As marketers, do you ever wonder, “what’s the big deal with Snapchat?” There are a lot more people using Facebook, which continues to imitate the platform unapologetically and yet, young consumers still prefer the original. Just how popular is the disappearing message app? We’ve compiled some key Snapchat statistics every marketer should know.
Millennials Matter
They’re the largest generation, and they sure love to Snap. As digital natives, today’s young consumers are driven by the need to connect and find meaningful experiences on and off the internet. Snapchat boasts 161 million daily active users, many of which are in that lucrative millennial demographic. In fact, the company says it reaches 41 percent of all 18- to 34-year olds in the US each day.
EMarketer estimates that the number of millennials who use Snapchat every month will reach 43.9 million this year, and account for 56 percent of all US Snapchat users by 2020.
Accept No Substitutions
Regardless of the way social networks “borrow” features from one another, Snapchat comes with its own fan base of loyal users. A study by Survata found that users 13-34 still prefer Snapchat over Instagram and 64 percent think Snapchat is “cooler.” Given the option of having only one or the other, over half (51 percent) of respondents chose Snapchat and 67 percent said that the app had better features.
Digital natives pick up the app’s features with ease, but older generations may find it less user-friendly than what they’re used to. While these generations enjoy similar features now added to Facebook and Instagram, original Snapchatters stay true. A study by Defy Media found that 30 percent prefer Snapchat because their parents don’t use it.
An All-Day Affair
The casual, disappearing nature of Snapchat allows for quick, authentic posts by brands and users alike, creating a fun-loving experience that lasts all day. Seventy-eight percent of US high school and college students said they use Snapchat on a daily basis, compared to Instagram (76 percent) or Facebook (66 percent) every day. In addition, 71 percent turn to the app at least 11 times per day, according to a recent study by SCG.
