Snapchat Has The Kids

Social network Instagram has come to look more like rival Snapchat after copying some of its features, but marketers say Snapchat’s younger audience and safeguards against poor placement drive enthusiasm for advertising on the smaller app.

According to Reuters, expectations for Snapchat’s future tumbled with its stock price after an initial public offering last year, mainly over doubts that Snapchat could compete against Instagram, but last week, Snap reported a 72 percent rise in quarterly revenue that beat analysts’ forecasts and re-ignited confidence.

Snapchat, owned by Snap Inc., retains an advantage with the millennial generation who popularized its disappearing messages and animated face masks, despite attempts by Facebook Inc-owned Instagram to woo them away, advertising executives say.

The advantage among young people is even expected to widen this year, at least in the United States, according to estimates released on Monday by research firm eMarketer. This year, Instagram will add 1.6 million Americans under 25, while Snapchat will add 1.9 million in the age group, eMarketer said.

The different demographics mean businesses feel obligated to spend on Snapchat even if they already do so on Instagram, said Aaron Shapiro, chief executive of digital marketing firm Huge. “It’s all people who are reaching youth,” Shapiro said of Snapchat’s strength.

One section of Snapchat is also perceived among marketers as a potential haven from the amateur posts that define much of social media, created by users or aspiring internet stars rather than by professionals at media companies.

One of the ways that advertisers said Snapchat has distinguished itself is the app’s “discover” tab, a prominent section of the app that spotlights short videos from outlets such as ESPN or the New York Times.