Snap is destroying Facebook in a key demographic (SNAP, FB)

pulse

October 11, 2017 8:18 PM

Snap is the favorite among teens, but the company's stock is still falling. What's up with that?

Snapchat is adored by the teens of the world.

According to a recent survey conducted by Piper Jaffray, Snapchat is the favorite social media platform among teens, who are considered a key demographic for tech.

Nearly half, 47%, said that Snapchat was their preferred social media platform, blowing Instagram (24%) and Facebook (9%) out of the water. Twitter and Pinterest trailed the pack, earning just 7% and 1% respectively.

The good news for Snapchat is teen interest in the app isn't just stagnant, it's growing.

Since the spring of 2015, Snapchat has grown from being the favorite app of just 11% of teens to being the favorite app of 46% of the key demographic. It's mostly stolen market share from Twitter, but Facebook and Instagram have also lost share as well. Snap is the only platform Piper Jaffray measured that has won over more teens since the spring of 2015.

This is perhaps why Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, have copied many of Snapchat's most popular features, including stories. Piper Jaffray said that these efforts haven't impacted Snapchat users engagement too much.

The results aren't all rosy for Snapchat, however. Even though more teens place Snapchat at the top of their favorites list, the app's user base isn't unique. Piper Jaffray's survey found that more than 90% of Snapchat's user base also uses Instagram. While Snapchat engagement is high, the recent moves Instagram has made have brought its engagement numbers in line with Snap's, Piper Jaffray said.

In another telling survey result, Piper Jaffray said that close to 60% of teens responded that Instagram was a good platform to reach them with advertising. Email came in second, and Snapchat a distant third, with about 45% of respondents saying it was a good platform to reach them on.

Piper Jaffray surveyed 6,100 teens in 44 US states . The teens were 54% male and were, on average, 16 years old.

Snap is down 10.8% since its $17 initial public offering in March. Facebook is up 42% this year.

pulse