Snapchat has been tarnished by the idea that it is a difficult platform to market a brand. For some brands, it isn’t the right fit as it doesn’t reach the right demographic, however if your product or service markets individuals between 16 and 30 years old, you and Snapchat need to get acquainted.
Snapchat is a mobile photo-messaging app available on IOS and Android, that allows users to take photos and short videos that are viewable by recipients for approx 10 seconds, after that the ‘snap’ disappears into the black hole of the internet, never to be seen again.
The platform has recently added live text, chat and video calls between contacts, which has helped increase the use of the app amongst teens and millennials. Just check out these stats:
- There are approximately 2 million monthly active Australian users
- In the USA there are approximately 26 million users
- 77% of US college students use the platform daily
- 58% of US college students would be likely to purchase a brand’s product or service if they received a coupon via Snapchat
That is a huge audience of potential customers that your brand should be tapping into. If you’re brand or business isn’t already using the app as part of your 2016 marketing strategy, you should seriously consider it.
Here is a guide to help you get started:
1. Highlight special events
If your brand is hosting or taking part in an event, including grand openings, anniversaries, trade shows, charity events, office milestones etc. then Snapchat is the perfect tool to leverage off this content. It gives your audience access to content that they wouldn’t be exposed to anywhere else – Snapchat adds a level of exclusivity to following your brand.
2. Make announcements and tease new products
Snapchat is the ideal platform to tease a product or announcement. You can use video and images to tease your audience, and because they don’t last longer than a few seconds, or 24 hours if they are added to your story, you can expect a fair amount of buzz and chatter to spike around your latest announcement.
3. Show behind-the-scenes
Those who are loyal to your brand love it when they are taken behind-the-scenes to see raw products and services. Use the video and photo sharing app to show off your company and humanise your brand. Have fun with producing content, and utilise the caption and drawing tools within the app to show off your brands personality.
If you want to shake things up with your behind-the-scenes content, rotate the control of your brand’s Snapchat account amongst trusted employees. Give each employee control for a day or so, doing this adds a great deal of variety to what is being shared with your followers. Just be sure to put some guidelines in place, so that the content stays on brand and adheres to brand values.
4. Keep it casual
Snapchat is all about keeping it casual. You’re followers aren’t interested in corporate stiffness, they are looking for content that is colourful, fun, quirky and full of action – so give it to them!
With that being said, you still need to maintain some professionalism to control the brand message that is being shared with your audience.
5. Tell a story
On any platform, video should be kept short and sweet, and that is certainly true with Snapchat. Your audience is out there looking for brief content to digest whilst waiting for the bus, walking between classes at university or filling in time during their lunch break. Share brief content and your audience are more likely to engage with it.
Snapchat works because each video is limited to 10 seconds. Roll with this, because you can use multiple video clips and string them together to tell a story that your followers can follow along or watch it in order when they have time.
6. Offer incentives
Snapchat has the power to get you real foot traffic into your physical business, and that is through exclusive incentives. Offering incentives isn’t a new marketing concept, and has come to be an expected staple on social media. Brands have the opportunity to host giveaways, provide promo codes, run competitions etc. on the app. There is the potential to really have some fun here – so get creative, your audience will appreciate it!
If your brand hasn’t started using Snapchat as part of your marketing strategy, or at least considered it, then you are definitely missing out on the opportunity to connect with relevant members of your target audience, especially if you have identified millennials as your target demographic.
Statistics compiled by Social Media News in March 2016
Statistics compiled by Mashable in February 2014
