Weekly Prompt: Snapchat's new Sponsored Snaps and other news

Snapchat expands ad offerings with Sponsored Snaps

Snapchat has announced the launch of Sponsored Snaps, a new advertising feature that will allow brands to send promotional messages directly to users' chat inboxes. Traditionally, Snapchat’s inbox has been ad-free, but the company is now integrating paid content as part of its strategy to expand its growing advertising business.

When they launch, Sponsored Snaps will appear as new Snaps in the chat inbox without push notifications, giving users the choice of whether to open them or not. According to CEO Evan Spiegel, this format allows advertisers to engage users at every stage of the marketing funnel, from raising awareness to driving conversions with in-message call-to-action options. Spiegel emphasised that users’ personal conversations will remain private and will not be used for advertising purposes.

In addition to Sponsored Snaps, Snapchat is introducing Promoted Places, a feature that allows businesses to highlight their physical locations on the Snap Map. This tool is designed to help companies reach users exploring nearby areas and track the impact of their promotions using privacy-safe measurement tools.

Snapchat’s latest ad offerings reflect its focus on growing lower-funnel revenue, particularly from small- and medium-sized businesses. The company plans to continue evolving its advertising tools, with future updates expected to include generative AI-powered messaging features that can integrate with advertisers' customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Sources:  MediaPost, Mobile Marketing Magazine, Social Media Today

Additional prompts

Google has expanded its AI-powered Virtual Try-On tool to now include dresses, allowing users to virtually try on dresses from hundreds of brands. Dresses are a highly searched category. The tool, first launched last year, uses diffusion technology to create lifelike images that show how clothing drapes and forms on real people in different poses. Read more

Instagram is introducing a new feature allowing replies in Broadcast Channels. Selected creators now have the option to enable replies, giving subscribers the ability to leave comments directly within the channel. However, these replies will not be visible in the main channel feed. Read more

TikTok has launched a new 'Notes' type feature, similar to Instagram's, enabling users to share short messages with friends, the public, or privately. Notes can be added to TikTok Stories and are displayed on profile avatars. This feature follows the success of Instagram's Notes, which has gained popularity, particularly among younger users. Read more

YouTube is expanding its AI-powered comment topics feature to support additional languages. Originally launched in November last year, this feature organises video comments into categories for easier navigation. In addition to enhancing viewer engagement, YouTube notes that creators can use these comment summaries to refine their content strategies. Read more