Three Features of Snapchat That You Might Not Know

    Chapter 7 in the "Essentials of Social Media Marketing" textbook is all about how to use Snapchat as a marketing tool. After reading this chapter, I came across several features of the app that, even as a frequent user, I had not seen nor heard of before. These features include visual search, AR shopping lenses, and Spotlight Challenges.

    The visual search feature of Snapchat allows users to simply purchase items off the app by aiming the camera at a product. When aiming the camera at a product/barcode it will pull up a link from amazon where the user can buy the item. This feature is a great source of advertising for businesses due to its ease for users to purchase items.

    The AR shopping lenses are 3D lenses that allow users to visualize real products on themselves from businesses. For example, a shoe brand could create an AR try-on lens for users to try on different shoe styles or a glasses company could create a lens to try on different frame styles. This feature is not only a good marketing tool for businesses, but it is also a fun way for customers to interact through a screen.

    Lastly, the Spotlight Challenges is a feature that allows Snapchat users to earn money for sharing short-form videos. However, in order to earn money, the users' videos must go viral and collect lots of views. The more viral a video goes the more the users could get paid for that video. This is a good way for Snapchat to incentivize posting Spotlight videos on their app.

    I hope you were able to learn something new about Snapchat and what it has to offer.