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Snap Returns to Revenue Growth on Improved Ad Business

Snap Returns to Revenue Growth on Improved Ad Business

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After two-quarters of declining revenue, Snap Inc. experienced a revenue increase in the third quarter, demonstrating that ongoing changes to its online advertising sector are now beginning to bear fruit. Even so, the corporation issued a warning that the present period’s growth may be hampered by advertisement delays brought on by the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Snap Returns to Revenue Growth on Improved Ad Business
Image Source: finance.yahoo.com

Snap stated in a statement on Tuesday that sales rose 5.4 percent to 1.19 billion dollars in the three months that ended on September 30. two percent revenue declines were expected by analysts on average, based on the data gathered by Bloomberg.

In an attempt to boost sales and rebuild the marketing business, Snap has dedicated a large portion of the year to this project. It fits with a plan the business unveiled last year to focus on initiatives and investments that may immediately increase income.

“We are focused on improving our advertising platform to drive higher return on investment for our advertising partners, and we have evolved our go-to-market efforts to better serve our partners and drive customer success,” Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said in the statement.

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Snap has been reorganizing its operations for over a year now. It earned early popularity with its distinctive within the social media sector subscription service, Snapchat+, which currently has over five million subscribers and charges 3.99 dollars to obtain early access to in-app functions. The My AI chatbot, which has received over 20 billion chats from over two hundred million users, can assist in increasing app interaction.

Diversification projects haven’t always been a success. The corporation shut down a new segment last quarter that produced augmented reality solutions for companies. The idea was to allow shops to customize Snap’s augmented reality ( AR ) software for websites of their own, but the business finally decided it wasn’t worthy of the expense and intricacy.

Also Read: iPhone Assembler Hon Hai Dives After China Starts Probes

Following the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the firm reported seeing a large number of brand-focused marketing initiatives stall in the third quarter. The business anticipates that the holdup may last into the fourth quarter of the year.

For information on the state of the financial sector, investors are examining Tuesday’s earnings from Snap and the titan of digital advertising, Alphabet Inc. Alphabet’s cloud division delivered disappointing earnings, while its YouTube and Google businesses are above analysts’ expectations in terms of advertising revenue.

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Snap hires new head of engineering from Google

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In the latest in an array of new hires, Snap Inc. announced on Monday that it has recruited a brand-new senior vice president of the engineering division from Alphabet’s child company Google to enhance its advertising operations.

Eric Young, previously the vice president of the engineering division for Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud, is going to be in charge of Snap, the organization that controls the well-known photo messaging service Snapchat when it comes to its basic structure.

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In addition, he will take the helm of initiatives to strengthen Snap’s capacity to customize and evaluate Snapchat ads, which was made more challenging by privacy improvements on Apple’s iOS devices.

Also Read: Apple Plans Major Retail Push With New Stores Across China, US

Although Snapchat has steadily grown its user base to 750 million monthly users, Snap has had difficulty increasing income at an equivalent rate.

In April, Snap announced that it was implementing measures to make it easier for people to communicate with advertising and to make them more relevant to users, both of which it claimed would have an immediate negative impact on some marketers’ outcomes.

Young built the technological foundation for Google products including search, advertisements, and YouTube during his time there.

Following the hiring of Rob Wilk, previously the director of marketing at Microsoft Corp., to serve as president of the Americas region, and another Google employee to oversee sales products, he was appointed to the position at Snap.

According to parent company Snap, Snapchat now has 200 million active users in India monthly, 120 million of whom view stuff.

On the occasion, the business unveiled the introduction of My AI, a testing chatbot powered by AI and designed for Snapchat that can provide birthday present suggestions, long-weekend getaway plans, and even supper meal ideas.

90 percent of the 750 million active users every month of the visual messaging application are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Also Read: Summer Game Fest 2023 and games conference schedule

Following internal business data, more than fifty billion AR Lenses are played with each month by Snapchat users in India, and approximately 85 percent of Snapchat users utilize Lenses to express themselves through visuals throughout the country’s holiday seasons.

To create a local online shopping ecosystem in India above its augmented reality-enabled application, the organization has begun collaborating with Indian merchants.

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Snapchat launches A.I. chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT

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Snapchat has just launched an AI chatbot backed by the latest edition of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. As per the CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel, AI chatbots will progressively get to be a component of everyday lives in a very short period of time.

Snapchat’s bot, termed as “My AI,” will be wedged into the app’s chat section above messages with friends. Whilst the bot will originally be accessible only to Snapchat Plus subscribers for 3.99 USD per month, Evan Spiegel informs The Verge that the primary objective is to ultimately make it accessible to all of Snapchat’s 750 million users every month.

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“The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day,” he says. “And this is something we’re well positioned to do as a messaging service.”

Source: theverge.com

Also Read: Microsoft brings iMessage to Windows 11, will it last?

At the moment, My AI is mainly just a smartphone-friendly edition of ChatGPT within Snapchat. The main distinction is that Snap’s edition is more limited in its ability to respond. Snap workers have trained it to follow the firm’s trust and safety guidance rules and not respond with profanity, violence, sexually explicit material, or political opinions.

“My AI can recommend birthday gift ideas for your BFF, plan a hiking trip for a long weekend, suggest a dinner recipe, or even write a haiku about cheese for your cheddar-obsessed pal,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Make My AI your own by giving it a name and customizing the wallpaper for your Chat.”

Source: techcrunch.com

It has additionally been removed from features that have previously resulted in ChatGPT being blacklisted inside some schools, such as, when attempting to get it to write a thesis or dissertation on different topics, and it respectfully refused. Snap intends to continue fine-tuning My AI since more persons make use of it as well as report inappropriate behavior.

Also Read: Twitter Cuts More Engineering, and Product Jobs to Curb Costs

Whilst also ChatGPT has rapidly become a productivity tool, Snap’s approach to generative AI is more akin to a persona. My AI’s profile page is similar to that of a regular Snapchat user, albeit featuring an alien Bitmoji. The style implies that My AI is intended to serve as a Snapchat friend you’re able to hang out together with, rather than a search engine.

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Snapchat Finally Comes to Microsoft Store for PC Users

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Snapchat, an instant messaging and photo-sharing application is now available on Windows via the Microsoft Store. Individuals can now Snap using their PCs.

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Image Source: news18.com

Snapchat, a picture-sharing and instant-messaging app, has resisted coming to Windows, but it has now made its formal debut as a Progressive Web App on the Microsoft Store. Based on the recently released web version of Snapchat, Snapchat for Windows is a Progressive Web App (PWA) that can only be used with Microsoft’s Edge Browser.

There are no glaring differences or benefits between the mobile and web app. Since Snapchat Web is primarily a web app, its install size is tiny (1.4 MB) and it always stays up to current with any updates.

Read More: Evan Spiegel – The Founder of Snapchat

The user interface is similar to other web applications such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Based on the app store summary, one can install the PWA edition on up to 10 Windows systems as long one is signed into their Microsoft account.

Snap has also intensified its focus in regions like India, where it didn’t initially notice much demand a few years ago. In certain countries, including India, a paid edition of the application called Snapchat+ is now available. The app’s paid edition, Snapchat Plus, gives users greater benefits. In India, a subscription to Snapchat+ costs Rs 49 per month.

The Snap service is intended for “power users,” who must spend a monthly fee in exchange for access to certain premium features not offered to normal app users. 

In India, Snapchat has also released the in-app Family Center and parenting settings. The controls enable parents to view contacts that their children have contacted in the past week as well as who their children communicate online.

In addition, Snapchat has teamed up with Amazon to offer users an AR try-on experience. Snapchat users will be able to test out eyewear designs from a variety of well-known brands on the e-commerce platform. According to Amazon, some of these are Persol, Maui Jim, Oakley, Ray-Ban, and Costa Del Mar.

A number of new shopping lenses will be released along with the debut of the eyewear line, and they will fall into three categories: reading glasses, sunglasses, and seasonal eyewear. This partnership between the two businesses comes after Snapchat recently announced a number of brand-friendly updates. This includes building AR shopping lenses, updating product details like pricing, and much more.

Given Snap’s treatment of Microsoft throughout the years, the revelation comes as a bit of a surprise. It may be recalled that the corporation previously declined to develop specific software for Windows phones, restricting its service to a particular demographic utilizing the Microsoft OS.

Despite this, some developers have attempted to introduce the Snap experience to the Windows ecosystem in the past by releasing third-party Snapchat applications on the Windows Phone application store.

One of these was the 6snap app, which was eliminated from the location in 2014 along with other outside apps. Snap even banned the accounts of those who used the “unauthorized programs” in an effort to dissuade Windows phone users from using such apps.

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New Navigation Feature of Snapchat to Resemble TikTok’s

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Snapchat looks to be on course to compete with and challenge TikTok directly. The company, yesterday confirmed that it is, in fact testing a new update for improved user experience. The new navigation will help users go through the content on Snapchat, via vertical swipes or motions. Such vertical swiping was made popular by TikTok, wherein users would do the same to go from video to the next. Snapchat’s statement revealed that this new feature is an experiment in moving towards different formats, to enhance content and presentation. Here’s a look at what the new feature could mean for Snapchat.

New Update

The test for the new navigational feature will focus on content available publicly through Snapchat Discover. The company is currently not concentrating on doing the same to view private Stories. Since stories can have multiple framers, users will still need to tap to progress through them. Also, as per the new update, there will be changes regarding how the Horizontal swiping comes into play. For instance, from now horizontal swipes will exit the Story, instead of progressing through the Stories, as before. Anyone who has used TikTok equates the vertical swipe with the video-sharing platform. Therefore, this move by Snapchat will make things easier for users who are also on TikTok. 

Testing Things Out

It was a social media expert, Matt Navarra who spotted the testing for the first time, by referring to a post by Twitter user @artb2668. A photo also shows a pop-up explaining how to use and navigate with the new feature. However, Snapchat refused to offer other details regarding the test. They did say that testing was still in early stages and that further development would take time. Hence, the new feature will be viewable only for a small percentage of their users. Their spokesperson stated that the feature is a way for Snapchat to explore further options. The mobile-first community focuses on providing its users with an engaging and immersive interface. However, the timing for such a testing phase is very interesting. 

Issues Around the World

As the COVID-19 continues its rampant spread across the globe, China has had to bear the brunt of the blame. Countries around the world have not been light on the nation, cited as being the epicenter of the virus’s spread. Countries like the US and Germany have been vocal of their criticism of China, with the Trump administration even threatening the communist country. Similarly, in India as well, rising border tensions and skirmishes have led to the government taking steps against the country. In a bold move, a few weeks ago, the government banned over 59 Chinese apps and services from use within the country. Also, one of the most popular apps on that list was none other than, TikTok. Similarly, the Trump administration is also threatening to ban the video-sharing platform citing security concerns. 

Global Politics

Furthermore, Friday saw Amazon instruct employees from using the app from company-issued phones. However, a couple of hours later, the company squashed the directive. Similarly, American military branches and offices have also banned the use of the app, as per a Pentagon directive. While all this happens around the world, the app Musical.ly’s acquisition by ByteDance has come under a US national security review. As a result of such political issues, TikTok’s rivals have been enjoying more success on the app store charts. For instance, Likee, Dubsmash, Triller and Byte have all witnessed a spike in downloads. Also, Instagram has been using this opportunity to grow Reels into newer markets, like India. In recent days, even video-sharing giant YouTube has been trying out Tik-Tok-like features. 

Hence, with most rivals trying to make the most of this geopolitical opportunity, it only seems natural that Snapchat does the same. The company appears to have hopped onto the bandwagon by switching to a different navigational approach. With the TikTok user base going up for grabs around the world, we will have to wait and see what other companies do to attract that user base. All of this only goes to show just how influential TikTok has become in recent years. We will also have to see what the viral social-media app does to bounce back, or whether it ever will.

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COVID-19 Leads to Huge Surge in Snapchat Usage, as User Behavior Trends Change

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As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the world, people are still confined to their homes. With most schools, colleges and offices still being closed, most people are relying on social media platforms to interact with each other. Therefore, a lot of entertainment and social media websites have seen a spike in usage in the last few months. Snapchat recently released data regarding user behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a look at how the epidemic has affected Snapchat usage and what that means for the company.

New User Rush on Snapchat

The first quarter of 2020 has been especially good for Snapchat, which gained 11 million users, bringing the total count of daily users to 229 million. The addition of 11 million new users, or Daily Active Users, is a 20% increase over what their usage was last year. Similarly, with most people being stuck at home, engagement has also risen tremendously. The first quarter saw the creation of over 4 billion snaps every day! With more and more people migrating to Snapchat to stay connected with their loved ones, the company recently released new data regarding user activity. The new look at how user behavior has changed during the COVID-19 lets us understand how the disease has affected people around the world.

User Behavior Changes

The impact of COVID-19 has helped engagement rates hit all-time highs. Furthermore, more and more people are now turning to social media sites like Snapchat to stay connected to their friends and family. Compared to February, March has seen a spike of 50% when it comes to time spent on voice and video calling facilities. Such a trend may also be associated with social distancing rules which came into place in March, forcing people away from one another.

This has led to most people switching to IG, Snapchat, Zoom, and Skype to talk to their loved ones face-to-face. March also witnessed an all-time high with regards to group chat engagement rates, as friends and colleagues started using video calls to stay in touch. Friends have also started sending each other more snaps than ever before to keep them informed of what they are up to during the quarantine period.

Peak Usage and Activity

March has seen an all-new high emerge concerning the number of snaps sent amongst friends. While this number peaks during Christmas and other holiday seasons like that, this year, the peak came in March when the quarantine came into place around the world. More and more people are also spending their time getting accustomed to Snapchat’s new features and additions. As people do not have the luxury of going out to entertain themselves, they are trying to find new ways to stay occupied during this quarantine. That has led to many of them exploring all the options that the app has to offer, as they figure out ways to stay active and occupied. New features such as AR lenses and games have also peaked since March.

The company’s official statement says that Snapchat has seen a significant rise in engagement levels, time spent, number of users, and also with regards to the usage of in-game features such as chats. When compared to February, usage of Snapchat’s lenses has gone up by another 25% in March. Snapchat Shows has also become a massive hit with the crowd, with engagement rate and time spent on Snapchat Shows hit an all-time high. More and more people are tuning in to stream content related to News, Health, and Gaming.

Other User Activities

Snapchat also released data regarding off-platform user activities based on surveys and off-platform location data gathered as of mid-March. The studies show that there is a 73% drop in college and school attendance as predicted. Due to social distancing norms, there is a 29% decrease in bar visits, 22% fewer people are traveling via air, and there’s been a massive 60% drop in people attending concerts. Similarly, gyms are seeing 41% fewer people, and most users are staying home for the majority of their time.

Furthermore, Snapchat data shows that 62% of their users are now streaming more data, while there’s a 21% increase in online shopping. It seems 38% of their users have taken to gaming while another 23% is engaging in online food delivery to beat their quarantine blues. Content consumption has increased considerably, with a 39% increase in people watching the news, while 39% now depend on their TV. Also, social media has seen a 29% increase in user engagement, while ad revenue seems to be on the decline.  

Though Snapchat has achieved all-time highs with regards to engagement, their revenue from ads is down when compared to earlier months. While February witnessed growth in ad revenue of 58%, it dropped to 25% by March due to the COVID-19. According to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, most companies have had to cut their ad budget due to the pandemic, resulting in this slump. However, the growth in early Jan and Feb will give Snapchat confidence that they can improve their revenues once the pandemic draws to a close.