Is Snapchat a good platform for Marketing?

Did you know that Snapchat is used by more than 406 million people daily? Snapchat is a popular platform used mainly by Generation Z and was released to the public in July 2011. Even though high school and college students use the platform to connect with others and share funny moments of their lives, the program can and should be used to market businesses. Since most users are between the ages of 18-24, businesses can promote products that specifically target that demographic. According to the textbook The Essentials of Social Media Marketing by Michelle Charello, “Snap ads receive twice the visual attention of Facebook ads, 1.5 times more than Instagram ads, and are 1.3 times more effective than YouTube.” Since Snapchat ads get more views than ones on Facebook and Instagram, businesses need to understand how to create posts on the platform that will hook the audience and leave them wanting more. Like any other social media platform, there is an algorithm for how someone should post to try and receive the highest number of likes and followers possible. If you are looking to promote a business or even want to learn about personal branding through Snapchat, here are seven great ways to make your content stand out: 

1. Post short, fun content

Regular users and businesses should focus on creating pictures and videos that reflect authentic moments. Videos should be fewer than two minutes unless you cover an event or share a story. Talk to the camera and share your perspective to personalize a video and make it more exciting to viewers. 

2. Post often and at optimal times

Like every other platform, posting daily and at optimal times is very important. The time you should post needs to reflect when your target audience is most online. Since the age demographic is 18-24, before and after school times are the best for posting, specifically evenings and late nights. Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. are the optimal times to post on Snapchat. 

3. Tell a story

Snapchat is great for storytelling, as users can post multiple snaps in a row. It is recommended to post multiple snaps that build the story to keep audiences engaged. A great example of this is the Burberry incident during London Fashion Week. Their stories included surveillance footage, heist film references, and much more. These stories kept their audience wanting to know more, and the campaign received a lot of press coverage. If you don’t know this event, it would be a good idea to look it up because it is a great way to understand how storytelling can help businesses promote their services and engage their audience. 

4. Hold Snapchat contests and Offer incentives

Creating contests related to your brand is a great way to increase customer engagement. For example, Grubhub hosted a scavenger hunt with new challenges each day and exciting prizes, such as free takeout. Humans generally enjoy the concept of winning something. Creating a prize relevant to your business that fits your target audience will likely increase your customer population. 

5. Offer incentives

Offering incentives is similar to Snapchat contests in the sense that you, the business, are offering something to the user in return for their support or loyalty to your brand. With the limited time to view a snap, providing your audience with a coupon or discount will force them to act quickly if they want the deal offered. Using prizes like discounts or giveaways can drive traffic to Snapchat since it will push users to join the platform in order to participate.   

6. Use Influencers

Influencers are a great way to promote your brand. Not only do they usually have a high following, but their followers trust many of the things they say or talk about, which could ultimately create more customers for your brand. For example, people who love Charlie D’Amelio will want to buy everything she promotes because they want to be like her and trust that what she recommends is a good product to use. Snapchat is fantastic for influencer takeovers and allows them to associate with the brand’s followers. Using household names will ultimately strengthen your business, and while it may be expensive, it might be worth considering as their post could be the thing that takes your business from small to large in a matter of days. 

7. Use Landmarks 

Snapchat created a new AR feature called custom landmarkers, which allows businesses to develop lenses based on location. However, these lenses only work for a specific area within the location, which is limiting. Despite that, companies can create custom landmarks anywhere worldwide, including their storefronts or business locations. Creating custom landmarks motivates people to actually visit the physical location.     

While you can use other content strategies, these are the best ones to help increase your followers or promote a business. I hope these are helpful, and I wish you the best of luck as you start or continue your marketing journey through Snapchat.