Snapchat to focus on content partnerships in 2023

Ever since its introduction in the Indian market, camera app platform Snapchat has slowly gained favour with the country’s audience. As of 2022, about one-third of the app’s users are Indians, making the country Snapchat’s biggest market.

Lakshya Malu, interim - market development lead, Snap Inc., tells afaqs! that investments in localising the app experience, forging local partnerships, and celebrating Indian cultural moments on the platform, have helped the app reach the milestone of 100 million users in the country.

“Our consistent localisation efforts and AR-powered innovations have resulted in increased engagement across all five tabs of the app - Chat, Maps, Camera, Discover and Spotlight,” Malu says. 

“As we move closer to 2023, our focus will continue to be on ensuring that the app is built for our diverse Indian community, creating more engaging content and harnessing the power of AR to help make the world around us visually alive.”

Snapchat to focus more on Content in the upcoming year

While 2022 saw the company focus extensively on its AR offerings, the upcoming year (2023) will see Snapchat focus on original (app) content. The app’s Discover category will get a significant boost, as the company is partnering with media organisations like The Times Group, Mashable India, The Quint, Vitamin Stree and Filmfare.

“In 2023, we will focus our efforts on content created by our partners and creators. Discover is our high-quality curated content platform and is a huge part of the Snapchat ecosystem. Our editorial selectivity and curated approach have helped us bring brand-safe, best-in-class mobile content to our community that is accurate, timely, and topical,” Malu asserts. The brand only recently started developing original content for its Indian audience.

Snapchat’s “Discover” content section has 70 local Indian channels across news, fitness, fashion, entertainment, and comedy, publishing premium content on Snap in 2021 – more than 200% over Q2 of 2020. Discover, Snap's content platform featuring selected partners, had over 140 million Indian Snapchatters watching a show in 2022, while local channels publishing premium content on Discover increased by 150 percent, the brand informs.

Snap banking on its AR offerings to help get more brand collaboration

Malu states that while the number of creators on the app has gone up, Snap’s AR creator community in India also grew by 60% this year. He attributes this growth to the company’s localisation strategy in the country. Since its launch in India, the time spent on ‘Spotlight’ Snapchat community, has also increased by 175 percent (YoY).

The company is now looking at brand collaborations in India with its AR technology.

“Partnerships and collaborations represent the future of how we do business in India. We fundamentally believe that every business needs a camera strategy, and AR represents the next major shift in computing. AR is revolutionising how brands engage with their target audiences, especially the millennials and Gen Z. Instead of passively viewing ads, audiences can choose to experience an ad that feels personal to them,” Malu explains.

He adds that in India, AR has seen a 94 percent (higher) conversion rate when consumers interact with products in AR. 75 percent of Snapchat shoppers say that AR gives them more confidence about a product’s quality.

“As brands like Netflix and Spotify continue to lean towards AR to drive real business results, we believe, there is a massive opportunity for AR to become the next major shift in computing,” Malu asserts.

Snap’s AR feature also serves as the backbone of its shopping experience. The brand recently introduced its catalogue-powered Shopping Lenses, an AR commerce experience that offers a way to shop and try on multiple products, all within one AR experience. Shopping Lenses also features product card descriptions, giving Snapchat users an automatic preview of product details.

“Available in Lens Explorer, or soon just a tap away from the Snap Camera in AR Bar, Dress Up invites people to browse, discover and share new looks from around the world. Snapchat users can also easily return to the products they love, because Snap has enabled the ability to update user shopping preferences in profile settings,” Malu explains.

Snap recently partnered with Amazon for its AR shopping platform. Other brands that have leveraged Snapchat’s AR Shopping Lenses include MAC Cosmetics, Ulta Beauty, American Eagle, Puma, Chanel, Walmart, and LVMH.

In India, Malu shares, brands like Netflix, Spotify, OnePlus, Mondelez, Chupa Chups, ITC Yippee! Noodles, Intel Evo, Swiggy and LG have tasted success in user engagement with their Snapchat campaigns. They have been able to drive tangible business results over the past year. 

“Snap’s ad formats are tailored for every business goal and objective, along with best-in-class measurement tools to help advertisers track key metrics - spanning from conversions to purchases to sign-ups. Advertisers engage with Snapchat users in a way that is conversational, non-intrusive, and feels organic to the platform. All these efforts have resulted in over 100% revenue growth (from 2021 to 2022), with advertisers across verticals witnessing immense success on the platform,” Malu claims.