SnapChat is the new baby of the social media platforms has grown exponentially within small time frame. This messaging app has proposed a new approach to online interaction based on sharing videos and photos with an expiration date and people all over the world love the idea.
Even though at its core is just a chat application, SnapChat can be of great use for the business world too. This social platform ensures the reach to 150 million daily users, and the most important fact is that these users are coming mostly from the new generation of Millennials. Users that are between 18 and 24 years old are forming 45% of the SnapChat audience.
So, before SnapChat evolves to higher stages (rumor has it that the company is about to acquire a personalized search and recommendation app Vurb for $100 million), it is recommended to crack the basics strategies of growing your business on SnapChat.
#1 – Humanize the Brand:
One of the main reasons the businesses should make their presence seen on SnapChat is the humanizing effect. If your target audience coincides with the SnapChat users, then the brand should adopt this platform in its daily routine. It is no longer a matter of uncertainty if this social platform belongs to the winning side since there are 9.000 snaps per second.
SnapChat encourages its own style of communicating, and this should be applied even by businesses. Each of the social websites has already formed its own authentic purpose, like Facebook is for personal use, while LinkedIn is for the business industry. SnapChat has succeeded on the market because it appeals to people through its openness to goofiness and original stories. This means that there are no rules for posting which grants the freedom to express yourself any way you like.
This general carefree style has been even adopted by more solemn companies, such as (Red) organization or The New York Times. Voicing the company culture in the same style as your target public only means a stronger connection between the brand and consumer.
#2 – Snapchat Exclusivity for Marketing Campaigns:
There is already shaping a certain trend in marketing campaigns on Snapchat, and this involves lots of snap shots with the company’s product. The main power of this social community stands in its personal way of communicating their daily experiences through pictures.
The business can use this to its advantage and encourage its audience to spread the brand awareness with selfies that include the product itself. In order to involve as many people as possible, it is necessary to use the power of exclusive incentives with prizes such as promo codes and discounts. These events will gain more traction to the Snapchat profile which can be turned into new leads.
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#3 – Recruit Influencers:
The influencers are a raw source of new leads and SnapChat already has its own series of authority voices. By contacting the influencers from your field and ask them for collaboration, your business will gain access to mature communities that share the same passions that coincide with the product.
Moreover, influencers have established their authority through strategies that are typical for the social channel, such as visual content. So, collaboration with them would lead to a customized campaign that blends perfectly the personality of the brand and the authenticity of the influencer’s profile that captivated the viewers in the first place.
#4 – Grant VIP Access:
There is no other social channel that bases the interactions on videos like Snapchat. The platform encourages a closer connection between friends, no matter the space and time distances, by snapping videos of the usual moments in everyday life. The users don’t need anymore a special reason to create a video. They simply include their long distance friends in their life through videos and pics.
This means that Snapchat doesn’t require large amounts of budgets to create a video. The secret ingredient to a viral video on this channel is authenticity. The professional equipment is standing in the way of spontaneity, and the raw fascinating capacity of the momentum is lost.
Use the smart phone camera to welcome Snapchat users in the backstage, where all the magic is happening. Whether it is a company party or a marketing meeting, immortalizing the company activities without the glamour of a predetermined screenplay will eventually build credibility and trust for the consumers.
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#5 – Product Demonstrations:
The instant videos can also be used to let the users take the product to a test drive. While they can’t touch the product through the screens (yet!), they can still watch a short video where a charismatic person experiences the product for the very first time.
It is easy to perceive the reactions of the tester as genuine and not false, which builds a strong foundation for the purchasing decision. These raw videos can be a great addition to the marketing campaigns, and create real depth for the attractive commercials.
#6 – Create Geo-Filters:
Snapchat offers companies the possibility to promote engagement with their brands through sponsored geo-filters. The company can create tiny pieces of art that can be seen only in the proximity of the event or location of the brand. Once the users snap a picture, they have the option to use this customized geo-filter to explain where they are and why they took the snap. This ensures a promotional illustration right in the photo gallery of the Snapchat users.
#7 – Advertise with Snap Ads:
Investing in a snap ad grants you 10 seconds of video about your product, which are seemingly places between the usual Stories of the users. They are initially vertical videos, but the users can swipe up to view more details about the campaign, like an article or website. Snapchat states that this kind of ad offers five times higher click-through rate than other social channels.
#8 – Sponsored Lenses:
One of the best ways that Snapchat has refreshed the visual interaction is the lenses. While Snapchatters are creating their photos or videos, they can personalize their content with these lenses in a funny way. These lenses are some real-time special effects and sounds and companies can invest in creating their own branded lenses. Snapchat claims that the users play with Sponsored Lenses for about 20 seconds. This is enough time to create a connection with the consumers and spread brand awareness.
#9 – Hosting Q&A:
The sessions of Q&A are an amazingly effective way of connecting to the Snapchat users. By appointing a date and hour for such a session, the users can snap questions for the brand. Once the appointed hour arrives, the marketers can in exchange snap their answers in 10 seconds. It is important to mention the names of the Snapchatters that proposed the issues. Moreover, the risk of monotony can be avoided by snapping the answers in different locations of the company each time.
#10 – Tell a Compelling Story:
The organic and natural way of growing your business on Snapchat is to tell a compelling story. Again, it is not necessary to invest in professional video equipment. The users of this social channel prefer the raw nature of spontaneous 10-second videos. As long as the content is powerful enough to create an impact among the viewers, then the video has a viral nature.
Everybody wants to share a compelling story with their friends, no matter the origin of the content, so the companies have the green light to attract leads through original and authentic videos. The much older competition is already taking their inspiration from the Snapchat strategies, and the power of the Stories seems to be new coveted feature of a complex social channel.
As a takeaway from this article, Snapchat may be a young project, but it has already enough power to fuel the growth of business. All the signs are indicating that this social platform has only one direction to go in the following years, and that is up.
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