As part of Snapchat’s effort to boost advertiser interest, they’ve been commissioning research reports to better highlight the potential of the app’s audience. They recently published a report on Snapchat’s unique audience – users who are more commonly active on Snapchat than they are on other platforms. Their latest report looks at another subset of Snapchat users – those interested in sports and sport-related content.
Snapchat may not be the first platform that comes to mind when you think of sports coverage on social, but the data, which incorporates combined insights from Snapchat and Nielsen, presents a few interesting considerations worth keeping in mind for those trying to connect with sports devotees.
First off, according to Snapchat, Snap users are more likely to be sports fans.
“Whether it’s professional basketball, football, baseball, soccer, or hockey, Snapchatters generally watch, attend, and stream sports games more than people who don’t use the app. In fact, Snapchatters are 25% more likely to rank “sports” as a category that’s important to them than non-Snapchatters would.”
Given Snap’s younger audience base, that makes some sense, but it is somewhat surprising to see Snapchatters leading the way for all these major sports.
On NASCAR specifically, it’d be interesting to see whether that increased interest amongst Snapchat users is because of the sport’s clever use of the platform. Snapchat has worked with platform influencers and has utilized native tools, including dedicated Lenses, when promoting events. No doubt that’s played a part in solidifying it as a key platform for fans.
Snapchat also notes that Snapchatters are very active on the app during sports events.
“Twice as many Snapchatters share photos of the game than non-Snapchatters do while at live sporting events, and they’re far more active on social media during games than non-Snapchatters who are there live as well.”
That’s an important consideration – if you’re looking to activate and connect with fans during the event, Snapchat may be your best option. This is especially relevant when you also consider the more recent additions of topic search and location-based stories, both of which could help further build community within the app.
Snap also notes that Snapchat users ‘feel a stronger connection to sports’, with 46% of Snapchatters saying they’ve purchased official team merchandise in the past year (versus 33% of non-Snapchatters). Snap users also spend 56% more of their total sports and entertainment spend on officially-licensed sports apparel than non-Snapchatters.
And in the last element of the report, Snapchat looks at some more specific sports usage trends, including connection and viewing habits.
In some ways, the findings are no big surprise – Snapchat’s aimed at more high-end devices, which would point to those with more discretionary income, those who are more likely to spend it on things like sports-related items. But still, with both Twitter and Facebook looking to boost their sports coverage, it underlines just how important, and lucrative, sports can be.
According to this data, Snapchat has something of a lead on this already, and while the app may have fewer users overall, it could be worth further investigation for those brands with linkages into sports and sports communities.