Snapchat Discover: Content, Audience, and Ad Opportunities

With over 190 million daily active users, Snapchat has become one of the most popular social media platforms among teenagers and young adults. A key part of Snapchat's appeal is its Discover feature, which was introduced in January 2015 to allow users to access curated content from major media companies.

Over the years, Snapchat Discover has evolved into an increasingly important source of content discovery and advertising revenue for Snapchat. Media partners like CNN, ESPN, Vice, and BuzzFeed now publish customized shows and editions on Discover on a daily basis across different content categories. Additionally, Snapchat splits ad revenue with its Discover partners and has options for six-second non-skippable ads within Discover content.

In this blog post, we’ll take a deeper look at Snapchat Discover and analyze some of the factors driving its success.

The Evolution of Snapchat Discover

Snapchat launched Discover in January 2015 with a focus on delivering high-quality content from select media partners. Initial partners included ESPN, Food Network, Comedy Central, Daily Mail, CNN and Vice. Over time, Snapchat continued adding more media partners across news, entertainment, lifestyle and gaming verticals. Key developments include Snapchat Shows in 2018 to feature longer-form original programs, the launch of Creator Shows for individual influencers in 2021, and localization initiatives to expand region-specific content. The breadth of content spans drama series, sports recaps, investigative reports, beauty tips and more. With over 125 million monthly active users as of 2022, Discover provides immense reach for media companies.

Content Variety and Discovery Within Discover

Snapchat Discover offers an impressively wide content variety spanning news, sports, entertainment, fashion/beauty, gaming and more. Users can scroll horizontally through different editorial sections and tap on tiles representing shows or editions from each media partner. Snapchat also leverages machine learning to serve users content aligned with their individual viewing habits and interests. The For You section includes trending and popular shows to facilitate content discovery. Snapchat is constantly optimizing the mix of content genres and personalization to enhance engagement.

Measuring Discover Viewership and Engagement

Snapchat closely tracks a range of metrics related to Discover viewership. This includes monthly/daily reach for both Snapchat as a whole and specific Discover channels or shows. Importantly, 90% of daily users watch Discover content each month. User time spent viewing Discover increased more than 35% year-over-year in early 2021. On average, mobile users spend over 30 minutes per day consuming content in Snapchat. Key engagement metrics for Discover partners focus on metrics like 'opens per user' in addition to 'views per user'. Ultimately the breadth of content and personalization keep users highly engaged in Discover daily.

Monetization Opportunities With Discover Ads

Snapchat Split ad revenues with media partners on Discover based on views of sponsored/commercial content. Snapchat sells vertical video advertisements slotted between Discover content, focused on grabbing attention quickly. Most are 6-second non-skippable ads that have up to a 95% completion rate. Over 75% of ads lead users to start testing or searching for brands/products viewed. Top categories are entertainment, CPG/retail and restaurants. With strong user engagement, Snapchat offers brands access to a young, influential audience. The company is optimizing targeting and measurability to further grow Snapchat Discover as a lucrative ad platform alongside Facebook and Instagram.

Unlock the Power of Snapchat Discover for Your Brand

After reading this analysis, you can see that Snapchat Discover represents an immense opportunity for brands to engage a young, influential audience in a high-quality content environment. Our social media marketing agency has in-depth expertise helping brands develop effective Snapchat and influencer marketing strategies on Discover.

We handle everything from producing compelling social video ads tailored to the Snapchat audience, securing media buys and sponsorships with Snapchat creators/publishers, optimizing campaigns for strong ROI and detailed analytics. Our team stays on top of the latest Snapchat ad formats, machine learning features for personalization and daily trends in viewership.

If you want to leverage Snapchat Discover and influencer content to drive awareness, engagement and sales amongst the valuable Gen Z demographic, we have proven solutions. Get in touch with our digital marketing experts today for a customized plan integrating Snapchat alongside other key youth-oriented platforms like Instagram and TikTok. 

We take care of ideation, production, distribution and measurement so you get maximum return from the fastest-growing social media consumers. Let us amplify your brand’s reach through the influential content universe of Snapchat Discover!