By\u00a0George McMahon, UM Insight Executive<\/p>\n
eMarketer predicts the app\u2019s user base will increase both in the US and UK over the coming months.<\/em><\/p>\n A lot of companies want to appeal to younger consumers, hoping to create loyalty that will keep those people buying their products for decades. So when it comes to using social networks, there has been a lot of focus placed on marketing in the sites and mobile apps used most often by tweens, teens and twentysomethings.<\/p>\n And right now, the network of choice for younger audiences is temporary photo-sharing app Snapchat. eMarketer, for one, predicts the app\u2019s user base will increase both in the US and UK over the coming months. In fact, its forecasts suggest Snapchat will overtake both Instagram and Facebook in terms of total users in the US for ages 12-17 and 18-24 for the first time by the end of the year.<\/p>\n As Snapchat celebrates its fifth anniversary this September, its parent company has been less joyous in reporting slowing growth. This points to a platform that is going through the same growing pains that we saw for Twitter and Facebook a decade ago. As its recent financial figures suggest, Snapchat is in that awkward phase for social networks where it\u2019s struggling to monetise itself.<\/p>\n This means that if Snapchat is to remain viable for the next five years and beyond, it must find new ways to keep the advertising dollars coming in. Success here lies in pinpointing what attracts younger people to the platform and exactly how those audiences use it. Understanding both motivation and behaviour will offer advertisers the means to reach those consumers in the most appropriate ways.<\/p>\n