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Brand managers may need to rethink how they use Snapchat.
On Wednesday, the social media app announced a redesign of its platform, calling it the “new Snapchat”:
Introducing the new Snapchat!!https://t.co/2gwVskpY1M
— Snapchat (@Snapchat) November 29, 2017
The biggest change is that the platform separated branded and influencer content from friends’ snaps. In a blog post, Snapchat wrote:
Until now, social media has always mixed photos and videos from your friends with content from publishers and creators. While blurring the lines between professional content creators and your friends has been an interesting Internet experiment, it has also produced some strange side-effects (like fake news) and made us feel like we have to perform for our friends rather than just express ourselves.
The new Snapchat separates the social from the media. This means that the Chats and Stories from your friends are on the left side of Snapchat, and the Stories from publishers, creators, and the community are on the right.
“It’s not a drastic overhaul in the design of the app, but more a structural change on how Snap views the content its users and publishing partners produce,” Quartz reported.
“Your friends aren’t content—they’re relationships,” said Evan Spiegel, Snap’s co-founder and chief executive:
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Though Snapchat now separates promotional content from conversations with your contacts, that doesn’t mean that users won’t be served promotional material. The redesign includes both users’