Snapchat’s slogan is “Share the Moment,” but the forms those moments can take, as well as the ways to share them, make it a particularly valuable social media platform for growing brands.
Consumers can take photos or “snaps” that they send to friends or post on their profile, for instance, but they can also use the chat function. They can experiment with augmented reality (AR) lenses to make photos and videos to upload as an Instagram story, and they can also tap into a range of popular creators via its Discover service.
Brands can use a Snapchat product feed to show up at any time during the journey consumers take with the app. In doing so they may get more attention from their target audience, given most of the other content on Snapchat is designed to disappear or can remain private to a select few.
This could explain why, as of 2023,, Snapchat had more than 600 million active monthly users worldwide, and is expected to reach over 1 billion in next 3 years
The advantages of generating a Snapchat product feed or exploring other Snapchat products, therefore, include:
- An opportunity to reach younger demographics: Snapchat’s user base is predominantly made up of Gen Z and millennial consumers. These tend to be consumers who have fewever financial obligations, more disposable income and an interest in fashion and other luxury items..
- Creative options to showcase your brand: As a primarily visual platform, retailers can choose between using images, videos, and interactive features like AR lenses and filters, to make their products more appealing on Snapchat and increase their visibility.
- Native storytelling venues: Snapchat’s Stories and Discover section aren’t limited to consumers. Retailers can weave their products directly into these content formats to reach a large audience and increase brand awareness.
- Interactive advertising alternatives: With Snap Ads, AR filters and other dynamic product ad products, Snapchat gives its brand partners several ways to boost user engagement and achieve more conversions that drive revenue. .
As enticing as these advantages are, success on Snapchat depends upon finding a way to advertise your products effectively and without your team getting bogged down with time-consuming tasks. Automating the process of generating a Snapchat product data feed is the best way to do that.
First thing first though, let’s quickly go through the steps to sell on Snapchat and different ad formats.
How to sell products on Snapchat in 10 easy steps
If you’re ready to take the next step, the obvious first question is, “how to sell products on snapchat?
First of all, you need to Set Up Snapchat for Business. If you haven’t already, create a Snapchat Business account.You can access Snapchat for Business at business.snapchat.com.
1. Install Snapchat Pixel: The Snapchat Pixel is a tracking code that allows you to measure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Install the pixel on your website to track user interactions and conversions.
2. Set Up Your Catalog: Prepare a product catalog containing the details of the products you want to advertise. The catalog should include essential information like product name, description, images, price, and availability.
3. Create a Product Catalog Feed: Format your product catalog into an XML, CSV, or TXT file. This feed acts as a bridge between your product catalog and Snapchat’s advertising platform.
4. Choose an Ad Objective: Determine your advertising objective. It could be driving website visits, increasing app installs, or boosting conversions.
5. Access Snapchat Ads Manager: Log in to your Snapchat Ads Manager account at ads.snapchat.com. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to sign up for one.
6. Set Up Your Campaign: Create a new campaign and select the appropriate ad objective based on your goal.
7. Create an Ad Set: In the ad set, you will define your target audience, budget, ad placement, and schedule.
8. Upload Your Product Feed: During the ad creation process, you’ll have the option to upload your product feed. Snapchat will use this information to showcase your products in the ads.
9. Design Your Ad Creative: Create engaging ad creative that highlights your products and captures the attention of Snapchat users.
10. Review and Launch: Double-check all your settings and make sure everything is accurate. Once you’re satisfied, launch your campaign.
11. Monitor and Optimize: Keep a close eye on your campaign’s performance and make necessary adjustments to improve its effectiveness
Types of Snapchat ads and formats
To best connect with people through imagery and information about your brand and products, use these versatile formats for any of your business objective. Based on your ultimate goal, Snapchat ad products can help streamline the customer journey from awareness to purchase.
Some of the formats and dynamic product ads Snapchat offers include:
Snap Ads
Snap Ads provide brands with a powerful way to engage with Snapchat’s young and active user base, driving brand awareness, app installs, website visits, and other marketing objectives. By utilizing the platform’s creative capabilities and targeting options effectively, advertisers can deliver compelling, relevant ads that resonate with Snapchat’s audience, making Snap Ads an essential component of many brands’ social media advertising strategies.
Snap Ads are vertical, full-screen video ads that appear between user-generated Stories or within the Discover section of the app. They are typically non-skippable and can be up to 3 minutes long. Snap Ads include a “Swipe Up” call-to-action that allows users to visit a website, install an app, or view additional content.
Sponsored Lenses
Sponsored Lenses are augmented reality (AR) filters that brands can leverage to create branded AR experiences that incorporate their products, logos, or messaging into the interactive filters, to promote their products or enhance user engagement.
Sponsored Lenses are highly interactive and shareable, making them an effective way to connect with Snapchat’s massive user base. Use this format to make a big impression on a big scale.
Collection Ads
Collection Ads allow advertisers to showcase a series of products in a single ad unit. When users tap on the ad, they are presented with a catalog of products they can browse and interact with.
This type of ad is particularly useful for e-commerce brands looking to promote multiple products in one ad. Use this format to giving Snapchatters a frictionless way to browse and buy, while creating a smooth shopping experience that helps you bring in more buyers.
Story Ads
Reach people with a series of up to 20 Single Image or Video Ads. You can use this format to connect with consumers in between the Stories they see or through a branded tile appearing in Snapchat’s Discover section.
Use these full-screen ads to provide an immersive and engaging experience for users.
Dynamic Product Ads
Snapchat Dynamic Product Ads enable advertisers to automatically promote relevant products to individual users based on their browsing behavior and interests. These ads are highly personalized and tailored to the user’s preferences.
Dynamic product ads help reach users in two distinct ways:
- Show Snapchatters ads, built directly from your product catalog, that are tailored to them based on their actions taken on your site or in your app.
- Cast a wider net on Snapchat and find prospective customers by serving them relevant products built directly from your product catalog.
Find more on Snapchat Ads Format
Snapchat ad content restrictions: What you need to know
Although the geographical targets for using a Snapchat Product Data Feed have expanded worldwide, the content within Snapchat ads is subject to certain geographical restrictions depending on the country you want to target.
Note: These content restrictions do not affect Clothing & Apparel product ads.
Creating a Snapchat Product Feed: The fundamentals
To leverage Snapchat ad products and better promote your products to its audience, you need to first decide:
- How you want to structure your Snapchat Product Feed
- How to Upload your library of products, either manually or automatically
Manually, which means you enter your product information into a spreadsheet according to Snapchat’s specifications.
Automatically, which means using an extension, plugin, app, or service that pulls data from your site and formats it for you. You can use the data from your product feed to automatically create Product Ads, Story Ads, and Snap Ads, and the new Collection Ads with templates in Snapchat’s Ads Manager.
If you have a large inventory to promote, you’ll likely want to go the automated route. Find out how to create a product feed from your existing catalog.
3 reasons your Snapchat Product Feed Set-up needs to be done with care
Setting up your product data feed properly is important for 3 main reasons:
- To display accurate product information
- To earn clicks from prospective buyers
- To make optimization and management easier
Keep in mind that automation doesn’t mean hands-off. You still need to ensure your current product titles, descriptions, images, and other attributes are optimized. Otherwise, your automated feed won’t deliver as it should.
By following the same format and structure as you would use for a Google Shopping product data feed, your product information will display well in Snapchat Shoppable Ads. Use these same guidelines to get your Snapchat Product Feed up and running.
Improve Your Ad Performance on Snapchat with expert help
Snapchat is obviously a valuable marketing tool to promote your products and drive sales.
Now that you know how to sell your products on Snapchat, it’s time to take advantage of the dynamic product ads Snapchat offers.
This is where a product feed management platform like Highstreet.io can help. Our platform handles all of your product feed needs by optimizing your product data for better listings on Snapchat, and any social or marketing channel you want to advertise on.
Highstreet.io not only offers solutions optimized for working with Snapchat product ads, but we have years of experience working with brands that want to boost their performance across social media, online marketplaces and many other digital channels.
Get more details on how to better optimize your Snapchat product feeds for better sales. Contact Hightstreet.io today get you Snapchat Ads rolling.