What’s the messaging like in a Snapchat campaign? Is it similar to what you’d be promoting on other social media?

NM: We have completely different messaging on Facebook and Snapchat. For Facebook, it’s all about the parents and grandparents and the influencers who will drive the young person’s decision. So, we talk a lot about “debt-free” and “graduate in two years.” On Snapchat, it’s all about “hot careers” and how much money you can make coming out of school. There’s also the Snapchat filters, which we’ve developed to promote events like open houses.

I’ve heard that Snapchat users are more engaged. Are you seeing that in your campaigns?

NM: When we look at the backend, we see that Snapchat is the number one driver of new users to the school’s website. Not only are they engaging with the ads, they’re clicking through to the website. And their bounce rates are considerably lower, so they’re spending more time there and visiting more pages.

Let’s talk money. If a client is used to buying on Facebook, for example, are the costs similar?

NM: The cost for impressions is pretty similar. But there is a minimum spend per day with Snapchat, so a lot of smaller colleges can’t afford to be on all the time. That requires a huge budget. So, we’ve been running during important times for them, whether it’s when dual enrollment is happening in the high schools, a month before spring or fall enrollment, or when there’s an open house. There’s a little more planning required compared to Facebook. But when we are running, we can serve a million impressions in a month, even in smaller markets, and we’re seeing upwards of 13,000 swipe-ups to the website.