So, while eating dinner with my colleagues last week, I was talking to my boss about Snapchat. Well, I was really showing her all the different filters that one could use on Snapchat. I applied a deer filter to her face. She looked confused and frightened, as antlers and a little black deer snout digitally dawned (see what I did there) her selfie. Unfortunately, I didn’t save it for the world to see.
It got me thinking of a potential topic to write about. No, not what filter you should apply to your next selfie, but rather something along the line of businesses and using Snapchat to their advantage.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last five or so years, Snapchat is a social media platform that allows users to send temporary images and videos to other app users. These images and videos typically last seconds, but are generally under a minute.
Snapchat is not website-based either. If you plan on using it as a tool for your business, your smartphone will become a key marketing tool. Also, keep in mind that this app is mostly millennial based. So, always keep your target audience in mind if you plan on adding it to your digital marketing repertoire.
Why It’s Good for Business
I’ll go over some of the really cool and interesting things Snapchat can do near the end of this article; but first, I want to talk about how using Snapchat can help a business.
According to an article from TechCrunch, Snapchat has over 160 million daily users with some reports stating that number might be closer to 200 million daily users; not forgetting to mention the eight billion daily video views. That’s a whole other audience your business can be targeting. All it takes is one phone and one finger.
There are multiple ways marketers can promote a business through the app itself. They include:
- Providing access to events not everyone can attend
- Delivering content only unique to Snapchat users
- Offering promotions or giveaways
- Taking users behind the scenes of pretty much anything
But, how are you going to integrate Snapchat into your social media marketing campaign? You or your social media/marketing team is going to have to develop interesting content. You can’t just post funny selfies of your co-workers all day. While that could be funny, it’s definitely not the most interesting thing you can do.
You must have your followers participate with your content. Get creative by adding a call-to-action to your “snaps”. It’s imperative to building your following.
Other tips you or your team can do to expand your brand through Snapchat include:
- Putting your username in different social media bios like Instagram or Twitter
- Reply to your followers who send you “snaps”. That can be helpful if you’re having a contest or promotion
- Design filters for your business, location, or event
Snapchat’s Addictive Features
Like I said earlier, I want to introduce you to some of the app’s other impressive features. These features are merely more for personal use, meaning I use them ALL THE TIME. Here we go.
Snapchat allows its users to change their voice through filters, face swap with selfies you might have of others in your phone, see where events are occurring through the “Snap Map”, send personal messages, and even have video chats.
If you have the Bitmoji app, you can do even more; especially through augmented reality. The Bitmoji app allows one to create a personal emoji character. With Snapchat, you can activate a filter that allows this personal emoji to do very simple or silly actions, like dancing around on your desk. The possibilities are endless.