{"id":9909,"date":"2016-05-05T11:00:43","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T16:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.latenightim.com\/?p=9909"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:54:26","slug":"snapchat-not-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latenightim.com\/snapchat-not-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapchat Marketing Strategy: Why It Was Never Going to Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2016, I wrote something controversial: Snapchat would never become a tier-one marketing platform. Snapchat was the hottest thing at Social Media Marketing World that year, and thought leaders were falling over themselves to teach Snapchat marketing strategy. I called it a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n

I was right. Here is why, and what the Snapchat story teaches us about evaluating any new platform for content marketing.<\/p>\n

The Original Argument<\/h2>\n

After spending several weeks playing with Snapchat in 2016 — partly because my friend Cliff Ravenscraft<\/a> was getting serious about it — I identified three fundamental problems that would prevent Snapchat from becoming essential for marketers.<\/p>\n

Problem 1: No Sharing<\/h3>\n

Viral marketing depends on sharing. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube — the entire model is that someone sees something great and passes it along. Snapchat had no native sharing mechanism. If someone created something amazing, the best you could do was screenshot it. Content reach was linear, not exponential. Without viral distribution, Snapchat's utility as a marketing platform was fundamentally capped.<\/p>\n

Problem 2: No Archive<\/h3>\n

Content marketing depends on three things: loyal readership, sharing, and organic discovery. Snapchat content disappeared in 24 hours. That meant no search traffic, no evergreen tutorials, no product reviews that could generate revenue for months or years. Every piece of content was disposable.<\/p>\n

Traditional content marketing pieces — tutorials, how-to guides, product reviews — were essentially useless on Snapchat unless you happened to post at the exact moment your viewer needed the information. Snapchat was a one-legged stool.<\/p>\n

Problem 3: Missing Fundamentals<\/h3>\n

Beyond the structural issues, Snapchat lacked basic marketing tools: no desktop client, no call-to-action functionality, no low-barrier interactions like a “like” button, no way to import or schedule content, and an unintuitive user interface.<\/p>\n

What Actually Happened<\/h2>\n

Instagram launched Stories in August 2016 — just months after this article was published — and essentially cloned Snapchat's core feature while adding everything Snapchat lacked: sharing, discoverability, archive options, and integration with an existing massive user base. Instagram Stories became the dominant short-form content format for marketers.<\/p>\n

Snapchat survived as a company but never became the marketing powerhouse that 2016 conference speakers predicted. Its user base skews young, its ad platform serves brands targeting that demographic, but it never became a required tool in any content marketer's stack.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, TikTok arrived and solved the problems Snapchat never addressed. TikTok has viral sharing, algorithmic discovery, content that lives beyond 24 hours, and a creator ecosystem that rewards quality content with massive organic reach. TikTok became what Snapchat evangelists were hoping Snapchat would become.<\/p>\n

The Lesson for Evaluating New Platforms<\/h2>\n

The Snapchat story offers a framework for evaluating any new social platform for marketing potential. Ask three questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Can content be shared virally?<\/strong> If the platform limits distribution to direct followers only, your reach is linear and your marketing ROI is capped.<\/li>\n
  2. Does content persist?<\/strong> If content disappears, you are on a treadmill. Every conversion requires new content creation. There is no compounding effect.<\/li>\n
  3. Can you own the relationship?<\/strong> If there is no path from platform follower to email subscriber or customer, you are building on rented land with no way to bring the audience home.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Any platform that fails on all three of these criteria is not worth your time as a content marketer. Snapchat failed on all three. If you are spending time worrying about having a Snapchat marketing strategy today, you can stop. You could have stopped in 2016.<\/p>\n

    What's Changed Since This Was Written<\/h2>\n

    Short-form video became essential, just not on Snapchat.<\/strong> TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts now dominate short-form content. These platforms solved the sharing and discovery problems Snapchat never addressed.<\/p>\n

    Ephemeral content found its place — as a supplement, not a strategy.<\/strong> Instagram Stories and similar features work well for engagement with existing audiences, but no serious marketer builds their entire strategy around disappearing content.<\/p>\n

    The “build on rented land” warning is more relevant than ever.<\/strong> Platform risk is real. The marketers who weathered every platform shift are the ones who prioritized email lists and owned websites from the beginning.<\/p>\n