In 2025, Gen Z spends over 4 hours a day on their phones, and a large part of this time is devoted to? Snapchat. TikTok and Instagram get all the attention, but Snapchat advertising keeps on doing its thing, with low friction, great engagement, and high conversion rates, particularly with Gen Z users.
Snapchat is still in a unique position, even with changes in the digital landscape. With its tight, camera-centric format and hyper-personal user patterns, it is a treasure trove for the advertiser who understands how to utilize it correctly.
In this post, we are going to take a deep dive into what still makes Snapchat ads a winner: the tactics, targeting, and new formats of Snapchat ads, performance statistics, and campaign success stories.
Snapchat Advertising Strategy: What Makes It So Effective With Gen Z?
The most crucial aspect of any successful Snapchat advertising strategy is to stay native rather than forced. Snapchat has been constructed on the idea of temporary, visual messaging. Gen Z does not go there to scroll through forever, but to create, chat, and consume bite-sized content that is real. This is precisely why the Snapchat ads are effective.
The camera-centric interface and chat-driven platform allow advertisers to build full-screen experiences. Moreover, AR Lenses allow users to perform a test-run before making a purchase, Story Ads feel like part of a friend’s daily update, and UGC-style videos become a perfect addition to Discover feeds.
There are three pillars of an effective Snapchat advertisement strategy in 2025:
- Vertical video dominance: Optimized to be viewed on a mobile device.
- Urgency-based CTAs: “Swipe up now”, “Limited drop”, “Try this lens”, these types of urgency-driven CTAs work.
- Native creativity: Gen Z will not skip it unless it does not feel like an ad.
Who's Really on Snapchat? A Deep Dive Into the 2025 Snapchat Audience
In order to be successful, you need to be aware of the Snapchat audience, and, as of the year 2025, the Snapchat audience is still mostly Gen Z.
Snapchat has one of the youngest social audiences on the internet, with a user base of 16 and to 28-year-olds. Snapchat is used by more than 70 percent of Gen Z in the United States every day. The app is opened 30+ times a day as they share moments, check Snap Maps to see where friends are, and go to Discover content to get quick entertainment and inspiration for shopping.
What is special about this audience?
- FOMO behaviour: They desire real-time, real-life experiences, not curated feeds.
- Personal, honest sharing: Snapchat is more 1:1 or closed-knit, unlike Instagram.
- Snap-first culture: From messaging to purchases or discovery, it all begins with Snap.
Advertisers that incorporate such details in their creatives achieve much more successful outcomes compared to those that simply adapt material produced on other media platforms.
Understanding Snapchat Ads in 2025: What’s New This Year?
So, what will have evolved in the world of Snapchat ads by 2025?
To begin, the ad manager of Snapchat has received a significant improvement. Creative recommendations driven by AI, auto-optimizing campaign features, and sophisticated AR ad building solutions have created a future where executing successful campaigns has never been so much easier.
Remarkably, the platform has initiated:
- Weather-controlled/location-based/or even mood-based dynamic AR filters.
- Better attribution models that serve to relate swipes-up with actual conversions.
- New bidding tools to assist in regulating cost-per-click and maximizing reach.
Advertisers are experiencing better ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) in the areas of e-commerce and lifestyle verticals. Tracking is improved, and the creative flexibility is even higher. Thus, Snapchat ads 2025 are now smarter, faster, and more conversion-oriented than ever.
Gen Z Buying Behavior: Why Snapchat Works Better Than You Think?
Gen Z does not shop in the way older generations did. They desire rapidity, social validation, and smooth mobile experiences. Snapchat resonates well with this buying behavior.
Think about the possibility of looking at a skincare advertisement by someone who resembles you, swiping up and testing it out virtually, through AR, and then purchasing, all within 15 seconds. This is the strength of Snapchat. It’s a slick move between finding to paying that makes people move quickly. It’s a friction experience between the discovery and buying of a product that drives fast action.
The most important triggers of Gen Z purchases on Snapchat include:
- Authenticity: UGC always wins against overproduced ads.
- Speed: Fewer clicks, more conversions.
- Credibility: Credibility is created through peer endorsement via shares and responses.
Emotional connection is the true power of Snapchat ads that can make people feel as though it were a suggestion from a friend. This is why it keeps performing well for Gen Z ecommerce.
Snapchat Marketing vs TikTok: Which Platform Delivers Better ROI?
Now we are going to talk about Snapchat ads vs TikTok ads.
Snapchat can beat TikTok in terms of quality engagements and purchasing intentions, despite TikTok’s hype having viral reach. The following is how they compare:
Metrics | Snapchat | TikTok |
CPMs | Lower | Higher |
Ad Fatigue | Less frequent | Common |
Swipe/Click Intent | Higher | Lower |
Retargeting Options | Strong | Moderate |
Consumers on Snapchat are deeper in the funnel in the case of beauty, fashion, or local services industries. They will interact more, particularly when the creative meets the expectations of the Snapchat audience. Innovative businesses combine both platforms, TikTok for brand awareness and Snapchat for conversions.
Snapchat Ad Performance: What Metrics Tell Us About Campaign Success
What will be good Snapchat ad performance in 2025? These are the four KPIs that count:
- Swipe-Up Rate: 1.6-2.3 percent across verticals.
- Story Completion Rate: 45-65 percent relative to the length of a creative.
- Conversion Rate: A maximum of 12 percent for DTC campaigns having optimized AR.
- ROAS: 3.5 times on average, with top brands reaching 5-7 times.
Snapchat has advanced in attribution this year. The platform now monitors post-click and post-view information in various touchpoints and allows advertisers to better comprehend what influences action. To increase Snapchat ads’ performance, ensure your hook is delivered within the initial 3 seconds, and your CTA is straightforward.
Snapchat Ad Formats That Work in 2025 (And Why)
Single Image or Video Ads:
Perfect to have quick hits and mobile storytelling.
Collection Ads:
Display a range of products in a carousel that people can buy.Story Ads:
Similar to native Snap stories, they are ideal for long-form storytelling.AR Lenses:
Viral and interactive AR Lenses are the holy grail of beauty and fashion.Non-skippable Commercials:
Commercials up to 6 seconds. Suitable for high-impact launches. Make sure you capture attention with a prominent 3-second hook. Bend to the UGC-style content that is more reflective of what friends share-raw, honest, and relatable. Add FOMO triggers such as “limited drop” or “only today” to drive urgency among the audience. Make branding subtle but storytelling fast, thus making the ad fit in without losing conversionsTargeting Tips for Snapchat Ads That Actually Convert
- Pixel Events: Trace behaviors and establish retargeting objectives.
- Lookalike Audiences: Target people who behave like your best customers.
- Snap Lifestyle Categories: Use ready-made segments depending on the interests.
- Behaviors (swipe-ups, video views, site visits)
- Demographics (age, location)
- Interests (e.g., skincare, sneakers)
Real Campaign Success: Snapchat Ads That Scaled Brands in 2025
GlowRx Skincare:
- Problem: Needed better conversion on mobile.
- Strategy: Used AR lens for virtual product try-on.
- Format: AR + Collection Ads.
- Results: 4.8 times ROAS, 37 percent increase in returning customers.
Threads & Co. (DTC Fashion Brand):
- Problem: Rising CPMs on Instagram.
- Strategy: Shifted budget to Snapchat.
- Format: Ran Story Ads with UGC content.
- Results: 2.3 times higher swipe-up rate vs IG Stories, 5 times ROAS.
These examples show that with the right Snapchat advertising strategy, brands can scale, even in crowded markets.
Conclusion: Why Snapchat Ads Should Still Be Part of Your Gen Z Strategy in 2025
In 2025, Snapchat ads remain the no. 1 most valuable for brands looking to reach Gen Z. The combination of high engagement, personalized Snapchat ad formats, along with sophisticated targeting tools, makes the platform transform attention into action in a better way than most other platforms. You don’t want to ignore Snapchat just because it is less hyped. Snapchat pushes performance by meeting the way Gen Z shops, speaks, and relates.
At Boost Agency Ltd, we assist brands in achieving success with Snapchat marketing using conversion-ready Snapchat marketing campaigns. Snapchat can make or break your business in the Gen Z market.
Want to develop your Snapchat ad strategy? Let’s talk.