Snapchat expands ad options with new ‘Sponsored Snaps’ feature

Snapchat is introducing new ad placement options to build on recent ad business growth and will soon offer deeper insights into app usage to help marketers understand user engagement better. The key announcement from Snap is the upcoming launch of “Sponsored Snaps.”

“Sponsored Snaps appear in the chat inbox as a new Snap without a push notification, and opening the message is optional. This allows advertisers to engage prospective customers all the way down the funnel all within a single ad unit; raise awareness with broad reach in the chat inbox, improve consideration with people who choose to view the Snap, and drive conversion with an in-message call-to-action,” said, Evan Spiegel, Snapchat CEO.

The Snapchat inbox has traditionally been free from ads, but now Snap is venturing into paid direct messages as part of its efforts to expand its advertising business.

“As we continue to evolve Sponsored Snaps, we are excited to enable more messaging features powered by generative AI and integrated into advertiser CRMs to help our partners communicate with their customers at scale. As always, your conversations with friends are private and are not used for advertising purposes,” added Spiegel.

It's also introducing “Promoted Places,” allowing businesses to feature their locations on the Snap Map.

Talking about it, Spiegel, added, “With Promoted Places, businesses can use the Snap Map to reach incremental customers who are exploring places nearby, and easily measure the visitation lift with our closed-loop and privacy-safe measurement.”