Are Companies Getting Snap Happy?

What is Snapchat?
Snapchat is a mobile application that allows users to send and receive photos and videos. Sounds pretty much like texting, right? Wrong! Snapchat images are only sent to specific people from your friends list and are viewable for 1 to 10 seconds and then they are gone, poof! You can also add content to your Snapchat story, which is visible by all of your friends for 24 hours.

To sign up for a a Snapchat account, all you need is you name, email address, birthday, and phone number. You then get to pick your username, which cannot be changed after your account is set up. You will also have to confirm your phone number with a text code that Snapchat will send to you. You can then let Snapchat access your phone contacts to find friends to add. Sounds pretty easy. I even followed the steps and set up my own Snapchat account last night. Not sure if I will actually use it or not, but hey, I have the option. And now maybe if I use it my sister will stop pestering me to get one

How can businesses use Snapchat?
With 100 million daily active users and the largest social media platform in terms of access to millennials, 76% of Snapchat users are ages 18-34. Snapchat users share about 9,000 photos every second. This also translates into those photos being seen in a relatively short amount of time since Snapchat creates a sense of urgency in its users. Ways for businesses to use Snapchat include:

1. Providing photo and video access to live events
2. Providing behind the scenes looks and products/events
3. Hosting contests and promotions
4. Partnering with people with influence on the app such as celebrities to create one of a kind content
5. New product launches
6. Introducing new employees
7. Providing customers with special coupons

But why is Snapchat becoming so important?

Snapchat provides a low cost marketing tool with the ability to reach millions of people at once. This tool is especially useful for companies with a target market of people ages 18-34 and also companies that target females, as 70% of Snapchat's users are female. Snapchat is fun to use and allows companies to get creative with its many filters, geofilters, emojis, ability to doodle and add text to any video or photo. Snapchat can essentially act as a one stop shop in terms of altering photos. The expiration of Snaps gives users a sense of urgency when they get a notification that they have a new snap. They want to consume that photo or video right away since they know once they see it that it is gone, plus then they can respond with their own photo or video. Snapchat gives users a way to explore the world around them. 54% of daily users said that they look at Snaps and Stories from celebrities, 48% look at Snaps and stories from brands that they follow, and 47% look at discover stories.

How can businesses get started?
Businesses should be careful when setting up accounts, since it is not linked to any other social media accounts, customers might not know that you have an account. They should also choose their username wisely, since it cannot be changed once established and pick a profile picture that lets users know that it is your brand. To gain followers businesses should promote their Snapchat on their other social media sites. They should use Snapchat as a way to get followers more involved with their brand by offering Snapchat exclusive content. Offer special discounts to followers. They should also consider partnering with influencers on the site who can help build up their following. They should also explore options for being featured on the Discover stories, as this can help them get more followers.

Is Snapchat right for everyone?
No, there are some brands that wouldn't gain anything from being on this site. It is very unique and provides brands with a lot of options in reaching out to customers, but your customers have to be on the site to reach them. Snapchat is a fun app. Businesses who use it have to embrace that and get away from their traditional marketing thought process. According to Jenn Herman, n order to be successful on Snapchat, you need to build a following and engage with customers. If you send out a Snap, most likely you will get responses and you need to respond to them! This isn't Facebook where you write a post and then get thousands of comments that you don't respond to. You have to look at what users are sending back to you and respond. Be prepared for questions and comments. Overall be ready to have fun and have a solid strategy in place to make using this app work for your business.