The acquisition of Yahoo by Verizon closes the chapter on Yahoo’s pursuit to remain independent, and the future of the company and its subsidiary properties is unclear.
One of those properties is Tumblr, the eccentric online blogging platform that Yahoo bought in 2013, with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer famously promising that the tech giant wouldn?t ?screw it up.?
Three years after that acquisition by Yahoo, Tumblr?s valuation has been reduced by more than one-half of its original value. Reports have indicated that poor management choices and meshing of Yahoo?s ad sales team with Tumblr?s particularly hampered the platform?s monetization.
As Tumblr?s failure to monetize contributed to its decline, a new player has stolen the technology spotlight. Snapchat has been the darling of marketers in recent months thanks to the launch of its application-programming interface in June. ?The rise of Snapchat,? Kyle Bunch, head of social at agency R/GA, told Mashable in June, has ?forced Tumblr down the priority ladder? for brands. While Snapchat?s API is an important step for the app, there is room for improvement to further facilitate ad buyers. One must be wary, though, that those changes do not compromise Snapchat?s uniqueness. Here are four ways that Snapchat can further expand its ad platform while retaining its identity.
Make sponsored geofilters usable for small and midsized businesses
Snapchat?s branded geofilters, the nifty, location-based selfie overlays that were opened...