I must say, Snapchat has
come a long ways since its humble beginnings in 2010. What started as just a
simple photo sharing application, has now sprung into a mobile revolution.
Snapchat has some restrictions, and might not be for everyone due to their
younger user base, but getting involved with this platform is a great way to
add a new mobile dimension to your marketing mix.
5 Great Reasons Why you should Start Snapping
1) One Word: MOBILE
The world is going
mobile, as in mobile phones. As of last year, Nielson released a plethora of
information about consumers. One of the more crucial findings is the increase
in using mobile phones for web browsing.
“One of the standout
findings in the report is that US adults spent on average 34 hours per month
using the mobile internet on smartphones. By comparison, they spend 27 hours on
the PC internet.”
Why is this so
important? Consumers are browsing, streaming, and buying, from their phones,
more than they ever have. Companies need to take note if they plan to stay
competitive. Taking content that was designed for a desktop, and expecting it
to work just as good on a mobile device, is just downright silly. If you have
yet to implement a mobile segment into your Marketing plan, you better start
scrambling.
Snapchat is a great way
to add a mobile dimension to things. It’s relatively easy to use, and is still
free for brands to interact with their loyal guests. Whatever your target
market prefers to use, it is important to be easily accessible. With the
direction of many consumer trends, it is very likely that your ideal consumer
will be using their mobile phone on a very regular basis.
2) Engage the younger generation
Generation Y are a
fickle bunch and targeting them can be tough. Even though my background is in
Marketing, I can’t stand being marketed to. In fact, I will sometimes go out of
my way to avoid being targeted by advertising. I guess I have a strange
love-hate relationship when it comes to this sort of thing.
They are also quite tech
savvy, that spends the majority of their time being connected with their
hi-tech gadgets and their friends. Snapchat’s user base is mostly Gen Y and Gen
Z consumers and consists of mostly female users. If your Target audience is
between the ages of 15-25, then Snapchat might be a perfect fit for you.
3) Urgency
Nothing says urgency
like a ten second window to take action. One way you can use Snapchat for, is exclusive
deals and quick promotions. We will discuss this in greater detail in future
blog posts, but you can use Snapchats time limitations as a call to action for
purchases.
4) Casual Encounters
Brands that are fun,
creative and edgy will have no problem with using Snapchat. This platform has
more of a casual atmosphere and it can used to your advantage. Your target
audience might not have a way to get to know the intimate side of your brand,
and this platform has potential to let them get to know you better.
5) Ease of use
As with other
Social Media platforms, you have access to a plethora of customization options. This can be great in most cases, it allows you to customize your account to suit your audience, but it can be very tedious to set everything up and
maintain. Take Facebook for example, you have to find the perfect cover photo,
you need to make sure that your about section reflects the company's tone and
culture, you need to make sure that all of your tabs are appropriate and add
value to the target audience. It also can be time consuming to manage your
wall.
While working with Target, I know first hand about how time consuming it can be to play the internet police on your Facebook wall. I believe in a "No customer left behind" policy, as in all customer concerns are to be addressed. You also have to be on the lookout for trolls, who might harass your customers or deface your company. With Snapchat, the only thing you have to worry about is producing quality snaps.
5 Great Reasons Why You Shouldn't Start Snapping
1) Content Limitations
Snapchat is all about
short videos and photos that disappear quickly. If your products or services
aren't visual in nature, this platform might not be right for you. The time
restrictions can also pose some challenges. With only a handful of seconds to get
your message across or to tell a story, it can be difficult to say what needs
to be said.
2) Messy Metrics
Being able to track your
project and assess any signs of success is crucial. Snapchat doesn't offer many metrics for business as of yet, the only thing you have to go off of is views.
From what I can tell, there is no way to segment views by demographic or age.
It might also be difficult to link your activity on the platform to sales or
website traffic because it is a standalone application. It is important to
measure success of any marketing strategy or plan, Snapchat shouldn't be a
exception.
3) Foggy Numbers
For whatever reason, the
company still has not release the amount of users the platform consists of. In
May of 2014, the company announced that there was 700 million photos shared on
the platform each day. This is quite the figure, but there is a good chance
that the company is counting pictures that are shared to multiple users and to
the story. With that being said, Snapchat might be much smaller than it is
leading everyone to believe. The number of daily photos that are shared each is
fine and dandy, but here are some questions that I am still waiting to
get answer too:
• How many people use Snapchat every day, or every month?
• How many unique snaps are created each day?
• How many people have downloaded the Snapchat app on any platform?
• The rate at which any of these numbers have changed?
I’m not holding my
breath on these figures, these secretive practices casts doubt onto what
exactly we are dealing with here.
4) Young User Base
When deciding on using a
Social Media platform, it is always good to be mindful of the primary audience.
If your brand is targeting men between the age of 40-65, or any other segment
that is relatively older than 30 years of age, you might want to look for
something else. Snapchat has great potential for reaching out to Gen Y and Gen
Z, but it doesn't have much use for older demographics.
5) Casual Encounters
Snapchat is a very casual
atmosphere, which might be perfect for fun and edgy brands, but it’s not for
everyone. If your brand has a very business professional, then Snapchat might
not be the best match for you. When incorporating new platforms into your
Marketing mix, it is always a good idea to have a consist tone across all
platforms.
With everything said and
done, I think that Snapchat has a lot of business potential and companies need
to seriously consider leveraging it in their mobile strategy. Sure Snapchat
comes with its fair share of restrictions, but restriction can spawn new growth
and creativity.
Now that you have some
reasons to use Snapchat, stay tuned to find out some of my favorite ways to use
this snappy application for any business.
~Daniel
