TikTok/ Snapchat: for which brands?

TikTok/ Snapchat: for which brands?

The competition is tough between the two networks for young users. In the race for innovation and subscriber numbers, they have understood that brands are their best allies. Partnerships and communication strategies on TikTok and Snapchat are multiplying. How do these partnerships work? What are the objectives of these 3.0 networks? Let’s decipher.

Who are they?

The Chinese network TikTok, has exceeded two billion downloads worldwide in four years, including over 10 million in France. 69% of its users are under 25 years old.

Snapchat, owned by Facebook launched in 2011, has 229 million daily active users, including more than 15 million in France according to Mediamétrie. 60% of users are between 18 and 34 years old.

Their formats

The format of the TikTok network is efficient because it mixes the story format and the Vine format while benefiting from a massive diffusion. It allows users to create, publish and broadcast short videos, integrate hashtags and play them continuously. Unlike Snapchat, TikTok does not seek to revolutionize the interface of mobile applications. Everything is done to make the new user feel like he or she is on conquered ground.

Snapchat, the pioneer of the story format, confirmed last week that its users will soon be able to scroll vertically through their content, exactly like on TikTok. This new vertical swipe mode will not apply to private stories, but to content available on Snapchat Discover. In this new experience, swiping horizontally to the left or right will end the navigation.

Snapchat is stepping up the pace to offer an alternative to the hottest social network of the moment. This initiative shows how influential TikTok has become. After being copied by Instagram, Facebook and now LinkedIn, TikTok’s vertical swiping may well suffer the same fate as Snapchat.

Their strategies

If TikTok seems to collaborate with its competitors, the network is actually trying to get ahead of them. The application invests heavily in advertising by launching operations with influencers from other platforms. It shares its content on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. TikTok thus goes beyond its own field of action and makes itself known everywhere on the web. It also offers the possibility to create an account from Facebook, Google or Twitter.

On the occasion of its annual conference, Snapchat announced its opening to other platforms through two new features. On the one hand, the “Camera Kit”, which allows developers to integrate Snapchat virtual reality filters into other applications. On the other hand, the Squad application, which offers participants of a video chat to share their screen. Inspired by the WeChat network, the firm would also like to offer selected partners ticketing services, such as Atom Tickets or the Coachella festival.

Two different opening strategies are therefore at the heart of the two social networks.

For what purposes?

No need to leave the TikTok application to make videos with an almost professional look. It is a considerable saving of time and resources because the application has integrated tools. In addition, the application has a wide variety of content in all categories: humor, dance, music, cooking, art, drawing, sports, beauty, lifestyle, DIY, high-tech, or even relaxation and travel. In addition to this versatility, which is the strength of the Chinese network, the algorithms recommend targeted content to users (For You)

Beyond its creativity, the augmented reality used by Snapchat allows to increase the value of brands’ products, especially through customization. It is a starting point for the brand experience and ensures its continuity with the consumer. More than 75% of active Snapchat users interact with augmented reality daily. In the context of Covid-19, virtual fitting is becoming the ultimate replacement for the in-store tester. Snapchat’s augmented reality has become a way for businesses to reach their customers in innovative ways.

Their latest partnerships

The Snapchat application is launching a “Brand Profiles” beta with thirty partners, including many French brands (Garnier, Lancôme, L’Oréal…) If the success is there, the feature will be open to all in a few months. More concretely, during the Snap Partner Summit 2020, which took place in early June, Gucci presented its new feature based on augmented reality by launching a partnership with Snapchat: “Try-on”. From now on, the Italian luxury brand offers to virtually try on pairs of shoes via the social network.

Earlier this year, the Capri-Sun brand launched an eco-responsible TikTok challenge with the #CapriMoveChallenge, embodied by three ambassadors known to millennials. As a result, the brand has accumulated more than 135K engagement and 945K views. There is also a very popular hashtag, #LearnOnTikTok, which gathers nearly 1 million videos for 10 billion views. Le Monde announced on June 18 its arrival on the platform to inform a younger audience with new content.

Their latest launches

TikTok officially introduces a new brand and platform called TikTok For Business. It seeks to attract businesses to engage with its community. Features of TikTok For Business include Hashtag Challenges or Brand Effects. Hashtag Challenges allow brands to invite TikTok users to create content around a hashtag of their choice, including Hashtag Plus, which adds a shopping feature to the experience. Brand Effects, meanwhile, offer a more effective insertion of brands into the content creation experience. The effects can be videos in 2D, 3D, or Augmented Reality format. These different features can of course be added to each other. TikTok is also launching an online learning center that aims to help marketers learn about the platform and its advertising offerings. The center brings together product guides to help launch campaigns or learn about the Brand Effects partner program.

An incredibly useful tool in an e-commerce logic, spatial storytelling recently allowed Snapchat’s camera to identify the Louis Vuitton logo. Each time users encounter this logo, they can access, via Snapchat, the company’s universe, its news or its new products. Spatial storytelling, or augmented reality storytelling, is becoming the best ally for brands. This is why it is now essential for them to create 3D versions of their products very early on.

Don’t forget the challenger Insta

Snapchat and TikTok are both facing competition from Instagram. After copying the stories, the network is now taking over the videos “à la TikTok”. Indeed, Instagram has just announced the launch of its Reels option to, according to its statement, be a content creator “on the global stage”.

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