The war to get more users is not over. Snap that has been struggling with its growth, especially after Facebook and Instagram have blatantly copied its features.
And here, it has another strategy. After trying to lure back users from competitors, Snapchat is also going after their advertisers.
Snapchat has rolled out a program that offers free credits to those that have recently bought vertical video ads from Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other digital ad sellers like AdColony, ChartBoost and Vungle, ad networks and even digital billboards, the company spokesperson said.
But to be eligible, they must not have run any ads on Snapchat previously, and must provide a proof that they have ran a vertical video ad campaign elsewhere.
To do this, Snapchat is directing advertisers to an online application where they can upload a proof of purchase.
Called 'Accelerate for Social', advertisers are asked to provide their names, work email addresses, Snapchat business account IDs (with a link for those who haven't had one), PDFs of documents such as invoices to prove that they have previously run digital ads during the past three months and the vertically oriented creative that they would like to run on Snapchat.
If eligible, it will then offer them credits in the range of "several hundred dollars," according to a source.
As a smaller being if compared to Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat has not been shy about its needs to increase the number of users and advertisers. One problem for Snapchat is that most of its vertical video ads are ran through a process called programmatic ad buying. What this means, Snapchat uses an automated software to auction off ad spots to the highest bidders. Here, not many of its auctions have much competition in the platform, due to the small number of advertisers bidding for ads.
Since few advertisers bid on the system, the leaner the price.
And here, Snapchat wants to increase that pool of advertisers, so in theory, would result in higher ad prices and more revenue for the company.
What's more, Snapchat is also adding more data for social media influencers to track how their shares are doing. Those users can access more data, like seeing they total views for Story posts, how long people are watching their shares and other information on their audience.
Previously, Snapchat also has offered ad credits to attract advertisers. Called Snap Accelerate, it gives special deals to VC-backed startups that want to advertise on Snapchat. If also offered ad credits as well as discounts to advertisers shortly after its IPO.