Getting outside of the app

Snapchat is getting the ball rolling for brands using its Discover feature, making it easier to directly promote their channels on other social media platforms using “deep links.”

No idea what we’re talking about? If you venture into Snapchat, you’ll see a tab named “Discover,” with a stream of media channels including Vice, CNN, and National Geographic. Each partner – 16 in total – runs a live daily stream filled with “video, animations, charts and articles.”

Added in January, the feature’s purpose is to revolutionize how influential editorial teams convey stories to their audiences. A year later, Snapchat has decided to make it easier for these brands to advertise across social media by allowing them to place links to their Snapchat feeds outside of the app, something they couldn’t do before.

Deep links into the marketing void

These links, coined “deep links” because they go beyond Snapchat’s homepage directly into specific Discover feeds, make navigation easier for mobile audiences. And if the user has been living under a rock and doesn’t have Snapchat, the link will take them to a download page for the app.

It’s a simple concept, similar to how a YouTube link your friend has posted to your Facebook wall will take you straight to the video. However, it has promising rewards for both the app and its partners: The media companies simultaneously gain exposure and increase ad revenue, which they split with Snapchat.

All aboard the bandwagon

It’s no secret that Snapchat is the future of marketing, at least for now, with significant numbers to back it up.

60 million people visit the Discover feature each month; women’s magazine Cosmopolitan is leading by successful example with an average of three million views every single day.

It’s not too late for brand marketers to get creative and jump on the Snapchat train. With only one percent of advertisers currently on the app, it’s lonely (read: rewarding) aboard.

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