A guide to targeting options on Snapchat’s new self-serve ad platform: Snap Publisher

Ever wanted to create an ad campaign that disappears?

No, this isn’t James Bond and your message won’t self-destruct, but with the roll out of Snapchat’s new self-serve ad buying platform, brands of all sizes can create an ad campaign almost as quickly as the campaign’s video or photo will disappear.

This blog post isn’t here to help you to decide whether or not your brand/organization should be on Snapchat, or whether you should be dedicating some of your budget to this new tactic (more on that in a future blog post), rather this post is here to serve as a primer on what kind of targeting is currently available to you via Snapchat.

Snapchat advertising target: The basics

Just like all other self-serve ad platforms, you have the option of targeting geographic location, age, gender and language. The demographic targeting section also includes options related to education, income, marital and parental status. Basic, but helpful stuff, especially if you know exactly who your ideal audience is.

Snapchat advertising targeting 2.0: Predefined audiences

Like Facebook and Twitter, Snapchat allows you to target users based on specific interest and behaviors. The predefined audience targeting capabilities are based on both online and real-world behaviors and interests. This is where things get a little creepy. There are four subcategories within predefined audiences: lifestyles, shoppers, viewers and visitors.

Lifestyles – Based on people’s long-term interests as expressed by the media and places with which they are most engaged. Examples: Do-It-Yourselfers, Yoga Enthusiasts, Investors & Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists.

Shoppers – Based on what people buy in stores, restaurants, venues and dealerships. Examples: Women’s Apparel Shoppers, Mid-size Car Shoppers, Cereal Shoppers and Home Improvement Shoppers.

Viewers – Based on what TV, film and video people like to watch. Examples: Home Movie Viewers (Kids & Family), TV Network Viewers (Comedy Central) and TV Viewers (Talk Shows).

Visitors – Built based on the places people go when using their mobile device. Examples: Auto Dealer Visitors, Dining Establishment Visitors — Chipotle Restaurants, Travel Venue Visitors (Hotels) – Hilton Chain Hotels, and Retail Store Visitors (Big Box Stores) – Target Stores.

Yes, if you bring your phone with you, they might be able to tell if you’ve recently visited a Chipotle. Let that one sink in.

Snapchat advertising targeting: Data you own

Marketers also are able to upload their own customer data (emails or device IDs) into what Snapchat calls SAM (Snap Audience Match). This matches your data with user data so that you can remarket to what we refer to as warm audiences – audiences that have some familiarity with your brand. Technically you could upload a purchased list here, but that’s not something we typically recommend. In addition to your own data, Snapchat gives you the ability to create lookalike audiences using your data – allowing you to create a cold audience that mimics the characteristics of your email or device ID list.

Interested in social advertising? Read our latest posts on recent LinkedIn and Facebook advertising platform changes.