Snapchat began as a simple photo-sharing app, but has evolved into a major social platform in the past two years. With over 100 million active users daily, Snapchat is no longer just a way to send disappearing selfies to your friends, but a noteworthy player in marketing communications and brand strategy. Marketers use Snapchat to reach audiences in a few different ways:
- Maintaining a Snapchat Account. This is the simplest way to market via Snapchat. Many companies have their own Snapchat account and will send pictures directly to followers or to their “Story,” which is an archived narrative of pictures and videos that can be re-watched for 24 hours.
- Snapchat Discover. Discover is a platform in which several well-known brands manage channels that create and release a few minutes of content each day. This content usually includes creative videos and graphics, articles that are accessed by simply swiping upwards, memes, and various others. Discover allows big-name brands to promote an enhanced version of their Snapchat accounts (for a hefty fee, of course).
- Geofilters. Geofilters are graphics that can be added on top of a Snapchat and are available based on location. Most major cities have their own Snapchat geofilter that features the name of the city, but now brands can create their own and pay to have them available to Snapchat users in desired areas.
More than 60 percent of Americans aged 13-34 use Snapchat, but don’t think that means that your brand has to too. When used correctly, Snapchat can enhance brand image and engagement, but when used incorrectly, can be detrimental and a waste of money. Snapchat is an intimate, real-time way to reach consumers. It’s personal and very mobile-friendly, which is important as mobile marketing continues to dominate.
On the other hand, Snapchat is still relatively new and is almost completely ineffective for reaching older generations. Additionally, it’s not enough for a brand to merely exist on Snapchat. The account must be maintained and updated regularly (very regularly, because Stories expire in 24 hours), which can be costly and time consuming. For some brands, Snapchat can be just another platform producing mediocre content and eating marketing dollars that would be more wisely spent elsewhere.
Snapchat is the newest, hottest way to get messages out to audiences, but is it right for your business? Let the experts at Transformation help you to make that decision and use Snapchat in the most effective way for your company!