Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Snapchat.
All social media outlets that are vying for the attention of Generation Y and beyond, and major companies are all taking notice and figuring out how to get into the action.
In particular, Snapchat has launched a new content service called “Discover,” which enables large corporations to engage with its users, allowing for a more “story feed” feel along with their “real-time feed.” This branding move for Snapchat also allows for the company to drive monetary growth, not just user growth.
To describe the Discover platform, itself, it has a more online magazine feel than social media platform, which can help feed the Gen-Y audience their daily news and, most importantly, help them prioritize content in the world of unlimited news, yet stays consistent with Snapchat’s premise of living on the platform for just 24 hours.
By only allowing for 11 media outlets (plus snapchannel, which features its own finds from other content creators) to be featured on the Discover page, Snapchat decides who they believe are the world leaders in media, rather than other social media outlets, which let you choose which content you like or follow.
Another differentiating factor to Snapchat’s Discover, is that each edition includes photos and videos, and also lets news outlets generate revenue from their own content by selling advertising deals. Combining a Flipboard-esque magazine format, users can swing left to flip through the daily content, and swing up for more information, and a longer piece of content about the featured story.
Specifically for the sports news space, the Discover Platform features ESPN on its homepage, the mecca of all sports news in the United States. ESPN, specifically, highlights it’s “SportCenter” background within the application, showing heavily designed statistics from different leagues. For example, today’s Snapchat Discover highlights include Alex Rodriguez’s apology letter, an #SCtop10 video, and five things to watch for in the NFL Combine, just to name a few out of the eight features content pieces for today. Being the exclusive sports publisher in the America, ESPN’s channel is geared towards attracting more followers in the sports demographic.
Other notable sports news outlets on Snapchat for users outside the United States are companies like Sky Sports and Bleacher Report. Sky Sports has Snapchat Discover coverage with users in the U.K. and Ireland; and publishes anywhere between 6-10 distinctive snaps, combining images, video, and text into their daily publication. Bleacher Report, similarly, has daily content updates in the U.K., as well as Canada, and throughout Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. The partnership for Bleacher Report leverages more than just providing content to avid sports fans, but rather expands their brand on a global level, both with their audience and with their coverage, recently opening an office in London.
Overall, each of these news content outlets has one goal in mind: Drive new audiences, and with a partnership with Snapchat, companies have the potential to hit Snapchat’s 200 million user base.
To put this number into perspective, according to the National Football Foundation, 216 million people watched college football during the entire 2013 regular season. Specifically with this user base, most users are under 20 years-old, allowing companies to tap into a new demographic with tweens and teens. And with talks of the company value being upwards of $19 billion–placing the company as the third most valuable tech startup behind China’s Xiaomi and Uber service–what sports outlet wouldn’t want to partner with Snapchat?