Not just selfies and penises anymore. Snapchat is taking its first step towards building a revenue model with the introduction of a new function that lets users build 'stories' that last 24 hours – not just 10-seconds.
The Stories feature patchworks snaps together into a timeline as they are added to create a narrative that lasts 24 hours. It's the first time the mobile app will allow images to last longer than 10 seconds.
To promote the new tool Snapchat has posted 'Stories' videos featuring upcoming LA bands Smallpools, Guards and Goldroom. The ads, which are the first real creative commercial content Snapchat has launched also direct users to iTunes to buy the artists music, which is a potential revenue stream for the platform, as well as brands that adopt it.
The new stories feature will give marketers more opportunities to use the temporary photo-sharing platform to tell brand stories and offer short term promotions, discounts or offers. They could use the 'click to buy' function to divert traffic back to their sites and drive sales.
Brands like Unilever's Lynx/Axe brand have trialled campaigns on the photo sharing site in the UK and Taco Bell, in the US but very few Australian brands have adopted it.
Snapchat gained popularity as a service for taking naked pictures that would automatically self destruct after 10-seconds. More than 200 million photos a day are now shared on the platform, according to June figures.
In its blog Snapchat says the new feature is “ephemeral” and says it offers users a “totally new way to share your day with friends”.
The social network continues: “Your Story never ends and it’s always changing. The end of your Story today is the beginning of your Story tomorrow.”
Each snap in the story includes a list of everyone who views it.
The update went live yesterday evening.
Meanwhile, Instagram also announced yesterday that it would start rolling out ads into users' feeds in coming months. The trials will start in the US, but are likely to roll out globally later.
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