Much of my social media stream is dominated by Snapchat filters and celebrity takeovers. The yellow-ghost logo is growing rapidly amongst society with over 158 million people using the application every day, with users accessing the app on average 18 times a day (Carson, 2017). If you want to know more about Snapchats engagement statistics have a click here; http://www.businessofapps.com/data/snapchat-statistics/

 

Companies using social media has become a key platform for communication with consumers, building significant fast-tracking of information on sales, events, further in-store experiences as well as online engagement. As platforms become more established, so does the cost. And this is why businesses need to take advantage of the current platform Snapchat before it is squeezed for all its use by users – like Facebook is now. We don’t want the Nokia-3500 when we have the iPhone-X, we as consumers are vain, we want the prettiest, newest and the most exciting technology available to us.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last seven years, you’ll know exactly what Snapchat is. A social media platform taking communication to the next step – via video communication.

Social media consumers know to go to Facebook to talk to their cousins in Australia, Instagram to stalk their ex-boyfriends Italy 2017 photos, and now they have Snapchat providing a live feed of whoever (famous or not) and/or companies are up to, with a ‘backstage pass’ feeling added.

If you’re a company looking to get connected with your consumers through this digital experience, I recommend you keep reading for my tips below!

 

Tip 1: Influencer Marketing

So, what is it? It is a type of word-of-mouth marketing that puts the focus on speaking the consumers language. It involves paying influencers (whom are typically celebrities or industry experts) to drive your brand engagement and sales further. 81% of marketers who have used influencer marketing judged it to be effective (Burgess, 2017).

This is a main advantage of Snapchat marketing for companies, as it clearly works. Its simplistic in nature, with guaranteed results. But before you embark on influencer marketing, it is essential you understand your target audience, what message you want to be relayed and who the influencer is, which is vital. By picking the correct influencers for your brand, it’ll bring in bigger demand. According to McKinsey (2010), marketing-induced word of mouth doubles sales when compared to traditional advertising.

Influencers can be used in two ways on Snapchat, they can promote your brand on their account to create a story-telling experience, as they should ideally have a large following to promote the brand to. Alternatively, a brand can host an influencer takeover on their own account, to give an exclusive experience to onlookers, whilst increasing brand exposure, and creating a fun experience for the influencers and viewers – which is great in building a positive brand image. Have a look here at Adidas’ Snapchat https://digiday.com/marketing/inside-adidas-originals-snapchat-strategy/

Chaffey (2012) suggests customer engagement is a method to increase the amount of time or attention a consumer gives a brand across multiple channels. Therefore, if the Snapchat influencer does a takeover or promotes your brand on their own Snap, it’ll (in theory) encourage customer engagement across various channels.

 

Tip 2: Promotion Codes

The simplicity of the app is its selling point. Brands have access to the consumer on a direct basis, if the consumer complies with your brand on this platform they’ll reek the benefits from it – simple.

With high engagement rates, companies can boost their sales by posting promotion or discount codes to the platform – it is also easily measurable due to the code provided on the Snap account.

Take a look at this case study from Grubhub to see how they used a Snapchat story to send codes to their audience http://www.prnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2_315pm_Geen_direct_msging.pdf\

 

Tip 3: Product Launches

You can use Snapchat to launch new products. This is especially appealing to the consumer, as it gives a sense of exclusivity to the app and experience. Snapchat accounts can give consumers a glimpse of a product before its release, or even build a teaser period by revealing products of a line over a week-long period promote the launch of products until their release. But, brands must be selective in which product launches are exclusive enough to be promoted in this way, to be successful.

This is also a fantastic way to promote products with a low-budget, yet informal video, thus, not facing the critique a TV advertisement may face from consumers, which would undoubtedly cost more (Strike Social, 2018).

Before I release you into Snap-heaven…let’s take a quick look at the risks you face.

Although it is a fun experience for the consumer with filters, emoji’s and more, companies must ensure they understand their consumer engagement needs; with the right influencers being used, which products can afford to tease their audience for a week or so and which simply can’t.

You must remember, with Snapchat content goes in, and nothing comes out. If content posted is a snappy success, you cannot build on that win and amplify it into the future. Each posting is a mini campaign in itself.

 

So, there you have it…3 innovative ways to use the Snapchat platform to build customer-brand engagement.

• Leverage influencer marketing
• Promotion codes
• Product launches

If you’re a company looking to get started on improving or creating your Snapchat platform, take a look at this link to give you a boost! https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/snapchat-for-business-a-guide-for-marketers/

 

References:

Burgess, E. (2016). 11 Essential Stats for Influencer Marketing in 2016 – [ION]. [online] [ION]. Available at: https://www.ion.co/11-essential-stats-for-influencer-marketing-in-2016 [Accessed 21 Feb. 2018].

 

Business of Apps. (2018). Snapchat Revenue and Usage Statistics 2017 – Business of Apps. [online] Available at: http://www.businessofapps.com/data/snapchat-statistics/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018].

 

Carson, B. (2017). Here’s everything you need to know about how many people are using Snapchat. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-many-people-use-snapchat-

user-numbers-2017-2 [Accessed 21 Feb. 2018].

 

Chaffey, D. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. 2012, Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Harlow.

 

McKinsey (2010). A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-new-way-to-measure-word-of-mouth-marketing [Accessed 21 Feb. 2018].

 

Single Grain. (2018). Influencer Marketing: How to Grow Your Business in 2018 & Beyond. [online] Available at: https://www.singlegrain.com/content-marketing-strategy-2/what-is-influencer-marketing-chris/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2018].

 

Strike Social. (2018). How much does it cost to advertise on Snapchat? | Strike Social. [online] Available at: https://strikesocial.com/blog/snapchat-cost/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].

 

Tie, T. (2018). ‘Snap’ to It: 5 Tips to Improve Your Snapchat Marketing. [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294579 [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018].