5 ways to use Snapchat for Business
Have you ever thought about adding Snapchat to the vast array of social media platforms you use for business? It's not as crazy as it sounds! People use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many more channels on a regular basis to get their products and services into the public eye, so why not Snapchat?
I am not the first person to come up with this idea, but having woken from a deep slumber in which brain decided to think of monetising and optimising Snapchat, I fuelled up on coffee and here I now sit, writing about the 5 ways I think people can use Snapchat for business. So why Snapchat? With over 158 million daily active members and 2.5 billion snaps per day, Snapchat is one of the fasting growing social networks today and has been for a number of years. In Europe alone there are 52 million daily active users, that is 30% of all Snapchat users.
1. Real Time Access to Live Events
In 2017 many celebrities used Snapchat to introduce their new brands and interacted with their fans. Snapchat is perfect for real time social media marketing because it gives the audience direct access to live events. Arnold Schwarzenegger has used Snapchat for the past couple of years at his Arnold classic sports festival in this way; giving his fans basically a front row seat and backstage pass to the event. In 2014 Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson attended the Paris fashion show as their Zoolander alter egos and gave audiences a behind the scene look using Snapchat.
2. Pre-Launch Hype
Send private Content, no not the snaps everyone thinks about. Fashion brands send out snaps of their latest releases to their followers to get people to the counter in the day of launch, also the use of Snapchat at events normal people can't attend makes them feel like part of the event.
3. Promotions and Giveaways
Everyone loves a social media promotion or giveaway, so interact with your followers by offering them discount codes for your products that are exclusive to Snapchat. Ask them to pose with your product and share with their followers. In the long term it might just bring you more people to share your product.
4. Behind the Scene
We touched on this a little before, use Snapchat to take people on a behind the scene tour of your business. Video company outings and picnics. Someone has a birthday in the office, film it and send it out. It can show what a great place you are to work with and the atmosphere and relationships you have within your team, and if you slip in a product placement in the back ground all is well and good, works for TV programmes.
5. Share the Love
Partner with people who have an influence. In 2016 River Island as partnered with Snapchat to create a number of branded filters that customers can use in store across UK and Ireland. Josie Roscop, marketing director of River Island says: "When devising a plan for the launch of our new Autumn/Winter campaign, we wanted to explore new innovation and technology, seeking a fresh way for us to connect and engage with River Island customers. We decided to use Snapchat for its mass reach, popularity and ability to cut through to consumers with strong, creative content." But you don't have to partner with the big wigs. There are many niche Snapchat users with lots of influence on your target market. Seek out the relevant ones and discuss a partnership.
Summary
Snapchat's platform can have impact with your followers and strengthen your brand with real time marketing; it's just about getting it right and working for you. So do you think Snapchat can work for you? Are you already using the platform but your current tactics aren't working? Could these approaches help your business? I hope this helps you decide. Perhaps spending 5 minutes reading this article has put you on the track to social media greatness.
Written by Jay Cook, Social Media & Communications Director. 13-03-17