At this very moment, Snapchat and Instagram are at war for your attention. Both platforms target very similar audiences. And now, because they’re both going all out, whatever it takes, including stealing and ripping off each other’s’ features. Right? From stories, to swipe up to view more, to filters.
They are both essentially trying to provide instant, easy sharing. Because of this they’re now both being consumed in very similar ways. So which should you use? Which is better from an advertising and branding standpoint. That’s the question. So, let’s talk some pros.
- 2/3 of people in America that are under the age of 25, and 40% of people between 18-35 use it daily.
- Snapchat has HUGE engagement. The average user uses it over half an hour a day.
- And influencer marketing is incredibly cheap. It costs only about 50 cents per thousand views (CPM). That is crazy low.
- And on regular Snapchat ads, the ones where you just pay Snapchat, it’s only about $2.50.
One of the major arguments against Snapchat is that you can’t use it for B2B. This is a perfect example in which you could use it for B2B. Say you’re going to a conference or event, you can put a filter right around just that event and anyone who pulls out their phone and takes a picture is going to see your company’s logo. But, there are some cons.
- The main one is that Snapchat users are 35 and under. They will age up eventually, but for now a lot o the audience is young.
- So, for a lot of B2B businesses it’s difficult to advertise because a lot of your clients are over 35, and many people under that age don’t have companies although there are still many who do.
Alright, so let’s talk about Instagram, more specifically influencers on Instagram.
- It’s not as cheap as Snapchat but it’s still a bargain. When working with influencers who have 50k or less followers you on average will pay $5 cpms. And $10 cpms for people with 100k+ followers.
- Compared to traditional influencers, celebrities & athletes, which will cost $100-$1000 cpms.
- Instagram remains one of the best arbitrages on the market today. Now is the time to get in quick.
- Regular Instagram ads are going to cost you about $2.50-$6 CPMs based on the time of day and hour of day.
- Instagram does still skew young demographic like Snapchat but about 40% of the users are actually above the age of 30.
- And, what Instagram can also offer that Snapchat can’t offer, at least not yet – because Instagram integrates with Facebook, (they’re owned by Facebook)- you get very specific targeted ads.
The most interesting data point about Instagram is that 56%, yes over half, of all Instagram users make over $50k/year. That means they got money to spend folks. That is unparalleled by any platform out there.
So while both of these platforms are in this fierce battle for user growth and retention, they both are giving access to massive audiences at a low price. If you’re wondering which to use the answer is BOTH. And especially if you are a consumer goods company out there watching this right now, and you are not currently spending a hefty, very large portion of your advertising budget on these two platforms, then you need to wake up and lift up the massive rock under which you have been living and GET TO WORK!
This is a massive opportunity that you need to be taking advantage of. I beg you, please, if you take something from this video it’s to spend more money on these two platforms. For consumer goods there is no better arbitrage out there right now.
Thank you for watching this episode of The Edge by MGR!
