Snapchat’s Update Backfired: Here’s What Small Businesses Can Learn From It

Bing! 

A bright yellow notification pops up on your phone. “Ooh, a friend sent me a message,” you think. But nope, it’s Snapchat again, telling you a random user posted a video you might like. Ugh. 

If you’ve noticed Snapchat blowing up your phone lately, you’re not imagining it. This year, the app has been pushing more and more notifications:

“Here’s a memory from 4 years ago”

“Check this out.”

“Someone you’re following posted a story.”

Snapchat’s new notification strategy.

What Drove Snapchat To Increase Push Notifications

Social media is a cutthroat market. Every generation gravitates toward the next shiny new platform. MySpace gave way to Facebook, which is now considered a platform for middle-aged commenters, while TikTok is the cool social media platform. Twitter lost popularity after a change in leadership. Instagram stumbles with updates that no one wants. While TikTok and Instagram are regarded as supreme social media, new platforms like Lemon8 and Bluesky are always popping up, trying to steal users. 

Snapchat, once enjoyed for its disappearing photos and goofy filters, has seen daily active users slip. Many of us still have the app installed, but use it only to send occasional selfies to close friends. 

To reverse this trend, Snapchat adjusted its marketing strategy: more notifications = more opens. Instead of only pinging you when a friend snaps you, the app now blasts users with alerts like, “Here's a memory from 7 years ago.”

On paper, it makes sense; push more notifications, trigger FOMO, drive opens, and session time. In practice, it backfired completely. 

Snapchat’s red badge notification is always on.

Why Snapchat’s Notification Strategy Backfired

Notification Fatigue

• Endless red badges and buzzes became background noise. Many users ignored them or muted them.

• Instead of feeling ‘top-of-mind’, users felt spammed.

Customer Churn

• Annoyed by the number of notifications, many users simply deleted the app altogether. 

• If your brand constantly pings me about stale content (“A snap from 5 days ago”), I’m more likely to ditch you than engage.

Missed Context

• Snapchat didn’t talk to its customers before making the change. Instead of getting to the root cause of user decline, they assumed more pings equaled more engagement. The issue? Users didn’t want those pings. 

Key Takeaways For Small Businesses

Don’t Spam Your Customers

• Quality beats quantity every time, whether it’s push notifications, email newsletters, or social posts.

• Audit your cadence. If you’re posting or messaging “just because”, dial it back. 

• Before hitting “send”, ask: Does this truly benefit or entertain my audience, or am I using it to fill a content calendar slot?

Find The Genuine Value Your Customers Want

• Host surveys, quick polls, or one-on-one chats to understand preferences.

• Use that feedback to inform messaging frequency, content types, and channel choices. 

Beta Test & Be Willing To Pivot

• Roll out significant changes to a small segment first. Measure engagement, collect feedback, then refine before a full launch.

• If something isn’t working, don’t cling to pride. Snapchat can still revert to its old notification model. 

• Failure is a part of running a business. Be ready to scrap underperforming tactics.

As small-business owners, we can learn from Snapchat’s missteps. Engagement isn’t a switch you can flip on; it’s something you cultivate. Keep your communications thoughtful, data-driven, and customer-centric. When in doubt, remember: fewer, better messages will always outperform spammy outreach.