. 

• Fill in the fields, and your Business Account is set. 

Snapchat Business Manager

Just like Facebook Business Manager, Snapchat also has a Business Manager that is used for –

• Creation of content and ads
• Tracking conversions made through ads with the help of Snap Pixel. This is done on the Events Manager. 
• Adding your product catalog. If you own an eCommerce store, you can easily upload and manage your product feed on Snapchat. 
• Use augmented reality (AR) to build creative lenses to engage your audience. 
• Gain insights on customer activity and track the performance of your ad campaigns, content, etc. 

Different Methods Of Selling On Snapchat

Snapchat for Business offers various interactive features that help with immediate user engagement. It offers a plethora of ways to market your products. 

Let’s explore these features in-depth – 

Run Snap Ad Campaigns

To advertise your brand, Snapchat for Business offers a feature called Snapchat Ads, where you can create ad campaigns and advertise your products across the app. You can create targeted ads based on the audience’s interests, demographics, gender, age, location, etc. 

Snapchat ads appear between the organic content. They can be an image or a video, usually lasting for a few seconds to minutes. To create an ad campaign, you need to set up a business account and switch it to a public profile, a Snapchat Business Manager, and a Snapchat Ads Manager. 

Run ad campaigns with the help with the help of Snap Pixel. 

A Snap Pixel is a piece of code written in JavaScript that helps an advertiser and merchant track their ad campaigns on Snapchat and retarget those ads to existing customers. 

If you have an eCommerce store, you can connect it with the app so that customers can reach your website directly and faster. 

Note: You can also advertise on Snapchat without an eCommerce store.

Here are the different types of Snapchat ads a merchant can choose to implement –

Story Ads – Connect with your audience in your Discover feed, showcasing 3 to 20 snaps of content. 

Collection Ads – Enable easy product browsing and purchase with four clickable tiles on Snapchat.  

Commercials – Unskippable ads on Snapchat lasting six seconds to three minutes, allowing brands to convey longer messages. 

Dynamic Ads – Auto-display products based on user actions, like cart abandonment, with personalized ads on mobile. 

How Much Does It Cost To Run Snapchat Ads?

When running ads, set a budget and adjust spending based on reach and the number of ads. Snapchat recommends allocating $20-50 daily during the Exploration Phase for optimal results. This phase enhances the platform’s understanding of the target audience, improving ad effectiveness. 

Faster completion of this phase enhances Snapchat’s performance. Merchants receive $75 in free ad credit when spending $50 to kickstart their first campaign.

Also read: Understand Snapchat costs better with the right budget strategy, and understand Snapchat terminologies in this guide.

Marketing Through Bitmojis

Bitmojis are the latest fad on Snapchat. If you have an apparel, shoes, hair color, or makeup business, then use Bitmojis to promote your brand. Almost every Snapchatter has a Bitmoji on their profile, and they love giving it a makeover from time to time. 

Check out how Valentino has added its latest collection to ‘Bitmoji fashion’ to promote their brand. 

Snap Stories

If you have a following (people who actively engage with your content firsthand) on your Snapchat business profile, you can easily create Snap Stories that stay up for 24 hours and are visible to followers. If you have new leads navigating your business profile, they can also view these stories. This is one way to create awareness about new launches, products, sales, etc. 

Highlights

Highlights a collection of all stories that you’ve posted. They help potential leads check previous stories to enhance engagement. You can also add links to your online stores in these story highlights so that these leads can directly view the product they wish to learn more about and purchase. 

Spotlight

Just like reels on Instagram and TikTok, Spotlight lets you add longer videos in which you can describe your products and display practical ways to use or promote them.  A practical guide on Spotlight can help drive sales. 

Single Images or Videos

Single images or videos are suitable for various goals. Simply attach a link to your website or app download, and users can swipe up to take action.

Along with this, Snapchat also allows you to add ‘swipe up to call’ and ‘swipe up to text’ options, making it easier to influence your buyers’ decisions.

Lenses

Merchants can create engaging augmented reality (AR) advertisements. Through the Lens Web Builder, users can select from various 3D elements, animations, and effects to craft personalized AR lenses for their brand. 

Filters

Geo filters are overlays for snaps that users can add by swiping left or right. They highlight places like neighborhoods, parks, restaurants, and shops. These ads target active users in specific locations and can be adjusted based on interests, gender, and age.

Now that you have a good understanding of how you can sell on Snapchat, it’s time to focus on various strategies that you must incorporate into your selling process to boost engagement and revenue. 

Advanced Marketing Techniques For Snapchat Success

Creating content that resonates with the users and grabs their attention is vital on Snapchat. Content that doesn’t speak to your target Snapchatters has a higher chance of being skipped, leading to lower conversions. 

To make the most of it, let’s explore different strategies that you must implement in order to get maximum impressions and conversions. 

1. Track The Performance Of Your Business On Snapchat

With the help of metrics, you can easily track the health of your campaigns on Snapchat and strategize ways to improve the overall performance. These metrics can help you analyze the following – 

• Views on stories, Spotlight, etc. 
• Information about the customer based on demographics 
• Your content’s reach
• Customers’ interests and activities

2. Link Online Store To Initiate Buying Process

Snapchat for Business can boost the checkout process by linking the product page or online store to the platform. This can help initiate the buying process as Snapchatters prefer the faster route to make a purchase rather than looking for your store on search engines. 

You can add the store link in stories, highlights, spotlight, your business profile’s bio, etc. 

3. Age Matters When Targeting Audience

As mentioned, Snapchat’s primary user base comprises Generation Z and Millennials. 

• Most Snapchat users are between 18 and 24, making up 38.5% of the app’s user base. 
• One-fifth of Snapchat’s audience is teenagers. 

However, there’s also a significant portion of users over 35 and 40. 

Therefore, merchants must clearly identify their target audience and estimate the potential reach of their campaign accordingly.

To achieve this:

• Conduct thorough market research. 
• Stay informed about current trends and create content that resonates with your audience’s interests. 
• Understand your potential audience and their pain points.

For example, if your brand sells sunglasses, it’s easy to build a campaign that targets multiple age groups and provides a fun experience for everyone. For this, you can utilize Snapchat’s AR lens feature to create sunglasses that Snapchatters can virtually experience the look and feel of. 

4. Create Limited Period Offers

Adding limited-period offers to stories, highlights, and spotlights can create a sense of urgency. It can help maximize sales and reduce cart abandonment, as time-sensitive offers help initiate the buying process faster.

This is also an effective way to increase customer loyalty. You can add discounts, especially for existing customers, to increase retention and maintain loyalty. 

You can even take it up a notch by displaying how a particular product is a popular choice amongst buyers. This helps build social proof and increases the chances of purchasing. 

5. Leverage Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing on Snapchat can attract highly engaged visitors who will likely convert. Look for popular influencers for your target audience on the platform, focusing on those capable of creating authentic content to promote your brand’s products, regardless of their fame or follower count. 

Ensure the influencers you choose have a credible reputation. Avoid those with negative reviews for sponsored programs or products and those displaying unfavorable social media behavior, as it could negatively impact your brand’s image. 

In this example, NikkieTutorials, an influencer, reviews a makeup product. 

6. Gamify The Selling Process

Make it interesting. Create contests where participants can win goodies, a free item when a customer makes a purchase worth a certain amount, points for different purchases, etc. 

You can ask the participants to click their selfies with your brand’s lenses and post them on their stories. Snapchatters who do this will win special offers or receive points. 

Gamifying the process can create more engagement and make customers to look forward to what comes next. This anticipation leads to customers returning to your Snapchat profile or online store. 

7. Create Tutorial Videos 

Create videos that showcase the practical use of the product. You can create tutorials and guides explaining how to use them. Give these tutorials a personal touch and add tips and tricks to help customers. These tutorials can go in Stories or Spotlights. 

Also, create videos on common issues some customers face. Include how they can resolve these issues, alternative solutions, or why your product is better than your competitors.  

8. Create Visually Appealing Content

On Snapchat, you have an edge – you can easily create content that’s creative and eye-catching with the help of filters and lenses. Your content must align with your brand and must have a personal touch. 

You can make behind-the-scenes of how things work, fun things about your co-workers, how they come up with innovative ideas, how planning is done, or how an order is boxed before shipping. 

Try playing with sneak peeks to build excitement. Share what’s new and coming soon in the market. Use words that keep the audience hooked and curious. You can even try your hand at creating musicals or dance videos that instantly grab the Snapchatter’s attention. 

9. Engage Snapchatters With Interactive Content

Create polls, quizzes, and Q&As to engage your audience. You can build these in your stories in a normal visual format or create a quizzing/polling lens. Create contests out of these lenses. Whoever wins will get a special discount on their next purchase or win an extra item for free. 

Another way to build interactivity is by asking customers to use your product and upload it to their Snapchat stories. Provide incentives after they create such content, like special deals, cashback, or extra goodies.

Give #Challenges a shot. Check out how Amazon creates a fun challenge called the ‘New Skill Challenge,’ where buyers demonstrate fun ways to use their products and packaging. 

10. Generate Testimonials

Testimonials can enhance social proof and encourage more engagement from your audience. It assures the new customers that your products are reliable and safe to use. It’s a good eCommerce marketing strategy that several top businesses incorporate.

Ask customers who bought an item from your online store to film a quick video explaining their satisfaction with the product.

As an eCommerce business, you can even integrate your online store with Snapchat if the store is running on an eCommerce platform like Shopify.

11. Use Business Snapcode

Snapcodes are unique QR codes that can be scanned with Snapchat to perform various actions, such as linking to websites, accessing exclusive content, adding friends, etc.

Scanning snapcode helps users find you and your brand’s unique filters, lenses, and content.

Here’s how to create a Snapcode:

Click on the settings icon in the top right-hand corner when in your business’s Snapchat account.

Select ‘Snapcodes’ from the dropdown.

Choose Create Snapcode, and add your URL.

Here’s how to share your Snapcode:

Open Snapchat > tap the profile icon > scan your Snapcode in your profile next to your display name and username. 

You can also add the Snapcode to your website, email signature, and merchandise. With snapcodes, you can reach a wider audience, get discovered easily, and engage users.

Conclusion

Time to take the spotlight and begin the journey of selling on Snapchat! By creating creative and authentic content, you can garner organic traffic and also reach a good amount of engagement. 

It’s safe to say that Snapchat is one of the best platforms to sell your products, especially when you are looking for an audience that is all about the latest trends, hashtags, and more. 

So, it’s time to maximize your sales on Snapchat and start advertising and selling your products!

You may also like to read: How To Install Snapchat Pixel On Shopify? Shopify Audiences: A Detailed Guide Auction Vs Reservation In Facebook Ads: The Key Differences The Complete Guide to Snapchat Ad Specs

FAQs

Why is Snapchat effective for eCommerce?

Snapchat offers ads, making it easier to take the leads (app users) to an e-commerce store. Not only that, but merchants can even connect their online stores and create campaigns for different purposes – awareness, generating sales, tracking leads, etc. Merchants can also create engaging filters and lenses through AR or collaborate with influencers who can advertise or mention your products. 

What types of ad formats are available on Snapchat for eCommerce brands?

Snapchat offers several ad formats suitable for eCommerce, including Story Ads, Snap Ads, Collection Ads, Dynamic ads, Single images or videos, Lenses, Filters, and commercials. These formats allow for storytelling, showcasing products, and driving direct engagement with your brand’s website or app.

How can I make my Snapchat account more appealing to potential customers?

Transform your private account into a public one to increase visibility. Use Stories, Highlights, and Spotlight to showcase your products and engage with your audience. Learn about the latest trends, your target audience’s interests, and the brands they prefer. 

What are some strategies to engage Snapchat users and drive sales?

Engage users by following back, sending personalized offers, and leveraging user-generated content. You can also use Snapchat’s targeting features to reach potential customers based on their interests and behaviors. Exclusive promotions and interactive content like quizzes or polls can further boost engagement. Run ad campaigns and retarget ads to the existing audience.

How can I measure the success of my Snapchat eCommerce campaigns?

To track your eCommerce campaigns and how well they’re doing, monitor key metrics such as delivery, spending, attachment rate, app installs, long-form video views, and conversions. Snapchat’s Ad Metrics Glossary provides detailed insights into what each metric means and how it can inform your strategy.

Can influencer marketing enhance my Snapchat eCommerce strategy?

Yes, partnering with influencers who resonate with your target audience can amplify your brand’s reach and credibility. Authentic endorsements and creative content from influencers can drive significant engagement and conversions.

What types of products sell well on Snapchat through Shopify?

Products that tend to perform well on Snapchat are those that appeal to younger demographics, are visually appealing, and can be showcased in a fun and engaging way. This includes fashion items, beauty products, gadgets, and lifestyle goods.

How do you make sales on Snapchat?

To make sales flow, implement strategies such as exclusive coupons, building hype for events, sharing creative product demonstrations, answering customer questions one-on-one, and telling the story behind your business. This can shape a whole new audience around your business and brand and helps increase the sale. 

Is Snapchat ad free?

While running ads on Snapchat, you can spend approximately $20-$50 daily if you utilize that much during the Exploration Phase. Finishing up the Phase helps optimize the ad performance and provides data for your audience to Snapchat. The minimum amount can go up to $5 per day. The app also offers $75 in free ad credit if you’re new. This occurs if you spend $50. 

Is selling on Snapchat worth it?

Yes, it is, especially if your target audience is between 18 and 24. You can utilize various methods to sell on Snapchat, such as stories, highlights, ads, bitmojis, and more. Additionally, it helps you create engaging content to drive traffic and reach new audiences.