We think that every time you are going to talk about how HOT the space of short-form video platforms is, you must begin with a moment of silence for Vine, may it “rest in peace.” It was always clear, but now there’s no way to debate it: Vine was years ahead of its time, and maybe all it really needed was global stay-at-home recommendations. Who knew?
And as attention spans keep shrinking, millions mostly stay in their homes, and hype cycles are also getting shorter and shorter – it’s clear why brands are already leaning deeply towards this space in the never-ending race for consumer attention. And for Gen Zers loyalty.
“TikTok plans to add 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in the next three years as user growth explodes,” TikTok spokesperson, Josh Gartner, told Axios, demonstrating one aspect of this growth.
What’s happening here is you got TikTok’s growth, along with its privacy issues, and their new ad platform, TikTok for Business, that’s making a lot of noise. Then, you got Instagram rushing to release its new product, Reels, all under the Facebook ad boycott cloud. And, what else, you ask? YouTube is getting closer to exposing its response if that’s not enough. This cup of tea was never closer to boiling and speeling over.
Because, of course, let’s not forget about the Queen B of this space, which still is Snap. This week they were the first among social media platforms to announce its Q2 reports, mostly meeting expectations and steadily growing.
“At the onset of widespread shelter in place orders, as people sought to stay connected and entertained from home, we observed an increase in daily active users that informed our initial estimate,” says Snap Chief Financial Officer, Derek Andersen., “[but] At this point in time, it is difficult to predict how these factors may impact advertising demand in the remainder of Q3.”
Snap reported 238 million daily active users, up nearly 4% from the 229 million the company reported in April – that figure is up 17% compared to the 203 million DAU the company reported a year prior.
And even more importantly, Snap reaches more U.S. consumers aged 13–34 than Facebook or Instagram – making it the most attractive platform to reach Gen Zers. And they are as active as it gets – the social media company reported that the average user opened Snapchat 30x a day in Q2!
Additionally, last month, Snap announced “Snap Minis,” a feature that allows for other apps to load inside Snapchat. And kicked off this week with an announcement of their first official collaboration/integration, with HeadSpace, “to help support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of Snapchatters,” a Snap spokesperson said in a statement.
Together these two companies launched six guided meditation exercises – perfect for sharing mindful sessions with friends during these challenging and uncertain times. Three other apps are to drop these days, including study aid Flashcards, clairvoyance game Prediction Master, and Let’s Do It, which helps your friends make tough (or easy) decisions.
Snap has been proven once again that it can answer to what is perhaps Gen Z’s biggest concern. As of now, mental health is top of mind. But either way, Snap’s always on top of it when it comes to this coveted demographic.
Though the Snap stock did go down this week, analysts say it’s partially because investors expected the lockdown to better affect the app’s performance, and perhaps the momentum is now gone. Either way, “the fastest way to share a moment,” as of now, is still on Snap. But everybody’s coming for the king.