Snapchat – should your brand be on it?

If I’m honest all I have really ever used Snapchat for is to send random images and messages to my friends (normally at the annoyance of those around me). I hadn’t really looked at the implications of Snapchat for brands and as a social media portal, well until now when I decided to learn more about this messaging app!

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a messaging application. You can take photos and short videos, add captions, doodles or stickers to them and send to your friends. They can then view them for up to 10 seconds before ‘poof’ it disappears, although not forever! Plus it also has an instant messaging function too, the option to view stories and view content from media outlets.

Did you know?

Seventy one percent of users are aged under 34, with 45% aged between 18 and 24.

It is worth a reported $15 billion

There are over 100 million daily active users

Facebook tried to buy Snapchat but were rejected

Snapchat has 4 billion video views a day

Brands such as Daily Mail, Mashable, Buzzfeed and Cosmopolitan are also signed up allowing people to view content specifically created for the app, with more joining every month.

Popular celebrities on Snapchat include:

Kylie Jenner – @KylizzleMyNizzl

Gigi Hadid – @doublegiforce

Little Mix – @Littlemix_offic

Rihanna – @rihanna

Charlotte Crosby – @clc_17

So should Snapchat become part of your social media marketing strategy?

Social marketing is about storytelling which Snapchat does well, brands can use it for short videos and photos as well as use it for features to become more accessible to their customers. It may require a new way of thinking from brands and digital marketers, but there will be benefits for jumping on a band wagon early-ish (Snapchat has been around for 4 years), those already joining Snapchat have seen benefits and with the app popular with millennials, a target market who are moving away from early social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s good to keep on top of all your potential customer base.

For the average business, paid advertising options on Snapchat will probably be way out of your advertising budget and really only available to big brands. However creating an account for your brand is still worth it, especially adding extra avenues for your customers to see your content. That being said, Snapchat won’t be for every business, if your target market is younger age groups and your content marketing fits in social media then it’s definitely worth trying out. Even if you’re not sure whether you want to jump on this or not, it’s still worth signing your brand up and getting a placeholder account on Snapchat, ensuring you don’t have anyone else using it. Make sure it’s branded up and ready to go once or if you’re ready to start using it.

Find me on Snapchat: hannah_corlett