Social messaging firm Snapchat has had a positive first quarter of 2019 as it added 4m daily active users to its platform and increased its revenue by 39 per cent. The company has improved and updated its app in the wake of criticism that some images were blurry and videos were poor quality. It also added an ad-supported gaming platform which it hopes will increase the time spent on its platform by users.

The marketing industry shared their thoughts on the latest results from Snapchat.

Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO of social media marketing company Socialbakers said, “Snap is growing its reach to consumers and it seems like it is starting to show positive results on its business. As brands are constantly looking to engage with audiences over digital channels, Snaps refreshing approach to open its platform to partners and its ad inventory to other networks is the right move given its user growth momentum.”

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson commented that Snapchat’s user gains in Q1 were a positive sign. “After a tough couple of quarters in which worldwide DAUs fell as low as 186 million, Q1 2019’s total DAU figure of 190 million is nearly what it was in Q1 2018. Gaining users has been a struggle for Snapchat in the wake of 2017’s failed redesign and the slow progress on the Android update.

“Snapchat’s revenue growth is also a positive sign; in addition to seeing nice gains in North America and Europe, there was substantial growth in ad revenue from outside of those two regions as well. The revamped Android app could drive more gains in subsequent quarters if a significant number of people start using this version of Snapchat. A sizeable chunk of the world’s smartphone user base is on Android.”

Aaron Goldman, CMO, 4C Insights said, “Advertisers continue to grow their investment in Snap as it provides strong penetration and proven results among a highly coveted audience. Marketers are really embracing the rich formats of Snap Ads as video becomes a bigger priority within the media mix.

“Looking ahead, Snap has good momentum on the heels of its first partner summit. One of the biggest opportunities for marketers is the Snap Audience Network, which will help brands expand the reach of their Snap Ads.All told, Snap is emerging as a true leader in the mobile space and its platform is getting stickier with consumers, advertisers, and developers.”