Once upon a time, Snapchat was a weird little app with lots of rules, an arcane interface, and passionate but relatively small user base. But now, the app is becoming a major playing in the world of social media, giving old stalwarts like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram a run for their money.
A recent profile of CEO Evan Spiegel in Bloomgburg Business reveals the quick growing-up process the company has undergone in the last three years. In that time, Snapchat has become one of the fastest growing social networks, reaching 100 million active monthly users in just 44 months. (For context, it took Facebook 54 months to reach that mark, and Twitter 65 months).
But the journey there wasn’t easy. Spiegel is 24 years old and has had his fair share of public relations stumbles, including an annoying leak of private emails, problems keeping C-suite employees, and a puzzling rejection of an $3 billion all-cash offer from Facebook. But even after all this, the app has still seen unprecedented success. In addition to its rapid growth, Snapchat has 330 employees, a valuation over $15 billion, and somewhere in the area of 100 million young users.
It’s those young users that are particularly useful to Snapchat.
With 60 percent of 13 to 34 year olds being active on the platform, Snapchat is starting to look into a way to connect them with brands and advertising agencies in a way that makes everyone happy.
But as the Bloomburg article notes, Spiegel is a slightly prickly guy, something that’s gotten him in trouble with the press but has endeared him to those who find his uncompromising vision for his company to be admirable. Snapchat’s ad offering is a slow work in progress mostly because Spiegel insists on making Snapchat user friendly and authentic.
Snapchat’s focus on branded editorial content is what sets it apart from other social network, and could very well end up being the thing that makes it the next great social network. Pop icon Madonna debuted the video for the first single from her 2015 record, Rebel Heart, on the platform, and a series of swipes will get you to the Snapchat Discover page where you can watch content from Vice, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Comedy Central, and more (in keeping with Snapchat’s successful gimmick, all content disappears in 24 hours).
While Snapchat’s story is definitely indicative of the crazy tech start-up world we live in (strange app with millions of millennial users and billions of dollars on the line), it’s not all that different from what happened with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram before it.
Facebook started out as a place where classmates could connect, and now has 1.44 billion active monthly users; Twitter started out as a public text messaging forum and now is seen as a vital way to share information during nearly every event, from fashion shows to natural disasters; and photo-sharing app Instagram has turned one of the most popular social networks for brands, especially those in the fashion and beauty industry.
So what’s next for Snapchat?
Judging from Spiegel’s profile, he isn’t ready to say, but it’s clear he has big plans for the future, as evidenced by his rejection of the $3 billion cash offer from Facebook. And who knows—a billion daily active users might not be too far behind.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Snapchat is Becoming a Grown Up appeared first on Official Fiverr Blog.