12 Innovative Ways To Target Generation-Z On Snapchat

Snapchat is not dead, especially among 18- to 29-year-olds, which is why marketers shouldn’t ignore advertising on this social network. With Snapchat, they can go beyond simply promoting a product and truly connect with members of Generation-Z on their home turf. To engage with this demographic, marketers will need to formulate innovative strategies that leverage Snapchat’s robust features.

To take advantage of the marketing opportunities that this social platform provides, consider the ideas 12 members of Forbes Agency Council share below. Follow their tips to help your messaging stand out and resonate with Gen-Zers on Snapchat.

1. Reflect Their Culture

Snapchat has Generation-Z on lock; and Gen-Z is the first majority multicultural generation in our nation’s history. Being culturally relevant is an instant “hack” for reaching users who are 18 to 29 years old. What does that mean? Reflect their culture. Whether it be Afro-Latinx, Asian or Latinx culture, marketing campaigns that are authentic to cultures and subcultures will rise above the “noise” Gen-Z is currently seeing. – Mario Carrasco, ThinkNow

2. Run A Giveaway Campaign

Outside of following the standard social media practices with your brand (such as staying authentic), you can run a giveaway campaign and support it with advertising and influencers. The Snapchat audience has high engagement, but placing a freebie offer at the front of the giveaway can help increase that even more. Use giveaway-specific SaaS tools to maximize your campaign and grow other channels. – Joon K Lee, Inquivix

3. Be Interesting Before Explaining

Snapchat has an incredible creator tool called Lens Studio that allows brands to create videos that look and feel like Snapchat native content. It’s important that your ads are interesting first, before you try to explain the benefits or features of products and services to younger demographics. This audience needs to admire, trust and respect you before they will purchase from you. – Brian Meert, AdvertiseMint

4. Create Custom Filters

Creating custom filters that highlight your product or service is one of the best ways to market to this demographic. It can be difficult for brands to create a lasting impression on Snapchat due to the short-term nature of the content posted there. Users go through the filters daily, and if you can create a filter that they actually use in the content they send, then you will get even further exposure. – Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing

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5. Integrate Augmented Reality

Advertisers should consider advertising with Snapchat Lens AR Experiences. Lenses are a powerful and memorable way to connect with consumers using augmented reality. With Lens Web Builder, anyone can create an AR experience in minutes, using hundreds of free objects and animations from Snap. While AR is a leap for traditional advertisers, these are the types of experiences Snap users engage with. – Kristopher Jones, LSEO

6. Use Snapchat Spotlight

A lot of marketers remember the old Snapchat, but don’t realize that the marketing offerings are much more robust than they used to be. And Snapchat Spotlight is grabbing user attention much the same way Reels and TikTok are. Plus, the targeting is better than it’s ever been. Snap even has a foot traffic offering, from which retailers could gather some interesting data. – Jim Tobin, Carusele and Ignite Social Media

7. Design Filters That Subtly Hint At Your Brand

Filters are great, personalized opportunities to engage with users. Daily, more than 180 million users use AR filters on Snapchat. Create a geofence around an event location or targeted space to offer a share-worthy filter that only subtly hints at your brand. Pushing your brand or logo too hard limits uses, and you want your filter to go viral. – Sara Steever, Paulsen

8. Play Up The Escapism Element

Attention is a valuable commodity, and people 18 to 29 years old are always looking for something that entertains them or provides an escape. So, to give them what they want to see most in your content, it should be emotional, entertaining and offer a sense of escapism that they may not get from everyday life. – Stefan Katanic, Veza Digital

9. Jump On The Trend Bandwagon

“Trendjacking” on Snapchat is how brands can enter the channel in fun and authentic ways. Success can be established by knowing the audience that is using Snapchat and creating content and partnerships that gain a following. This is a moving target, so it’s essential to do your homework on the demographics and preferences of your customer base so that you know whether this channel will produce traction. – Kathleen Lucente, Red Fan Communications

10. Make Organic Content In Addition To Ads

An often-overlooked idea that is a no-brainer is to make not only Snapchat ads, but also Snapchat content. Content that smacks of a slick ad doesn’t resonate and can be a little unsettling to the audience. Make ads that are user- and influencer-created and tailored to perfectly fit the platform, and you’ll be seen as authentic and honest. – Christopher Tompkins, The Go! Agency

11. Create Brand ‘Shows’ Based On The Day Of The Week

Create brand “shows” based on the day of the week, such as Melodramatic Mondays, Tuesday Trends and so on. This gives daily Snapchatters fresh content to look forward to and come back for. Add another layer and start integrating more polls and questions into this content. If they’re strong users, give them something to interact with. Then be sure to fold their answers into future content. User-generated content for the win! – Bernard May, National Positions

12. Ensure Brand Fit And Don’t Try To ‘Sell’

Snapchat is one of those channels where you have to think carefully about whether your brand is a good fit before using it. Understand the channel and the audience before entering. This is not a channel where you “sell” to the audience. Your brand needs to go in with the idea of offering authentic, fun entertainment. You will either get visibility and recognition in return for doing it the right way, or be seen as inauthentic. – Megan Devine, d.trio marketing group

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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member