When there's an app, there's a hack. Especially when it comes to brands figuring out how to monetize social platforms that aren't yet shoppable. Like Snapchat. 

Since its launch Snapchat has been the mystery meat in the social media sandwich, confusing brands and influencers alike on just how to use it. There are a couple of kinks in the snap chain: it's difficult to know how many followers you have, the videos are only available to your followers for 24 hours, and there is no way to link out. 

Until now.  

"Since launch Snapchat has been the mystery meat in the social media sandwich, until now." 

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PopSugar owned ShopStyle is offering the first solution to the "what now" problem of Snapchat, introducing a new e-commerce app called Emoticode™. PopSugar CEO Brian Sugar told Digiday, "It was clear that people wanted to take action from our snaps and it wasn’t as easy as it could be. The lightbulb went off." 

That lightbulb lead the way to Emoticode™, a Snapchat companion app which uses the combination of emoticons and screen shots to create what is effectively an affiliate link program. Sugar again, told Digiday, “It works for shopping. It will work for recipes, workouts, articles, really anything you want to engage more with beyond a snap or an Instagram post.”

Here's how it works: 

ShopStyle Collective members can search a product they want to share on Snapchat or Instagram. When they tap “Copy Emoticode” below the product, a shortened affiliatized emoji link is created. The first two characters are emojis. They paste the unique emoticode in their post.

The Collective members receive credit for the clicks and conversions made through the Emoticode™ integration.  

Followers will need to download the ShopStyle App or the Emoticode™ App, screenshot the post with the unique emoticode, and upload it in the ShopStyle app to shop the product that's being shared. 

It's not completely seamless because there is still no way to link out directly from Snapchat, which has yet to introduce brand integration into the platform, but it is the first app that has addressed the two main issues everyone has asked from gate: why do we use this and how does this make us money?

Emoticode™ is the first way to track sales and facilitate revenue sharing for influencers. It may also encourage bloggers who have yet to really engage on Snapchat to integrate the app into their social playbook. 

"Emoticode™ is the first way to track sales and facilitate revenue sharing for influencers."

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Julia Engel of Gal Meets Glam (and C&C DTLA mentor) told Digiday, “I really like the idea of Emoticode, especially because the screen-shotting behavior is so natural. I screenshot everything.” 

It will also save time for bloggers who are spending time answering individual messages from followers about what they're wearing. 

For brands, the power of Snapchat is yet to be seen, but this is the first real step in Snap monetization.  

via Brian Sugar

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