Do you think Snapchat is just for young people to have some fun with photos and videos that disappear soon after they’re posted? After all, 71% of its U.S. users are between 18 and 34 years old. More to the point, how could Snapchat relate to your business?
You may be surprised to learn that Snapchat is lending itself to highly innovative marketing campaigns designed to boost brand awareness and increase community engagement. As one of the fastest-growing social networks with 400 million snaps a day and over 100 million daily active users, brands are increasingly flocking toward Snapchat Stories to create a linear replayable story that stays visible for 24 hours. This content can be perfected through various platform tools like filters, geofilters, text, emojis, music and more.
How much traffic do these stories get? About 1 billion views each day to be exact. Clearly, this is something to take seriously.
Now, here’s how to do it!
The best news about Snapchat is that this valuable customer interaction is about as economical as it gets, costing you time versus a chunk of your advertising budget.
In her Social Media Examiner article “5 Ways to Use Snapchat for Business,” Kate Talbot uncovers some simple strategies to best leverage this social media platform, generally summarized below.
Grant the red carpet to live events: What better way to show your audience the live event than to bring them there? Bring your customers to live trade shows, product launches, or other exciting unique events. Instead of telling people what’s happening at the event, show them what’s going on at this exact moment!
Gift private content to your loyal consumers: What can surprise or delight your followers? What is so special that these people can only see it on Snapchat? This is the platform to introduce one-of-a-kind content that will engage them!
Create unbeatable incentives: If your followers get special promotions, coupons, and gifts for listening to your story, they will always be back to see what you are up to. Give your story wings by thinking of ways for fans to incorporate your brand into their own snaps such as a Snapchat scavenger hunt.
Make your customers VIPs: Your audience would love to see the behind the scenes look of your organization, so capture the snaps that best define your company whether it’s a company outing or a look into the warehouse.
Form relationships with influencers: If you can find the social media influencers on Snapchat that make sense for your brand, partner up with them. You’ll be amazed at how much awareness you can create in previously untouched demographics.
Learn from those that have created the path
The “8 Brands Rocking Snapchat” Mashable article specifically highlights some companies that have used this platform exceptionally well. Here are a few examples:
- 16 Handles: This New York-based frozen yogurt chain asked its fans to snap a picture of themselves at one of its locations. As a thank you, these fans received a New Year’s promotional coupon snap for 16%, 50% or 100% off.
- New Orleans Saints: This NFL team leverages Snapchat to give its fans access to new merchandise and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Rebecca Minkoff: This clothing brand designer exclusively debuted its Spring 2014 collection to Snapchat followers moments before it appeared on the runway.
What story are you going to tell?
Now that you understand the Snapchat platform and how other successful brands have used it to succeed, what inspiration will lead your future story? Give us a sneak peek below!
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