In a Snapchat SWOT analysis, we look at Snapchat, like Facebook and Twitter which have revolutionized how social platforms engage with users. A Snapchat SWOT analysis of this social network will highlight how this company operates. Three young students at Stanford University created Snapchat, a multimedia messaging app by Snap Inc., in 2011. Within these 9 years of journey, Snapchat has become one of the most used social media apps for instant messaging and multimedia sharing.

With 265 million daily users in December 2020, it’s getting more and more popular every day. However, some particular issues regarding the users have raised a storm of controversy regarding the company.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis – At A Glance

Company Name	Snapchat
Industry	Social Media
Founded	September 2011
Founders	Snap Inc.
CEO	Evan Spiegel
Headquarter	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Annual Revenue	$2.507 Billion (FY 2020)
Website	www.snapchat.com

Snapchat SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning frame that can be used by company managers to get a successful situation analysis of the company. The SWOT Analysis matrix helps to figure out the position of a company in the marketplace from both ins and outs. It is an excellent tool for the policymakers of companies to find room for improvement. As an emerging tech company, Snap Inc. can use this analysis to point out newer opportunities along with threats. By taking good care of them, the company can progress even better. So, this framework will help the management to explore its strategic factors, both from an internal and external view.

Snapchat’s SWOT analysis can be used to sharpen its strengths and overcome its weaknesses. Similarly, they can exploit their opportunities and avoid threats.

Since SWOT analysis gives a complete picture of the state of the company, its significance for the company needs no telling.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis Strengths

There was no magic or fairy tale behind the success of Snap Inc. But still, three young minds successfully developed an app for messaging and now it’s expanding at every moment. Every day on average, there are 4 billion snaps. So, let’s explore the strengths in Snapchat’s SWOT analysis that have made Snapchat today’s Snapchat.

Unique Innovation: The idea of Snapchat was catchy and out of the box. From the very beginning, its features were different from those of its competitors, who seemed a bit odd then. But later, those functionalities and ideas made it unique and more acceptable to the users. These eccentric features are the ones that caught the eyes of trendy rebellious teens and became their favorites. This also gave them something fresh and new. The unique features are the core strength of Snapchat.

Snapchat Privacy: Snapchat has the function of self-deleting the snaps after they are sent, which gives the users the feeling of being protected. Again, in 2018, Snapchat brought about a change and became end-to-end encrypted for pictures and videos, which strengthened their privacy features. As any sane and self-aware person in this day and age likes their privacy, Snapchat makes good use of this and provides its users with an advanced privacy policy and functionality.

Mobile-ready design: Recent research shows that the user interface of Snapchat is simple and user-friendly, which enables it to reach more and more users. These easy-to-use functionalities and designs attract more users, and thus Snapchat surpasses its competitors in the market. It also makes it appear as a “fashion-friendly yet minimalistic” app that appeals to the young generation.

Strong brand image: Snap Inc. has already become a highly acceptable brand in the realm of tech companies. Being one of the most popular social media platforms, its name is now a brand itself which makes the growth higher. This brand image makes it easy for Snapchat as it does not need to spend additional money on spending promotional activities.

Skilled Workforce: The employees of this company are highly skilled tech enthusiasts who are tested in several steps before joining the team. Not just that. These members have also trained vigorously to meet up the company’s standards. Thus, young professionals with greater potential are making Snapchat an even better app.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis Weaknesses

Snapchat is emerging as a promising name in social media platforms. But there are certain areas where they should focus so that they can improve themselves. Thus, they can raise their growth and take their business to the next level. Here are some of the major weaknesses that came to light during Snapchat SWOT analysis

Controversy: From the beginning of its journey, controversy has never stopped following Snapchat. In 2013, it was hacked which made its position a bit vulnerable. Also, there were allegations that it would only be used for offensive purposes.

Another important fact is, that Snapchat is very popular with teenagers, but their parents often think of it as a threat to their privacy. This makes team Snapchat rethink its approach to the market of teenagers. If the parents are not satisfied with their services, they will try to ban them from their children. This will be bad for Snapchat. Because a considerable amount of their user community is made by teenagers.

Diversification: Snapchat could hardly find any success outside its core field. So their business has failed to diversify into different areas. These attempts cause not only a major monetary loss for the company but also hurt the brand image which doesn’t let them explore again. The lack of diversification is causing the company to fall behind.

Poor Financial Planning: Snapchat has not been very successful in planning quality financial plans. They are very much dependent on advertisements for revenue, which was 96% of their total revenue in 2020. Also, while planning to expand the business, their economic approach was not very promising.

Lack of professionalism: As a tech company, Snapchat has failed to show professionalism in the marketplace. They had to go through a lot of troubles that they could have prevented, but their policymakers were not capable of doing so. This gives them a hard time coming off as a serious company. Many of their suggestions are now not considered seriously as a result.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis Opportunities

The opportunities are outside factors of a company that they can exploit for profit and benefits for themselves. Opportunities should be handled with care while wisely choosing them. It may happen that while seeking opportunities, Snapchat might have to sacrifice something to achieve success in the long run of its journey. Some notable opportunities for Snapchat Swot Analysis are mentioned below:

Expansion: Snapchat is very popular among teenagers and youths; Its growth is expanding at a very large scale. This phenomenon is giving investors the chance to reach a huge user base through advertisements. At the same time, since the number of smartphones is increasing, there is a higher probability that Snapchat will reach billions of users in the upcoming years.

New Features: Over time, Snapchat has developed many features that have made it attractive to users. So new features can be a magical turning point for the company.

Customer Engagement: The more people can be engaged, the more growth the company will be – and that can be one of the biggest opportunities for Snapchat. Nowadays, hashtags can play a vital role in engaging people. Thus, the user base can be expanded exponentially in a Snap Inc SWOT analysis.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis Threats

Snapchat SWOT analysis has brought about some threats in their present situation. They are discussed below:

High competition for similar products: Snapchat is an instant messaging app with vibrant functionalities to share photos and videos. But similar types of products are emerging in the marketplace which is trying to surpass Snapchat. And tech giants are always trying to develop similar products to other companies which should also be considered in a SWOT analysis of Snapchat.

Customer behavior: What is new today, may lose its glamour tomorrow and this is very true in cyberspace. Customers change their mindset within the glimpse of an eye and move to something else. So, Snapchat should work smartly in a way that its users don’t lose interest in it.

Negative feedback: A lot of users and their relatives have raised their voices over the vulgar content shared through Snapchat which even includes cyberbullying and harassment. These threats should be solved so that it doesn’t become fatal.

Legal Challenges for Snapchat: Since its journey in 2011, Snap Inc. has faced several challenges with legal problems. Also, many countries have banned the app so that it can’t directly be accessed from there.

Snapchat SWOT Analysis Overview Template

Recommendations for Snapchat

With the tagline- ‘The fastest way to share a moment Snapchat is leading the way in visual conversations on social media platforms. But there are threats of breaking down the whole system due to controversies, high market competition, and last but not least, customer demands and choices. So, to reach a global audience on a larger scale, they should keep these things in mind. They should focus on research and development. At the same time, they should notice other small changes in technology which can become a great opportunity within the next few years.

FAQs for SWOT Analysis of Snapchat

In this Snapchat SWOT analysis focuses on the overall scenario of Snapchat while figuring out the threats and opportunities for the company which can be utilized properly with their strength and overcoming the weaknesses.