With hundreds of millions of users, Snapchat has become a big trend among the young. The majority of Snapchat users are between 13 and 24 years old and now companies are starting to see opportunities to create relationships through the channel. In particular, companies that focus on the younger audience.
Snapchat is today the big social media channel for young people. You upload photos and videos that are shown for a maximum of 10 seconds, called snaps. It’s a simple interface, you can draw and use different filters to create crazy things. Once you have taken a snap, it will disappear.
It has become a matter of course for companies to promote themselves through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but how do you do if you want to market with Snapchat?
Snapchat was created in 2011 by Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. The goal was to create an application that allows the user to send messages, pictures, and video clips to other users. Now you may think that this app already exists in the form of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but there is a small detail that distinguishes Snapchat from similar apps. Namely, Snapchat allows the user to set how long the message or movie clip should be visible to the recipient, after which it is deleted from both the mobile phone and Snapchat’s servers. This feature allows for more easy chatting between users but can set it up for companies who want to promote themselves. That’s why we have developed a few tips to help you promote your business with Snapchat.
Unlike many other social media channels, Snapchat has no general feed that everyone can see. You have to know what each one is called and you can only access someone’s content if you get permission. This appeals to the young.
The channel is fairly closed, it is fast and the content disappears. You don’t have to be perfect on Snapchat, because a snap Story only lasts for 24 hours. Snapchat has expanded, expanded, and developed the platform so that it also appeals to an older target group. Now parents are starting to find themselves in because they reach their children through the channel.
Contents
Find the right tone
As Snapchat’s popularity increases, companies are also starting to become interested in the channel. But here’s the thing to think about before opening an account.
You need to be clear about what your company wants to achieve with the channel. The focus is on the needs of young people. Find the right tonality, film, draw, and was not so perfect. Your snaps must have entertainment value. This primarily applies to your stories, as snaps are generally used for communication and not for entertainment.
It is not possible to advertise in the traditional sense. Snapchat is a complement to your other channel mix. It’s more a brand-building channel, than a pure sales channel.
Watch and learn from the companies that are on Snapchat today, such as the large media companies. News snaps from “behind the scenes” and from festivals and sporting events work well. You must attract interest and earn your attention from the young audience so that they choose to follow your account. Users tip each other about accounts they like.
Build long term
Snapchat is today a channel that helps companies build relationships with a young target group. To succeed, you must have a long term and consistent brand strategy on Snapchat.
The right channel mix
The company that chooses to have an account on Snapchat must consider how the channel fits into their mix of social media. What is the purpose of being there?
You don’t have to sell all the time. It is more about creating relationships to advance in the customer journey. Use your other channels to drive traffic to Snapchat. If you have an e-commerce store you should clearly display and promote your snapcode on the web.
Young people have different networks for different activities. If Snapchat can grow with the young people’s needs, they have no need to leave the channel.
Target younger audiences
The average Snapchat user is between 13 and 23 years old, while the use of the 40-plus is quite sparse. So if you are promoting an energy drink or clothing brand Snapchat can be useful, but for car dealers, expensive restaurants, and accounting consultants it might be better to stick to Facebook.
Have a simple message
Your message must be concise and easy to remember. For example, you can announce that your store has a sale this coming weekend, while times, dates, and prices do better in other formats.
Keep it easy and fun
Snapchat users see the app primarily as entertainment, and their more serious posts are made in other social media. Therefore, very formal or serious marketing does not fit into Snapchat.
Instead, create something memorable or odd, in line with the easy-to-use nature of the app.
