In case you missed it, Snapchat is a mobile app. Colloquially, its users often refer to the app as Snap. Meanwhile, Snapchat’s developer is a public company called Snap, which is confusing.
One of the main concepts of the mobile application is that any image, video, or message – aka snap – that is sent by default is only made to its recipient a short time before it disappears. This type of temporary or open-source application was originally designed to enhance the natural interaction process.
Snapchat was originally focused on sharing personal, one-on-one content, but now you can use it for a variety of purposes, including sending videos, live video chats, messaging, and creating Bitmoji avatars which are then broadcasted to all your subscribers.
There is a curated “Discovery” section that features content sourced from major publications such as Buzzfeed. Snapchat lets you save ads in a private space. Other features include the ability to add filters and AR glasses to snaps and show your location on a world map.
Why Is Snapchat Good for Marketing?
Snapchat gives marketers the ability to connect with their audience instantly, on the go. It’s especially good for local campaigns and promoting engaging interactive storytelling.
Here are some great benefits of using Snapchat for marketing.
Build brand awareness
Many big brands are using Snapchat to promote their business because it’s an emerging trend. Whether it’s through funny ads, must-have filters, or interesting stories, using Snapchat can help you reach an audience, especially since the app has more than 265 million users.
Connect with the younger generation and attract new subscribers
This depends on your company and your audience (so it’s good to research and identify your buyer first). But if you’re looking to reach people under the age of 35, Snapchat is where you should be.
82% of all Snapchat users fall into this demographic and since they spend about 30 minutes a day using it, you will have no problem reaching the right people.
Influence purchases
Snapchat users can discover new businesses when they’re not busy sending selfies to their friends using the awesome filters they come across. The app is designed to connect users with brands using the “Discover” icon, which means they can see content created by brands using Snapchat for marketing.
Research shows that Snapchatters spend 35% more time in the Discover section each day and are 60% more likely to make an impulse purchase. It could be a gold mine for your marketing efforts.
Drive traffic
Snaps are designed to have a short life. You get an image or video, you click on it, and after a few seconds, poof – go. Although it may seem inconvenient, it can help drive. Making snaps that are timed out gives them a sense of urgency – your audience doesn’t want to miss them. Use them to add personalization, highlight specials, and showcase fun events while you’re successfully driving traffic to your brand.
Build partnerships
It is perfect for marketers who hold events, wants to show their company’s culture, or use them in integrated advertising.
Snapchat offers searchable geofilters, which means you can create custom filters for people to use. From attendees to office staff, people can take photos using your filters and post them wherever they want driving engagement.
How To Start Snapchat Marketing for Small Business
So, as a digital marketer, how can you use Snapchat wisely and make effective presentations on the platform? Here’s how some brands can continue to incorporate Snapchat into their marketing strategy.
Upload content across multiple platforms
To use Snapchat effectively, you need to have followers on the platform.
If you have a large following on another platform, let them know about your Snapchat to encourage them to check out your content there. It helps to have one side or focus on your Snapchat content or share things that you don’t share on other platforms.
You can give your followers on other platforms a preview of the original content you post on Snapchat. This will create excitement and encourage people to follow you on this platform.
Create interactive filters for your brand
One of the things that makes Snapchat so popular is the filters – or lenses, as they are called – and geotags in the app. Businesses have the ability to get their messages in front of Snapchat users by creating interactive filters that Snapchatters want to use.
The average Snapchat user interacts with a Snapchat space for at least 20 seconds and can share images or videos of themselves using filters. This essentially creates user-generated content that promotes your brand to its target audience.
With geofilters, you can create specific location filters when users upload your business or location. It works well for a store, restaurant, or any business that has a brick-and-mortar storefront. When someone uses a geofilter or space on Snapchat, they get instant exposure, free advertising, and social proof for their followers.
Schedule takeovers on your account
If you work with influencers, you can include Snapchat collections in your content agreement. Allowing influencers to take over your Snapchat account for a day will encourage their audience to follow your account. The influencer will then promote this capture to their account, helping to drive traffic to your page.
When you do a Snapchat takeover, try to make it exclusive to the platform. It may seem like a good idea to post a story about taking over Instagram and Snapchat, but you want to encourage people to follow you on Snapchat as well as Instagram to get the full impact of the platform. Create a specific Snapchat account and work with influencers who work with the app.
Set specific goals for the platform that contributes to your overall marketing goals
Defining specific social media goals can help you understand how Snapchat can help you reach those goals.
If your goal is to increase traffic, Snapchat can help drive users to your website. The platform recently added the ability to add links to your Snaps, which works great when you’re promoting a product or offer on your website.
Every Snapchat business account has access to its account analytics through the platform’s analytics tool, Snapchat Insights.
Invest in paid advertising
If you have an ad budget and a large following on Snapchat, Snapchat ads can be the most profitable part of your social media strategy.
9 Effective Tips for Snapchat Marketing Strategy
Although there is no “one size fits all” magic formula for starting a business, many marketing strategies are simple and can be achieved with a laptop, some strategy, and a growth mindset.
1. Build your brand
Customers want to know what your business does, what you stand for, and how you stand out among your peers. Once you’ve established a corporate role, it’s important that your company name, logo, and marketing materials align with that message and clearly show the essence of your brand.
Small business owners may consider working with a freelance designer or creative agency to create a strong and cohesive branding strategy – logo, colors, guidelines, etc. Although this step can be expensive, it is a good and worthwhile investment because it helps build awareness of your business and helps your customers connect with your goals and objectives.
2. Know your audience
Marketing isn’t just about reaching customers; it’s about connecting with the people you reach. Knowing your audience can help you make the right connections with customers that can make them buy your products, invest in your services, and come back for more. That said, every business appeals to certain demographics that have unique needs, characteristics, and attitudes. Therefore, all companies need a marketing plan specific to their target market.
3. Enhance your online presence
Online content is affecting today’s world a lot. Having an online presence is important to be found by searchers online, quickly, and easily. Often the first step to establishing your online presence is to develop a website for your business.
Depending on your business, it might be a good idea to create a profile or listing on a platform where potential customers are looking for products like yours. For example, if you run a restaurant, you’ll want to make sure your business is easily found on map platforms, catering apps, user reviews, and platforms.
4. Track traffic and online behavior
In today’s digital world, the buying journey is anything but linear. Having real-time insight into your customers’ online behavior during the buying journey is essential to optimizing your digital marketing and getting the best return on your advertising investment.
5. Experiment and measure what works and what doesn’t
For businesses of all sizes, it’s important to always create a journal when making any of the marketing strategies mentioned in this blog and analyze what’s working in your ad and what’s not. Savvy marketers know that approaching marketing strategies using data-driven thinking can be effective in reducing churn and turning mediocre programs into great, scalable business opportunities.
6. Come up with your selling points
When it comes to getting people to sign up or pay for your service or product, customers may want to know how your product will benefit them. When you advertise your business or product, emphasize your selling point, as you promote any sales you make or plan to make.
It may seem obvious, but sometimes companies can “bury the road” through advertising or marketing and creative things that have nothing to do with their products or services. At Snapchat, we feature full-screen mobile ads that inspire, educate, and inspire Snapchatters to engage with businesses to learn more.
7. Benefit from testimonials and word of mouth
Word-of-mouth promotion is an easy and inexpensive way to attract new customers and convince them to try your product or service. An easy way to leverage the power of word of mouth in your marketing is to use video testimonials from customers unboxing and reviewing products or reviewing your business.
8. Nurture customers during the shopping journey to convert
Marketing is all about raising awareness of your brand or business, educating potential customers about your product or service, and converting leads into new customers and returning customers. When advertising on Snapchat, we always recommend starting and keeping a general target ad to start with, with a small target area.
9. Maintain your investment
One of the best ways to market your small business is by investing in digital advertising. Why digital? It’s easy to start and cheap to test. Digital advertising gives all businesses the ability to optimize online campaigns over time and spend their advertising dollars in the most efficient way possible.
Snapchat Marketing Examples
Dominoes
Popular pizza brand Domino’s uses Snapchat to launch its ‘New Bigger Better’ pizza campaign in Europe. Using Snap Ads, Ads (non-skippable video ads), and filters, they reached over 800,000 unique Norwegian Snapchatters around their restaurant.
The campaign was created to be fun for the public and to show different situations where pizza is too big. Snapchatters can use Domino filters to decorate their Snaps and share their creations with their friends.
Starling Bank Corporation
As the UK’s leading digital bank, Starling Bank offers smart mobile apps for people to manage their money. In 2019, they wanted to increase their growth through Snapchat.
Instead of just making a standard video ad, they decided to do something fun and create an augmented reality (AR) lens experience to bring their first TV ad to life. Through these unique experiences, they gained a lot of new users and brand awareness.
BACARDI
BACARDÍ wanted to reach twenty-something Snapchatters across Germany to build brand awareness. They created a lens experience to immerse users deep into BACARDÍ summer. Thanks to this new experience, they were able to reach more than 2.5 million Snapchatters during the 10 weeks of the campaign. In addition to the lens experience, they used Snap Ads & Commercials to create static videos and promote their tags in any situation.
Conclusion
Not only are Snapchat ads engaging, but they also work well with Snapchat’s audience and provide high ROI for businesses of all sizes.
Even if your business doesn’t have thousands of dollars for Snapchat ads, you can still build awareness and audience engagement by telling a great story. Try creating unique content just for Snapchat and invite viewers to see a “real” view of your brand. You can also interact with your audience directly in the app – answering questions directly and providing feedback.
