5 Best Practices For Snapchat Ads

Over the past decade, the presence social media giant, Snapchat has acquired is undeniable.

In fact, Snapchat is the ‘12th most popular social media platform worldwide’, emphasising its global scale. 

When you pair this with the fact that ‘as of the first quarter of 2023, Snapchat had 383 million daily active users worldwide’, the opportunity Snapchat provides is evident. 

If you’re interested in creating Snapchat ads for your business, you’re likely interested in learning more about the best practices for Snapchat ads.

The best practices for Snapchat ads include, but are not limited to:

1. Make your ads feel as organic as possible 
2. Choose the type of ad that aligns with your goals 
3. Design your ad for sound on and add captions
4. Use relevant messaging to drive a sense of urgency 
5. Keep testing your ad creative

1. Make Your Ads Feel As Organic As Possible 

One of the best practices to bear in mind when creating Snapchat ads is to make them feel as organic as possible. 

While you’ll want to ensure you’re showcasing your product in your video ads, it’s important to remember that the most successful ads don’t seem like ads at all.

As such, your ad will ideally want to mirror the bite-sized Snaps that users are accustomed to within the app, with 5 to 6 seconds representing the optimal length for your ad.

This will ensure that your ads feel not only feel organic but also non-intrusive to Snapchat users coming across your brand on the platform.  

2. Choose The Type Of Ad That Aligns With Your Goals 

To create Snapchat ads that work, the next best practice to follow is to choose the type of ad that aligns with your goals.

To ensure you get the most out of your advertising spend, you’ll first want to come up with the goals you want to focus on as a business. 

Whether you intend to drive sales or build brand awareness, Snapchat is a great platform to support various goals. 

Below are just a few types of Snapchat ads and the goals they are suitable for. 

• Build brand awareness - Story ads or extended play commercials (that last for 7 to 180 seconds) are great for building brand awareness on Snapchat.
• Drive sales - Dynamic ads, such as story ads, video ads, and collection ads all work to drive sales as well as increase sign-ups. 
• Retarget customers - Using story ads on Snapchat is an effective way to not only engage previously interested customers but also drive customer loyalty.

By determining what your goals as a business are and aligning them with the types of ads you use, Snapchat can act as a powerful tool for advertisers.

3. Design Your Ad For Sound On & Add Captions

A best practice for Snapchat ads is to design your ad for sound on and add captions. 

This is essential when you consider that ‘64% of all [Snapchat] ads are viewed with sound on’, and adding captions is crucial to make your ad as inclusive as possible.

There are numerous ways you can use sound within your ad creative to make them more engaging, from music to testimonials.

Testimonials are effective in that they not only help your audience to better understand your products and brand but also can highlight the value your brand can add.

By adding sound and captions, then, you not only improve engagement and accessibility but also ensure your target audience takes the message away.

4. Use Relevant Messaging To Try To Drive A Sense Of Urgency

Through using advertising messages, ‘brands can establish trusting and long-lasting relationships’, but that messaging must be relevant to make an impact.

The messaging that you use throughout your ad should aim to drive a sense of urgency.

Perhaps you’re looking to drive sales, or increase visits. That said, whatever your message is, make sure that it’s not only clear and easy for your audience to understand, but is also localised for your audience, too.

The right messaging will not only work to keep your audience engaged but will also help you to convert leads to sales, in turn helping you to get the most out of your ad creative. 

5. Keep Testing Your Ad Creative

Lastly, a best practice to follow when creating Snapchat ads is to keep testing your ad creative. 

Testing your ad creative is essential to gain a better understanding of the content your ad resonates and engages with.

To do this, you’ll want to measure your ad performance for around 2 to 4 weeks to gather as much data on your ad as you can.

This will help you to gauge what types of Snapchat ad formats have performed well, and which ones haven’t to better inform future ad campaigns. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Snapchat ads, or any other services we provide, get in touch by clicking the ‘Schedule a Call’ button on our website. 

We are Aura Ads, an ecommerce ad service designed for D2C eCommerce brands. We help clients sell more online and grow at scale with our bespoke video and static creative delivered on a monthly basis. For more tips and tricks from our experts, head over to our blog page.

Written by Jemima Thomas for Aura Ads.

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