Snap Your Way To Marketing Success

It’s safe to say we’re officially approaching Summer mode – we can stop taking our coats out with us just ‘incase’ it gets freezing at some point during the day, and can finally enjoy sitting in a beer garden after work. It’s also safe to say that as soon as the sunshine and warm weather greets us, Snapchat goes crazy for filtered cider photos and ‘hotdog legs’ in the garden. For those of us who Snapchat, it can be a daily form of spontaneity that helps us pass (a lot of) our spare moments. But it’s not just for personal use, it’s also becoming an incredibly useful tool for many brands seeking to target a very specific demographic.

With over 100 million active users and over 9000 photo shares every second, the potential to generate brand awareness and target very specific marketing messages is substantial. The Millennial target market makes up a quarter of the UK population, and these are the most prevalent users of this social channel. To be able to pinpoint this elusive and thrifty demographic is a key driver for many marketers when using this channel.

A vast amount of companies including Audi and NARS Cosmetics, have already recognised the advertising opportunities available through Snapchat. During Superbowl XLVIII, Audi partnered up with the video platform and The Onion to raise brand awareness amongst the Millennial segment. By directing humorous photos and videos throughout the campaign, Audi’s Snapchat following grew by more than 5,500. NARS cosmetics used the platform to release previews of new products, and incorporated a cross-channel strategy with Twitter and Instagram whilst leading up to the big reveal.

A key factor in Snapchat becoming a key part to many brands marketing strategies, is the fact it both requires, and desires, frequent regular updates by users. By allowing users to interact with their favourite brands or companies through live video and photography, the user is even more engaged than they realise. We’ve summarised our top Snapchat marketing tips, which we think are the most influential for 2016:

1. Promote offers and discounts

As consumers and brand followers, we’re often sent many different offers and promotions on a near enough, daily basis. Sometimes so often, that we may delete them in bulk for being so repetitive. On the other hand, Snapchat can be utilised to promote various offers to users, allowing them to screenshot the offer if desired. An additional benefit of this, is being able to measure the number of screenshots on the snap, which acts as a KPI for the particular company involved.

2. Promote events and story-tell

If there’s an exciting event or campaign taking place, that can only be described accurately through video, then Snapchat is the ideal platform for this. By implementing a wide and unique combination of Emojis, font, filters and even location ‘stickers’, the user is extremely likely to feel more engaged and therefore inclined to interact with the company.

3. Keep things memorable and exciting!

The benefit of being able to use Snapchat for business, is being able to use a combination of photos, videos, video effects and filters to create a unique promotional message each and every time. The platform reiterates how the user or consumer will only be able to view the message for a limited time, which emphasizes the element of fun experienced through the app. This is especially useful in targeting the younger demographic, such as the Millennial group.

Of course we’re not saying Snapchat is going to be the most appropriate platform for all businesses, but we’re confident that it’s a great addition to many. Get snapping!