More brands are learning how to market effectively on Snapchat, a social media network known for its vanishing photos.
Snapchat offers marketers over 100 million daily active users and impressive engagement statistics. The fast-growing network is gaining on Facebook. Its video views per day have jumped to 6 billion, which is approaching Facebook’s 8 billion views a day, according to the Financial Times.
Snapchat is more popular among American teens than Facebook . Nearly 20 percent of teens say the mobile app is the most important social network, a recent survey by investment bank Piper Jaffray reveals. A third of teens favor Instagram, while Snapchat ranked about equal to Twitter. Only 15% of teens like Facebook most.
Yet many organizations remain unsure about how to pursue Snapchat marketing opportunities, writes Stephanie Ferrell, a content coordinator at Skyword, in the Content Standard. It is after all a younger network and began embracing brands only relatively recently. It accepted its first advertisement in October of 2014 and has sporadically experimented with different methods to include brands in its business model.
A Snapchat Overview
Ferrell explained Snapchat features available for brands.
“These Snapchat features are something every content marketer should know as brands venture into this quickly developing, unique social space,” she said.
Stories. Its Story feature, launched in October 2013, allows users to connect a series of photos to create a story. Photos, or “Snaps,” added to a Story last for 24 hours before disappearing. Taco Bell was one of the first brands to market through the feature. Its story portrayed friends who go on an adventure and eventually return to Taco Bell.
Our Story. The messaging app’s “Our Story” feature aggregates crowdsourced photos users select, categorized by a location or event. It’s now one of its most popular features, and some draw more viewers than popular television shows.
Discover. Its Discover page offers ad-supported videos from Shapchat’s own journalists and videographers and media partners, such as National Geographic, Yahoo News and ESPN. In October, Sony Pictures became the first brand to purchase its own standalone Discover channel to promote its new James Bond film, Ad Week reports. After users expressed dissatisfaction with the feature, Snapchat altered it to be less intrusive and more user friendly, Ferrell says. The page might not be the first choice for marketers.
Geofilters. Brands may prefer Snapchat’s “sponsored geofilters” — ad images that people can add to their Snapchat videos only when they are in specific locations. Brands such as Nike and GE have employed the ads nationally on major holidays or following big events, according to The Wall Street Journal. For example, after the Women’s World Cup, Snapchat users were encouraged to make videos that featured a Team USA logo and the Nike swoosh. Brands like Target and McDonald’s are experimenting with the ads that are accessible only at retail locations.
Essential Snapchat Marketing Tactics
The recommended Snapchat marketing tactics are to be:
Simple. Users don’t seek slick, carefully produced videos. They prefer real-time, behind-the-scenes shots of your brand.
Compelling. Eye-catching, emotionally charged content is especially important on Snapchat.
Intimate. Users care more about the emotions of the images than their appearances.
Engage. Encourage followers to contribute to your story by sending you snaps. Don’t hesitate to use shock value to keep followers interested.
Bottom Line: Snapchat’s astounding growth and innovative new features are drawing new users and the attention of marketers. Its unique features offer marketers the opportunity to create unique marketing approaches to strengthen their brand image and engage with young customers.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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