Snapchat has added to its arsenal of marketing formats. On Friday, it launched Sponsored Filters – a simplified flavor of its signature animated lens format. Among other things, this could make them primed for SMBs, a target market Snap continues to pursue with products like Local Lenses and Snap Map.
Starting at the top, what are filters and how are they different from lenses? In short, filters are applied to photos and videos after a user has captured a given moment. Lenses comparatively are selected by users deliberately and prior to launching the camera to take a photo or video (more on that in a bit).
This subtle difference has considerable bearing on use cases. Though Lenses have a more deliberate application, they are somewhat limited in the window of opportunity to activate them. Filters – given their post-capture activation – provide a longer window of applicability and therefore greater potential usage.
Production Rigor
All the above speaks on user levels. Returning to the SMB side of things, how do filters align? In short, filters can be simpler. Think of them like floating stickers and adornments, as opposed to lenses, which tend to be more dimensional. For example: cosmetics or shoe try-on lenses that have to “fit” right.
In fact, this technical complexity is one reason that lenses need to be selected and activated before media is captured. Using Snap’s computer vision and tracking, the scene is mapped in real-time as lenses are applied in dimensionally accurate ways – one reason people like them so much.
But one downside to that advanced functionality is complexity and production rigor. To be fair, Snap has developed Lens Studio in a low-code way for creators and developers to build lenses. But it still requires time and technical agility. Lens creators tend to be artists, graphic designers, or generally tech-adept.
Filters by comparison are a bit easier to create. They can be put together in Lens Studio using a combination of uploaded brand assets and provided filter templates. The latter include things like face filters, location-based overlays (a.k.a. geo-filters), countdown timers, and quiz generators.
SMB-Friendly
All the above makes filters more SMB-friendly. For example, a restaurant, bar, or bowling alley can create face filters that users can apply and share on Snapchat when celebrating a birthday party on site. The opportunity is also to reach Snapchat’s unique Gen-Z audience in serendipitous or event-based ways.
Returning to an earlier point, this is just the latest in Snap’s efforts to appeal to SMBs with tools they can add to their marketing Mix. As we’ve examined, Local Lenses scratch a similar itch around pre-capture media adornments, and Snap Map lets SMBs influence local Snapchat users who are out and about.
This list of SMB offerings continues to expand as Snap recognizes the opportunity in the SMB long tail. This fragmented market isn’t without its challenges but continues to be opportune, especially as the Snapchat generation cycles into the ranks of SMB proprietorship. That creates fertile ground for Snap.
Of course, there’s a lot more to it, and we’ll be fortunate enough to hear about these moves straight from the source. Snap’s own Rachel Downer, who works in Snap Advertiser Solutions, will be joining Localogy on stage in a few weeks at L24 to talk about Snap’s view of the SMB marketing world. Don’t miss it.
