The ultimate playbook to build a Snapchat influencer marketing strategy

In the rapidly evolving landscape of social media, Snapchat stands out as a vibrant platform, particularly beloved by younger audiences. With 422 million daily active users worldwide, there’s a relevant potential audience worth your brand’s pursuit.

But what’s the best way for brands like yours to use the app?

Snapchat’s distinctive features and authentic vibe make it an excellent avenue for influencer marketing. This playbook will help you harness the power of Snapchat influencer marketing with guidance on forging partnerships, creating engaging content and tracking business results.

Partner with the right Snapchat influencers

To optimize your influencer marketing strategy on Snapchat, it’s crucial to collaborate with the right influencers. Conduct thorough research to identify influencers whose values align with your brand, who resonate with your target audience and who can help you achieve your campaign objectives.

Here are four factors to keep in mind when searching for Snapchat influencers:

Know your audience

Different generations have unique platform preferences for social media. According to a Sprout Social Q2 Pulse Survey of more than 2,000 consumers across the US and UK, Gen Z and Millennials are the generations you can expect to see most on the platform, with Gen Z ranking Snapchat as one of their top three most-used social platforms. When you search for influencers, look for those who’ll resonate with younger generations.

Relevance matters

Seek out individuals whose content aligns with your brand values and whose followers match your target demographic. Use tools like Social Blade and Tagger, Sprout Social’s influencer marketing platform to pinpoint the best fits.

Prioritize engagement, not just follower count

While a large follower count is appealing, high engagement rates are a truer measure of an influencer’s impact. Focus on influencers who receive substantial interaction on their posts, such as comments, shares‌ and views.

Build long-term relationships

Develop long-term relationships with key influencers. Consistent partnerships lead to more authentic and impactful collaborations. Consider turning successful influencers into brand ambassadors. Ambassadors can provide a steady stream of content and maintain a continuous connection with their audience.

Harness Snapchat’s unique features

Like any social platform, unique features are what keep audiences coming back. Build your campaigns around Snapchat’s functionality to create content that resonates.

Stories

Snapchat Stories are ideal for sharing temporary, engaging content that creates urgency. Use Stories for behind-the-scenes glimpses, product launches‌ and exclusive previews. Collaborate with influencers for Snapchat takeovers, giving their followers direct access to your brand.

Geofilters

The future of influencer marketing will extend beyond the screen. According to Sprout Social’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, most consumers agree they’re more likely to buy from brands who partner with influencers on more than just social content—like IRL events.

To capture this intent, use influencers and geofilters to bring event activations to life. Design branded geofilters for specific events or locations, and have your influencers apply them. Anyone in the area can use these filters, boosting brand visibility and encouraging user interaction.

Lenses

Develop custom Snapchat lenses to allow users to interact with your brand in a playful and immersive way, from simple overlays to sophisticated augmented reality experiences. Partner with influencers to showcase these lenses on their accounts and encourage audience to do the same.

Incorporate Snapchat Ads

Complement influencer content with Snap Ads to extend your reach. These ads reinforce your campaign message and drive additional engagement. You can also sponsor content to amplify reach further—enhancing the impact of your influencer campaigns.

Craft authentic and engaging content

Sprout’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Report also found that the best brand and influencer collaborations are honest and unbiased, entertaining or educational.

Keep those factors in mind while building your content strategy, and use the tips below to craft engaging content.

Stay authentic

Allow influencers the freedom to present your brand in their unique style. Authenticity resonates strongly with their audience, making the content more impactful. Collaborate closely with influencers to co-create content that’s both creative and aligned with your brand messaging, but let them guide the approach to foster innovation and engagement.

Take audiences behind-the-scenes

Humanize your brand with behind-the-scenes content. This approach makes your brand more relatable and accessible. Encourage influencers to tell a story through their snaps and give audiences a sneak peek at what it’s like to work with your brand. Storytelling makes the content more engaging and memorable for the audience.

Share user-generated content

Encourage influencers to share user-generated content. This strategy helps boost engagement while building credibility and trust in your brand. It fosters a sense of community, making followers feel valued and part of a larger group.

Run contests and giveaways

Contests and giveaways are powerful tools for driving engagement. Partner with influencers to run these campaigns, offering followers chances to win exclusive products or experiences. Provide special deals or discounts to the influencer’s followers. This creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency, driving immediate action.

Stay updated with trends

Keep up with new Snapchat features and trends. Early adoption of new tools can give your brand a competitive edge and keep your content fresh. Be aware of cultural and social trends that resonate with your target audience, and incorporate these trends into your content to make it more relevant and engaging.

Take CeraVe, for example. The brand leaned into Snapchat’s AR trends and partnered with Snapchat creators for a campaign to raise product awareness.

Creators used AR to “apply” CeraVe products on screen while explaining the product’s benefits to viewers in real time.

Use analytics to understand performance

Dig into your native Snapchat analytics to see how your influencer campaign impacts real business results. Then, based on what you learn, iterate and improve your campaign strategy. Here’s what to do:

Track performance

Use Snapchat’s analytics tools to monitor the performance of your influencer campaigns. Key metrics include:

Refine your strategy

By analyzing audience behavior and preferences, you can tailor your campaigns to better meet the needs of your target audience. The data you collect can tell you the strength of specific influencer partnerships, the campaign content that resonates the most and what other opportunities exist to differentiate your brand. Turn your data into impact by finding insights and creating new ideas to refine your strategies.

Maximize Snapchat influencer marketing ROI

Using Snapchat in your influencer marketing strategy involves a blend of creativity, strategic planning‌ and a deep understanding of the platform’s unique experience. By selecting the right influencers, crafting authentic content‌ and effectively using Snapchat’s tools, brands can create impactful campaigns that resonate with their audience. Use this playbook to build an influencer strategy that works, and learn how Sprout Social’s influencer marketing platform can help you execute Snapchat influencer marketing campaigns from start to finish.