Snapchat is looking to improve business discovery in the app with a new element in Snap Map called 'My Places' which will highlight popular businesses, and places you've previously visited, on the map display.
As you can see here, with My Places, you'll now be able to locate a range of businesses on the map, with three different listing categories - places that are popular with your Snap friends, places you've liked, and places that you've previously visited.
As explained by Snapchat:
"With My Places, Snapchatters can discover more than 30 million businesses, log their favourite local spots, and even find personalized recommendations informed by their friends and the global Snapchat community. Now, a quick pan around Snap Map not only helps Snapchatters stay in touch with the people they care about and keep up with global events, but also offers even more ways to help friends connect IRL."
To access My Places, users can tap the new 'Places' button at the bottom of the Snap Map, which will bring up a new My Places prompt.
You'll then see the new listing overlay at the bottom of the map screen, highlighting places of potential interest.
Tap on any of the listed businesses and you'll also be able to access full info about that place.
It could be handy addition to the Snapchat user experience, with the map now not only showing what your friends might be up to at any given time, but also places nearby that you could arrange a meet-up, which also provides additional promotional opportunity for local business.
So how do you get your business info listed on the Snap Map?
Well, ideally, your business will already be listed, with Snap's Map database based on data from MapBox, which is regularly updated with the latest regional changes. If your business isn't listed on the map, however, you can suggest a Place Listing addition via the Map itself or through the Map settings.
Additionally, if your business is listed and you want to make any changes to the information displayed, you can request an update via the Snap Map itself.
It may well be worth checking out what info is displayed about your business, in case there's anything outdated or incorrect.
If you want to promote your business within the Snap Map, you can also run a Promote Local Place campaign, while Snap is also looking to add more integrations into the Map display, which will eventually enable users to purchase tickets and more, direct from these listings.
It could be a valuable consideration, particularly if you're looking to maximize exposure with younger audiences. Snap does claim to reach some 90% of 13-24 year-olds across the US, which is more than Facebook, Instagram and Messenger combined in this age bracket.
If that's your target market, worth taking note, and checking out your Snap Map listings.
