snapchat for public relationsSnapchat has launched the Snapchat Storytellers program that aims to connect brands to influencers on its social media/messaging platform.

The social media /messaging platform will link businesses with its most popular content creators – initially its five most popular influencers. It won’t take a fee for deals it helps arrange. Influencers can appear in ads or provide creative expertise.

Instead of trying to accumulate followers through purely organic means, brands will be able to gain access Snapchat influencers who already enjoy large audiences and understand the app’s interface and features. Their knowledge could be especially helpful since the app is not as simple as other social media options. The power Snapchat users could teach businesses how to improve Stories ads. These often require vertical videos that are quite different from small photos, links and text ads or even YouTube and Facebook landscape videos many marketers use, TechCrunch notes.

As the still embryonic program matures, it may help marketers obtain valuable advice and content that interests the app’s audience. One possible issue during launch: The selected influencers may be overwhelmed with offers and their brand choices may diminish their influence.

Snapchat Learns to Love Influencers

From Snapchat’s viewpoint, the feature could convince top influences to remain loyal. Influencers have criticized Snapchat in the past for ignoring them and some abandoned the app for Instagram. Eighty-eight percent of influencers and 92% of marketers said they plan to use the image-sharing platform for more campaigns than last year, according to Activate 2018 State of Influencer Marketing Study. Meanwhile, 89% of influencers and 86% of marketers reported using Snapchat less for influencer marketing campaigns than they did last year.

However, Snapchat has taken several influencer-friendly moves over recent months. Snapchat opened its Official Stories, previously reserved for major celebrities, to platform influencers last August, points out Andrew Hutchinson at Social Media Today. It granted selected creators access to in-depth audience analytics, and held its first “Creators’ Summit” in May.

“There’s still some way to go in Snap’s efforts, but the program is an encouraging sign for the company’s future planning. If Snap can further ingratiate itself with its top creators, and use them to help brands make more of the platform, that could prove key in expanding the revenue potential of the app,” Andrew Hutchinson says.

Smart but Late to Influencer Marketing Race

Observers call the Snapchat Storytellers program shrewd but slow in coming. Snapchat is arriving late to the influencer marketing race and playing catch up. The app faces tough competition from Instagram, which copied many of its features, and Facebook which recently introduced its Brands Collabs Manager to connect brands with influencers. The tool helps brands locate appropriate content creators by filtering them through a range of criteria, including demographics of the brand’s desired audience, category and influencers’ reach.

In addition, Instagram recently introduced a long-form video app, IGTV, that lets users with 10,000 followers or more followers post videos up to an hour long. The app reveals a clear desire to coax influencers away from YouTube, currently the leading long-form video platform.

Bottom Line: Criticized for ignoring influencers in the past, Snapchat now strives to please its most popular content creators. Its new Snapchat Storytellers program will connect brands with influencers for advertising and consulting purposes. Besides accepting advertising, the power Snapchat users can help marketers create compelling content and better use the app’s features. Marketers seeking the messaging app’s young audience should be pleased.