Promoting Brands with Snapchat Advertising: A Detailed Step-by-Step Guide

Snapchat may not be the first social media platform you consider when promoting your brand, but if executed properly, Snapchat ads can bring unexpected returns for your brand.

Snapchat has a large daily active user base, with about 203 million people. This means you can tap into a potential customer base of 203 million through Snapchat ads.

However, in order to promote your brand on Snapchat, you must have a clear understanding of your target audience positioning, as Snapchat's user base is similar to Instagram, mostly consisting of young users.

In the past, Snapchat ads mainly served large brands, but now anyone can create and publish their own Snapchat ads using tools like Snapchat's Ad Manager or Shopify's Snapchat Ads app.

This article will share detailed steps from starting from scratch to becoming an advanced level in creating Snapchat ads, as well as how Shopify sellers can easily do Snapchat advertising.

What are Snapchat ads?

Snapchat ads mainly consist of two types: Snapchat video ads and Snapchat Story ads.

Snapchat video ads are vertical videos lasting 3 to 10 seconds that can be found on the 'Discover' tab while browsing Snapchat Stories.

Snapchat video ads typically come with a CTA (Call to Action) button, such as 'Learn More' or 'Get Now', to increase conversions by repeating the ad's message.

Snapchat users will also see your Snapchat Story ad in the 'Discover' tab and interact with the brand by actively clicking on it. The specific display format of the ad in the 'Discover' page is a dual-column window.

How to advertise on Snapchat using Shopify?

Snapchat Ads APP is an easy-to-use app with a set of features that allows you to install and publish your Snapchat ads based on the following steps.

1. Install Snapchat Ads APP

First, you need to install the Snapchat Ads APP into your Shopify store.

You need to navigate to this page and click on the 'Add App' button.

If you are already logged into your Shopify account, you will be automatically taken to the welcome page of the Snapchat Ads app. If you are not logged into Shopify, you will need to enter your '.myshopify.com' URL in the field to access the welcome page.

2. Install Snap Pixel

After installing the app, you will need to install a Snap Pixel.

Similar to the Facebook Pixel, the Snap Pixel is an essential part of advertising. It allows you to effectively find and target potential customers with 'Custom Audiences' and helps you track and optimize conversions by collecting user data from interactions with your Snapchat ads.

If you have previously run Snapchat ads, you need to remove all Snapchat Pixel objects from the asset page before proceeding. This will prevent audience duplication and ensure the accuracy of Snapchat ad targeting. Failing to do this step will make it difficult for you to iterate, test, and optimize correctly.

Register for Snapchat Ads Manager

To create a Snap Pixel, you need to register for Snapchat Ads Manager.

After registering and logging into Snapchat Ads Manager, you need to click on the menu in the upper left corner of the screen and select 'Snap Pixel'.

Then, click the 'Install My Pixel' button and you will receive your own Snap Pixel ID.

Copy your Snap Pixel ID and return to the Shopify management page.

Install Snapchat Pixel

Click on your Snapchat Ads app welcome page and select 'Install'. You will see a section called 'Drive Product Sales' with a field for 'Pixel ID'.

At this point, you need to paste your 'Snap Pixel ID' into that field and click 'Install Pixel' to complete the installation.

Now, you have successfully added Snapchat Pixel to your Shopify store and you will be able to track and optimize Snapchat ads.

3. Install Product Catalog

Next, you need to synchronize the product catalog in your Shopify store with your Snapchat account.

You need to click 'Install' again to go to the 'Create Shoppable Ads' section and then click 'Install Catalog'.

At this point, the system will prompt you to authorize Snapchat, and then you will see the "Organization" field appear on the "Create shoppable ads" page.

You just need to click the "Sync" button, and after clicking, you will see the following content.

At this point, the product catalog installation is complete.

4. Launch your Snapchat ads

With the setup of your Shopify account basically completed, you can now publish Snapchat ads.

Simply navigate to the "Launch marketing ads" tab and select the country/region you want to target.

The default country/region selected by the system is the United States, but you can change it to the country/region where your target audience is located.

If you cannot currently determine which country/region is more suitable as a target market, it is recommended to temporarily set it to the United States.

Once completed, simply click "Save Settings" and you will see the following prompt:

At this point, the preparations for launching Snapchat ads are complete.

Launch your Snapchat ads.

After setting up the Snapchat Ads APP, you need to click the "Create Snapchat Ad" link in the prompts you received to enter the Shopify marketing channel.

You need to click the "Create Ad" button and name the new ad.

At this time, Shopify will also provide you with some suggestions about setting target audiences, which may help you in your subsequent marketing activities.

After determining the ad name, you need to click "Create" and go to the next step.

Next, you need to click "Create Campaign" in the upper right corner of the screen and select "Snapchat Story Ads".

Then, you will enter the Shopify Snapchat Story Ad Generator. The interface is as follows:

Friendly reminder: If you are using an ad blocker, it is recommended to temporarily disable it as it may interfere with your preview of Snapchat ads.

Now, let's formally enter the production process of Snapchat ads.

1) Campaign Name

First, you need to name your Snapchat Story ad.

This "Activity Name" is only visible to you and will not be public. However, it is recommended that you choose a simple and clear name to facilitate your future viewing of the details of the ad content and the target audience of the ad.

2) Snapchat Story Ad Top Image

You need to select the product that will be the focus of your Snapchat ad promotion in the search bar here.

Simply click the "Browse" button on the right side of the search bar to select the product.

3) Snapchat Story Ad Brand Logo

Next, you need to select the brand logo. You need to choose a logo image with a transparent background as it will be used in the Snapchat ad.

If you do not have a brand logo yet, it is recommended to use the free Shopify logo generator Hatchful to create a logo.

4) Snapchat Story Ad Headline

Next, you need to set a headline for your Snapchat ad. This will be publicly visible and will be displayed at the bottom of the ad, so you need to set an attractive headline for the target audience.

The maximum character limit for the title is 55 characters. Therefore, you need to use concise sentences to convey the motivation and reasons for potential customers to purchase your product.

5) Choose the products to promote

You need to select the products to promote through Snapchat ads.

You need to select at least 3 products that will appear in the ad as a carousel, and your audience will be able to click through to the relevant pages for browsing.

For better ad effectiveness, it is recommended to choose 3 to 5 products from the same series.

6) Brand name

You just need to enter your Shopify store name here.

7) Title

You also need to set a different ad title for your Snapchat ad, which will be displayed when users click on your Snapchat ad.

The character limit here is 34 characters, and you need to succinctly summarize your brand.

8) CTA (Call-to-Action)

Next, you need to choose a suitable CTA for your Snapchat ad. Just click on the drop-down menu and make your selection.

9) Age range

Next, you need to select the age range for your Snapchat ad audience. You should consider the type and age of your target audience. If you don't have a specific idea yet, 18 years old is a relatively safe choice.

You can also set an upper age limit for your Snapchat ad, but it is not mandatory. You can choose to set it or not.

10) Gender

You also need to choose the gender of users who can receive your Snapchat ad. You can choose male, female, or all.

11) Specific targeting information

You can also add more specific audience targeting information to your Snapchat ad, such as location (region, city) and their interests.

If you already have experience with long-term Facebook ad campaigns and have a clear understanding of audience targeting, you can easily define your audience at this step. Otherwise, if you are new to Snapchat advertising, it is recommended to skip this step.

12) Snapchat ad cost

Finally, you need to determine the budget for promoting Snapchat ads. The more you spend, the more people will receive your ads.

In conclusion, your Snapchat ad spending depends on your advertising budget. But for the initial few ads, a daily expenditure of $10 to $20 is a good start.

13) Publish your Snapchat ad

Once all the ad creation work is ready, please click on the 'Publish' button at the bottom left corner of Shopify, and then you will receive the following prompt:

When you see this prompt, it means you have successfully uploaded the Snapchat ad. It will be immediately published after being reviewed and approved by Snapchat.

Test and optimize your Snapchat ads

A few days after running Snapchat ads, you can check their effectiveness.

If you find that users of a certain gender have better conversion rates or users in a certain age group have higher engagement, then you need to reallocate your ad budget and focus on them.

And as you become more familiar with the process of creating and launching Snapchat ads, you'll need to continually test various aspects of the ads (such as different CTAs, images, headlines, etc.) through A/B testing to find what resonates best with your audience.

The initial stage of ad deployment on Snapchat may be challenging, but once you start capturing and accumulating key data with Snap Pixel, you'll be able to optimize your ad strategy based on that data for better ad performance and conversions.

Snapchat Video Ad Specifications

If you're interested in running Snapchat video ads and planning to do so, it's important to have a preliminary understanding of the ideal Snapchat video ad specifications.

Here's a quick overview of the ideal Snapchat ad specifications:

Full-screen canvas

Resolution: 1080*1920 pixels

Aspect ratio: 9:16

Scale original video/image proportionally

Accepted media types

Live, dynamic footage or static videos

Dynamic images

Slideshow

GIF (or similar format)

Static images

Ad length

At least 3 seconds

No more than 10 seconds

File format

Video (.mp4, .mov or H.264)

Images (.jpg, .png) can only be uploaded through Snapchat Ad Manager

Storage aspect ratio (SAR) 9:16

Display aspect ratio (DAR) 9:16

Pixel aspect ratio (PAR) 1:1

File size

Videos (below 32MB)

Images (below 5MB)

Audio

Left-right channel balance

Target loudness for audio: -16 LUFS

Supports PCM or AAC encoding/decoding

Audio quality: above 192kbps

Audio quality: Supports 16-bit or 24-bit for easy publishing of Snapchat ads through Shopify