What Snapchat Paperclip Means for Influencers

From the beginning, Snapchat has been different from the other social media platforms. Posts on the platform vanish a few seconds after being viewed. There’s no real way to see who’s following who. It’s technically against the terms of service to use the app for commercial purposes, according to the “LA Times.” And, until recently, there was no way to link to things in a post. Then Snapchat Paperclip changed the game.

Snapchat Paperclip released on Wednesday, July 5,  letting people add links to their Snaps, as CNBC reported.

The new feature doesn’t only make it possible for people to share blog links and other useful info on Snapchat. It also signals a shift in the way the platform approaches and views influencers.

How Snapchat Paperclip Is Changing the Landscape

Which is likely to get people to click on over to your website? Adding a hyperlink to a post, or including a note to “find the link in my profile!” The former is definitely likely to get more results. The latter just involves too much work — people have to scroll up to your profile, find the link, and then click.

Snapchat Paperclip has several reporters, including ones from Business Insider and AdWeek, speculating Snapchat is changing its tune when it comes to the presence of influencers on the platform. Perhaps Snapchat Paperclip is the beginning of the platform’s greater monetization scheme.

Before Snapchat Paperclip, the only way to get a link onto a snap was to pay for an ad, which would be clearly labeled as an ad. Now that Snapchat Paperclip lets you add links to any old snap, there’s an increased chance for more organic traffic, as people can head over to a site from a post shared by an influencer.

How Influencers and Marketers Can Use Paperclip

The introduction of Snapchat Paperclip now allows influencers on Snapchat to include a direct, easy-to-follow call to action in a snap. If a snap includes a link, all a user needs to do to visit the website is swipe up on the snap he or she is viewing.

Paperclip also lets influencer marketers better track the results of any campaigns they start on Snapchat. Marketers can create custom links for each influencer they work with, and track how many click-throughs each link gets, as well as the behavior of visitors after they click through a link.

Paperclip: Snapchat 1, Instagram 0

The new Paperclip feature isn’t just a potential win for influencers and influencer marketers. It’s also a win for Snapchat in its ongoing war with Instagram.

Last summer, Instagram introduced Stories, which disappear after 24 hours, similar to a snap. Since Instagram has about twice the number of daily users as Snapchat, the new feature was considered a “win” for the platform. Why make an account on Snapchat when you can do the same on Instagram, which you’re already using?

But by allowing any user to add a link to a Snap, Snapchat gives users something Instagram can’t. The average influencer can’t include hyperlinks in posts on Instagram. Though Instagram has exceptions for ads, and for users with sizable followings who post Stories.

Whether Snapchat is really changing its mind about the role of influencers is still up in the air. The same day Paperclip came out, Digiday ran a story claiming that the app gives influencers the cold shoulder. Reportedly, Snapchat’s been telling them that it’s is meant “for friends, not creators.”

Maybe Paperclip is a sort of mea culpa on Snapchat’s part. It could be a way for it to test the waters. Allowing influencers to really use the platform can be good for both influencers and Snapchat itself.

For more information on how to use Snapchat as part of your Influencer Marketing campaign, download your free copy of the “Influencer Marketer’s Guide to Snapchat” today >>