The essence of content marketing is summed up by a motivational business growth expert, Jay Baer in the fewest words possible. “Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.”
When Idea Clan took to Content Marketing in 2013, this was our mantra and the revenue has upped ever since. It was a journey of extensive testing and scaling that led the company to its destination of success in this arena. For Idea Clan, success is not just quantified in revenues and profits. True success of a marketer lies in their readiness of sharing trade tactics with the likeminded.
The India Affiliate Summit (IAS) is one such platform where cofounder, Mr. Rohit Ajmani sheds light on his carefully compiled insights into the various aspects of digital marketing. IAS has been the premier meeting point for the maestros from the affiliate marketing space since 2015. It is where the ‘emperor of minds’ chart out the blueprint of the future of affiliate marketing.
Mr. Ajmani took a Master Class in IAS19 and talked at length about content marketing through Snapchat ads. The focus of the class was on scaling ads to 6 figures monthly. He created an in depth case study on the marketing patterns on Snapchat after attaining $1million in ad spend on the platform. After analyzing more than 100 winning Snap ads and determining their creative effectiveness, he came to a conclusion that 5 distinct creative attributes drive success for publishers on Snapchat.
The Content Matters
Snapchat users want to be entertained and using this to our advantage is the real trick. While most Snapchatters start with viewing their friends’ stories, they eventually move towards editorial content if it is targeted right. After testing multiple campaigns of different niche, Mr. Ajmani came to the conclusion that content revolving around celebrities and bizarre stories garner higher swipe up rates. In fact, story based articles perform much better than gallery and before/after type of image based articles. He found that bizarre stories received approximately 20% higher swipe up rate than any other content types. But at the same time, readers spent 40 seconds more on an average on articles about celebrity relationships. The bottom line is that the type of content being promoted plays a primary role in determining the revenue that will be raked in.
Showing Off Swipe Up CTA
Encouraging users to swipe up on your story is a prerequisite to getting revenue. The easiest way to ensure that users will swipe up is by presenting them with a tangible CTA (call to action) button. The use of semi circles or triangles at the bottom of the frame can draw their attention to the call to action. This little embellishment can increase the swipe up odds significantly. Constant campaign testing yielded a quantifiable result- there was 30% higher swipe up rate on ads with CTA embellishment. This subtle yet prominent piece of “art” acts like a constant reminder for the reader to swipe up.
Stills For The Win
Upon testing both, still and video ads, Mr. Ajmani found out that still ads drive higher swipe up rates for most content types. The secret lies in making the most impact on the user in the first second of the ad. Presenting them with a still ad ensures that the user gets maximum information and will swipe up to know more. Through testing campaigns, it was found that still ads fetch approximately 39% more swipe up rate. While presenting at IAS, Mr. Ajmani gave the viewers a valuable tip to combat any drop in swipe ups for video ads by incorporating video elements in a collage with still imagery. This will balance the catchy video with informative stills for a better swipe up rate.
Text Is Your Best Friend
Snapchat users tend to read and while testing campaigns, this can be used for maximum gains. Mr. Ajmani shared the trick in his Master Class at IAS19. Adding a snippet from the article to the Bottom Snap may tease the reader, encouraging them to swipe up. As per him, ads with more information can rake in more qualified leads. After testing numerous campaigns, he concluded that text heavy ads get approximately 27% higher swipe up rate.
The Sound Is On
Snapchat users are willing to listen to your ad and you can make the most of this user behavior. Since 2/3rd of Snapchatters engage in the platform with sound on, it is advantageous for marketers to use sound in their ads to capture the user’s interest. Ambient music or Discover style VO tends to get a better response, especially in video ads. Approximately 84% higher swipe up rate was recorded for ads with native sound. An audio design in a Snapchat ad can really turn the tables.
Conclusion
Mr. Ajmani’s Master Class at IAS19 threw light on the practical strategy of scaling Snapchat ads for content marketing to 6 figures. He came up with his trade tactics after analyzing more than 100 winning Snapchat ads and shared his expert opinion on every step of testing a campaign. These attributes have helped him to scale his campaigns to the maximum potential and helped fellow marketers do the same through his session.
