Has COVID-19 cracked Snap Inc’s operations?
The Interview started with a description of Snap’s ethos and operations. Although it’s considered by many as social media, the specialist describes it as a “visual messaging company” – an important distinction. The former is about showing off your life and entails more media consumption, while for the latter “you have a couple of friends that you communicate with quickly back and forth throughout the day”.
Trends aside from those connected to coronavirus include Snap’s long-held commitment to upholding privacy. “The product is built around the concept of privacy and mimicking real life behaviour.” Another “core trend” is Snap’s demographic make-up, Gen Z and Millennials, who are around 13-34 years old.
Snap’s key offerings and their importance were also on the agenda, as well as whether there’s potential for the company to become a “super app” like WeChat. The specialist believes that Snap is “somewhere in between” an app constellation and super app. “ I do think there are aspects of Snap’s ambition that span beyond just the app that can be manifested through these other stand-alone applications.”
Many of the company’s innovations have been copied almost instantaneously by other apps. When asked about Snap’s response to this, the expert explains that “the overarching tenet is that innovation will always win, and they will be copied, and I think that’s accepted in the company.”
Many social media platforms have reported an uptick in usage, and Snap is no exception. However, what sets this platform apart is that most users only have close friends as contacts, which means that people post a different type of content. “That type of real interaction with closer friends is what likely, in my mind, quarantine has produced a great need for, and I think that specifically fits Snap’s use case tremendously well.”
To access all the human insights from Third Bridge Forum’s Snap Inc – Positioning & Competition Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Interview, click here to view the full transcript.
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