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Snapchat is all over the news and in pop culture as of late. Last week, it was reported that Snapchat’s ad revenue will reach 1 billion in 2017 and there are rumors that the company is building augmented reality glasses. High-profile brands such as Taco Bell and Netflix, and the Kardashians are leveraging the increasingly popular platform to create content and reach millions of people all day, every day.
As it turns out, Snapchat isn’t just for tweens and teens. According to Comscore, Snapchat use in adults is growing quickly In the last year alone, Snapchat has seen a 103 percent increase in users ages 25 to 34 years old; it experienced an 84 percent increase in users over 35 years old. That's compared to a 56 percent increase in users between the ages of 18 and 24. In June 2016, Snapchat passed Twitter in daily usage, with 150 million people using the platform daily. All signs point to this channel becoming a valuable marketing tool.
And apparently, Salesforce readers think so, too Check out our latest blog poll:
Since it’s a channel that’s growing quickly as an effective business tool, we decided to serve up a few ideas for how you can integrate Snapchat into your business model today.
Brands of all sorts are on Snapchat, from retail brands like Target to news outlets like Huffington Post. And they all have something in common: They tell great stories. Snapchat is foremost a visual channel with text capabilities. Through personalized images/photos and 10-second video clips, you have the opportunity to create your own personality as a brand and use it to fully capture someone’s attention. Everyone loves a good story, so use Snapchat to tell yours, and keep your prospects from swiping to the next thing.
Snapchat is a great, inexpensive way to showcase your brand and share what your company is all about at no cost. It gives viewers the perfect bite-sized snapshots into your every day. Want to emphasize your customer service culture? Ask your service team share product best practices in story form. You can capture what it’s like at your office and what employees are doing behind to scenes as they work to create great customer experiences.
A natural step in storytelling is to get your audience involved and engaged with the story. Engage prospects by making your Snapchat content interactive. Hold photo contests, quizzes and create custom geofilters to get viewers involved in your brand. Here’s an example of a simple quiz campaign Salesforce recently created. You can create similar campaigns to engage prospects and customers.
Psychology can play a large role in marketing, especially when it comes to the fear of missing out on a cool sale or event. This fear has been leveraged by marketers for decades. Snapchat itself is a tool that creates short-lived content (Snaps disappear after viewing and stories appear for only 24-hours), thus making it perfect for exclusive, in-the-moment engagement. The platform is built on the foundation of FoMO! Sharing what’s happening at live events is a great example of encouraging followers to attend your next event or to interact with you at a conference. From teasing a new product to sharing exclusive promo codes, Snapchat gives you an opportunity to build up a prospect base that wants to engage with you.
Snapchat is not the place to share your beautifully curated photography or expertly edited videos — the fleeting nature of the content doesn’t encourage high-quality production values. Instead of investing lots of time to create Snaps, keep it authentic by focusing on creative moments and ideas. Keep it entertaining, provocative, and fun. Experiment with the text options, emoji stickers, and doodles. Use the resources you have around you from drawing on a whiteboard to the people who make your company special.
