Snapchat just released its updated mobile app featuring a new universal search bar. This will partly solve one of its most critical problems: gaining a following and give you a way to find new followers, or at least, helping them find you.
After the acquisition of mobile search startup Vurb last year, the expectation were real that it would induce a change somehow into Snapchat in the near future.
The company claims that the interface is designed for speed, allowing users to quickly locate what they are looking for and get back to snapping. By making the search for new content easier, Snapchat will now enable your brand to be much more visible to your target audience.
In the future, Snapchat could as well authorize advertisers to pay for sponsored placement in the search and/or suggestions interface. This would enable Snapchat to take advantage on the genuine desire of brands to expand their audience.
However, when asked if ads were coming to search, the company refused to comment on future plans.
How does it work?
The new search bar is easily accessible at the top of the app. The “Quick Chat” suggestions will allow users to directly access a specific message thread. Tapping and holding on someone’s card shows their mini profile. Apart from accounts, users can find specific daily editions of Discover channels or particular Our Stories by searching for their titles.
Snapchat has long been blamed for making it too hard to find new accounts to follow, as it lacks any suggestions or recommended user list. Even after this app improvement, It has decided to stick to that philosophy though. But at least now, having the search box constantly visible could motivate people to seek out more accounts to watch.
In order to please creators and common users, Snapchat needs to help them grow their audience. This search bar will do the job for the moment, but the second effect of an having easier way for users to get access to more content of interest to them, is the potential rise in its number of users. Which is a good thing for your e-commerce visibility.