Teens overwhelming prefer Snapchat to any other social media platform, according to Piper Jaffray's 34th semi-annual Teens research survey. 47% of teens indicated that Snapchat is their favorite social platform, while only 24% of teens indicated Instagram was their favorite platform.
Data: Piper Jaffray, The Taking Stock With Teens survey; Note: Survey of 6,100 teens with an average age of 16 years; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
Why it matters: Investors were initially bearish on Snapchat after Instagram launched a rival "Stories" feature, which put a dent in Snap's user growth. But now Snapchat is proving that its focus on engagement over scale can lead to more opportunities for advertisers. A recent analysis by MarketingLand shows that advertisers have more opportunities to reach 13- to 17-year-olds with ads on Snapchat than they do on rival properties, like Facebook or Instagram.
One philosophical thing: Snapchat executives tells Axios they are focused on connecting people with their closest personal contacts. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told Axios' Mike Allen last week that their strategy is the exact opposite. Facebook connects people to their "weak ties," or people they aren't close to, Sandberg said.
