Let’s admit it.
Until recently, most of us were sceptical about using Snapchat for marketing.
Well, things have changed.
Recent statistics show that Snapchat now has over 200M active monthly users.
To put into perspective, that’s as many as Pinterest and LinkedIn have combined!
What’s even more interesting is that Snapchat is showing one of the highest engagement rates among the major social networks.
Users spend on average 25 to 30 minutes daily on the platform which results in over 10 billion videos watched every single day.
Amazing, right?
More good news for you, if you’re looking to engage younger audiences.
The astounding 60% of Snapchat’s users are aged 13 to 24!
All this means one thing.
Snapchat offers plenty of opportunities for you to strengthen your relationships with customers and prospects in engaging and meaningful ways.
For you to get the most out of it, below we listed 4 effective ways to use Snapchat for business.
Please enjoy the read and let us know what you think in the comments.
1. Promote your Snapchat on other social media platforms
Your starting point is to attract your first followers.
Snapchat offers paid promotion of your profile, but the minimum budget is $100,000, which only recently dropped from the staggering $700,000!
So if you don’t feel like spending a little fortune you can instead capitalise on what you have already achieved on other social networks.
Start with generating your unique Snapcode – Snapchat’s alternative to QR codes.
It allows users to follow you by just pointing their camera on the tag. Your Snapcode can also be personalised with your name and picture.
Once ready, it can be used as profile pictures on other social platforms, growing awareness of your Snapchat account.
But let’s look at this from a different angle…
With social media (and pretty much anything else), if you give your audience an intriguing enough incentive to follow you, the chances are they will.
On your existing social media accounts show your followers a preview of what’s going on with your Snapchat. And make sure that what they see is worth their attention.
Invoke their curiosity with behind-the-scenes footage or a sneak-peak of your new product.
Exclusive and constantly-updated content is a great motivation for users to follow you.
If you’re looking for some inspiration and would like to see what other brands and influencers are doing, simply perform a Facebook graph search by typing “Follow us on Snapchat”. Also check out this video from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
2. Partner with Influencers to boost your exposure
Now that you’ve attracted your first followers on Snapchat, it’s time to grow your audience.
Want to be smart about it?
Use the power of Snapchat influencers to boost your exposure.
In February 2015, Mark McMorris, Canada’s favourite snowboarder and Big Air gold medalist, took over Red Bull’s Snapchat account to show what a typical day for him is like.
Being well known for their support of the extreme lifestyle, it is not a coincidence that Red Bull chose McMorris for their campaign. Not only did it provide exceptional entertainment value but also helped Red Bull attract a lot of McMorris’ loyal and engaged followers.
All in all, influencer marketing is an effective tool for Snapchat, as it increases your brand loyalty and capitalizes on the influencers’ reach.
3. Provide exclusive live access to events and product launches
Snapchat offers unprecedented opportunities to develop lasting relationships with your audience.
Just add a little bit of personal touch…
Although miles and miles away, people love to participate in exciting events around the world, like gigs, seminars and even product launches, through their smartphone screens.
Use Snapchat’s Stories feature and give your followers a sense of what you’re up to and what you’re really like.
Make them feel like part of your event, as NBA did with the Announcement of Kevin Durant as the Most Valuable Player.
Their campaign consisted of only three photo stories prompting fans to tune in to NBA.com to watch the award ceremony in real time.
Another great example is the way the NARS cosmetics company created excitement around their upcoming collection.
To generate more buzz, they shared the news on their Instagram and Twitter accounts and invited followers to exclusively preview content on Snapchat.
As you can see in the comments section on the picture above, the result was very positive. People were excited and left eager not to miss the event.
4. Share promo codes and exclusive offers
The recent study of 1,600 college students from the US found, that 58% of them “would be most likely to purchase a product if they were sent a coupon on Snapchat”.
Due to the personal nature of this social network, it’s a great place to directly engage with your customers and build trust among your followers.
Ask your user base to make a quick snap with your product and send it out to you in return of a promo code.
This is what 16 Handles did to celebrate the New Year:
You can also send out a series of snaps with hints about an upcoming discount, thus, generating anticipation and interest..
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it’s time for brands to start seeing Snapchat as a powerful marketing tool.
It offers huge opportunities for businesses to interact with their customers and build long-lasting relationships with them.
With its 200M monthly active users, Snapchat is still growing steadily and will definitely be one of the key online marketing platforms.
Follow these tips and you will be on the right track to drive your marketing success through Snapchat.
If you have any comments or further suggestions, please share them in the comments below.
What is your experience with Snapchat? Have you used it for marketing?
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