Snapchat doesn’t sell advertising yet, although it has had some brands experimenting with real-time marketing. But if the quickly disappearing photo-messaging app does begin to sell ads in some form, marketers will want a much longer-lasting view of who those users are.
CivicScience, the online polling and data analysis company, recently published a new report that provides a deep data look at Snapchat users and fans, pointing out that Snapchat itself has little information about its own users other than basic demographic information.
CivicScience has created a profile of Snapchat fans based on more than 18,000 anonymously research respondents, 13 years and older.
What the results show is that 14% of those polled have used Snapchat, with 7% saying they love it and the other 7% saying they are not big fans. Another 4% said while they haven’t used it yet, they do plan to try it. However, 35% say they don’t plan to try it and 47% said they’ve never heard of Snapchat.
The latter two stats may be high because Snapchat’s median-age user is said to be primarily teens or people in their early 20s, and at this point, sending photos that disappear almost instantly once snapped on to friends is not something most older folks seem to be interested in.
But Snapchat is hot among those younger folks and the company has estimated that approximately 400 million “snaps” are sent daily, a user volume number sure to interest marketers if advertising in some form is eventually sold. And CivicScience’s “Insight Report” focuses on those respondents who are fans of Snapchat.
The data collected finds that 69% of Snapchat fans are women and they are most likely to be 24 years old and under. Millennials living in the Northeast are 55% more likely to say they love using Snapchat than millennials living in the Western U.S.
Snapchat fans are 25% more likely than the general population to have a household income of under $25,000, are two times more likely to live in a city, are two times more likely to live with their parents and are more likely not registered voters.
The data finds 28% of Snapchat fans are under 18 years old; 43% are between 18-24, 15% are between 25-34, 7% are between 35-44, 3% are between 45-54, 1% are between 55-64 and 2% are 65 or older.
Snapchat fans are more likely than the general population to be heavy social media users. They are three times more likely than the general population to also love Instagram, are twice as likely to get their fashion inspiration from social media sites and are 95% more likely to say their friends and other contacts on social media influence what movies and TV shows they watch.
Snapchat fans are also 86% more likely than the general public to say their friends and other contacts on social media influence the products they buy, and 59% more likely to be most influenced by comments or recommendations on social media rather than by TV or online advertising.
Snapchat fans love to share celebrity news and gossip via social media at least occasionally, are 77% more likely than the general public to share entertainment news and 89% more likely to often post comments on Facebook or Twitter while watching a TV show or movie.
Video games, music and movies are more important to Snapchat fans than the general population. Snapchat fans are 65% more likely to play video games at least weekly, are twice as likely to follow trends and current events in music and twice as likely to go to the movies once a month or more. Snapchat fans are also 31% more likely to like comedy movies.
Tech Talk
Snapchat fans are more tech savvy than the general population. They are 56% more likely to use a smartphone, 43% more likely to say they are “addicted” to their digital devices, 18% more likely to own a tablet and 25% more likely to own an e-reader.
In the area of shopping, Snapchat fans tend to be “market mavens” and are 50% more likely to try new products before others. They are also 33% more likely to seek out online reviews for items they want to purchase. Snapchat fans are 87% more likely to say fashion trends impact what they wear and are 28% more likely to say a company’s social consciousness is important when choosing where to shop and what to buy.
CivicScience also polled Snapchat fans on which brands they “love” or “like” and also did so with the non-Snapchat fans. The most loved brands by Snapchat fans is Netflix (selected by 78%), followed by Victoria’s Secret (49%), Beats by Dre (44%), Dannon Yogurt (43%), American Eagle Outfitters (41%), Old Navy (40), H&M (37%), Nordstrom (36%), Hot Topic (35%), Urban Outfitters (34%), Express (29%), J. Crew (27%), Gap (27%), Aeropostale (25%), Hollister & Co. (24%) and Coke Zero (23%).
The most loved or liked by the general population or non-Snapchat fans is Netflix (selected by 45%); Dannon Yogurt (34%), Old Navy (32%) and Victoria’s Secret (26%). All the other brands were listed by less than 20% of the general population folks polled, with J. Crew (9%), Urban Outfitters (7%) and Hollister & Co. (7%), scoring the lowest percentages.
The report points out that apparel and accessories from many of the loved and liked retailers are categories “well-suited for an app based on image sharing.”
Snapchat fans are big fans of luxury cars, although most at least right now are not in the income bracket where they will be able to afford them. Still, CivicScience points out that the Snapchat fans “might be a compelling group for purchase [of luxury cars] as they get older and draw a higher income.”
Some 52% of Snapchat fans love or like the Porsche brand and a similar percentage feel the same about BMW. Other brands they like or love most among the luxury cars include: Mercedes (46%), Audi (43%), Cadillac (41%) and Land Rover (32%).
