Snapchat for Businesses

by guest blogger: Alex Ardingera

© 2014 Off Madison Ave. All Rights Reserved.

Snapchat for Businesses 01

Snapchat for BusinessesOverview

Snapchat is a mobile-only messaging application

that allows users to capture and send photos and

videos, which are promptly deleted 10 seconds after

friends and followers receive it. The app, which was

developed in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Jonathan

May for a class project at Stanford University, has

grown into one of the most popular apps among a

younger demographic.

The app allows users to take photos and videos,

known as “Snaps,” and send them to a controlled list

of recipients with a time limit (10 seconds or less) for

how long they can be viewed before being erased

completely from Snapchat’s servers. Since its launch,

the app has added several new features, including

messaging, video chat and “Snapchat Stories.”

As of August 2014, Snapchat reported its 100

million monthly active users are sending over 700

million photos and videos per day. The report also

indicated that the company is raising new funds,

which would value Snapchat at $10 billion, according

to Dow Jones.

While the majority of Snapchat’s users are under the

age of 24, many businesses and brands have begun

using the app to connect with its younger audience.

As the popularity of the app continues to grow, so

does the creativity that surrounds these branded

campaigns, which is explored further in

this viewpoint.

Snapchat for Businesses 02Who Is Using Snapchat?

According to Snapchat, 50 percent of its users are

ages 13 to 17, 31% are aged 18 to 24, and 19% are

over 25 years-old, with the average user checking his

or her account 14 times per day.

Furthermore, it appears that Snapchat is becoming

increasingly popular among undergraduate students.

A recent study by Sumpto found that while 70

percent of college students report posting on

Snapchat at least once a day, only 46% of those

students reported posting on Twitter and 11% on

Facebook at the same frequency.

Due to its marketing potential, several big companies

have adopted Snapchat as another means to engage

with consumers. Brands that are currently using

Snapchat as a marketing tool include McDonald’s,

Taco Bell, Sour Patch Kids, General Electric, the

NBA, Acura, Rebecca Minkoff, Heineken, Free People

and GrubHub showing the diverse range of industries

finding opportunities for promotion.

App Features

The main (and arguably, most appealing) feature of

Snapchat is the limited lifespan of the content. In order

to view a Snap, the recipient must maintain contact

with the device’s touchscreen, which hinders the

user’s ability to take a

screenshot. Once the

recipient breaks contact

or the allotted time is up,

the content is deleted. In

the app, users can add

text and drawings to the

photos or videos that are

being sent.

Due to its growing

popularity, Snapchat

has become a

mainstream means of

communication for many

of its users around the

world. By centralizing

communication through

the newly added messaging features outlined below,

Snapchat increases usage time among its users

and aligns itself to compete with previous methods

of instant communication, such as standard SMS

messaging. This level of engagement on a free app

has proven very appealing to brands hoping to reach

a younger audience in a space that they are already

familiar and extremely active.

Snapchat for Businesses 03In October 2013, Snapchat launched its Snapchat

Stories feature, which allows users to create links

of shared content that is shared with the user’s

entire recipient list and can be viewed an unlimited

amount of times over a 24-hour period. This has been

a popular feature among many brands, including

Taco Bell, who released one of the first Snapchat

Stories with a six-minute mini-movie launching its

Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. The

content, which included a scene on the red carpet

of the MTV Movie Awards, was filmed and posted in

less than 24 hours.

In May of 2014, new messaging and video chat

features were added to Snapchat. The conversational

messaging feature allows users to send text to other

users and save messages by clicking on them. By

default, messages disappear after they are read and

a notification is only sent to the recipient at the start

of a conversation.

At any moment during

the chat process, the

“Here” sign can subtly

appear as a blue bubble

in the chat window. The

bubble pulsates softly

to alert the user that

a friend is available to

engage in a video chat,

which can only occur

between users who are

concurrently using the

app. When the button

is held, a video chat

function is launched.

Snapchat for Businesses 04The latest feature on Snapchat is called Our Story,

a location-based collaborative Story that throws

the viewer into the experience itself. The Electric

Daisy Carnival and World Cup Rio Live were both

successful examples of Our Story. This feature

brought viewers to the festival crowd, into the soccer

stadium and even into the homes of those celebrating

from afar by allowing users to add their own snaps to

a central “Our Story” that pertains to the event, which

are then curated by the Snapchat team in real-time

to remove anything inappropriate, and added to the

story narrative.

Why Brands Should Use Snapchat

The main reason brands should consider using

Snapchat in their marketing campaigns is to

capture the attention of millennials. A recent

Comscore report found that Snapchat was the third

most popular social app among 18 to 24-year-olds,

behind Facebook and Instagram. According to

Edelman’s 8095 study, this demographic is not only

the largest in size, but also the most influential, as

they heavily impact the purchase decisions of peers

and parents, and are predicted to outpace Boomer

earnings by 2018.

According to research by Future Foundation

Millennials Study, 2014, millennials tend to trust

brands more when they use social over traditional

advertising, and 58% want to have full control

over how they engage with a brand. Snapchat

provides the perfect platform for this type of

brand-to-consumer relationship, given that they

have full control over the branded experience as

individuals can choose if, when and for how long they

want to be exposed to the messaging.

By having a presence on this rapidly growing social

media platform, brands can combine the value of a

limited-viewing timeframe and social engagement

through creative narratives highlighting a product,

event or promotion.

How Brands Are Using Snapchat

Brands that are already using Snapchat are doing

so in many different ways, specific to their creative

efforts and product type, with a heavy focus on

exclusive content. Following are examples of the

types of content currently being employed by some

of the world’s most influential brands.

Behind-the-Scenes

One engagement technique that brands have used

on Snapchat is giving fans unique behind-the-scenes

access to exclusive content just for them.

McDonald’s, for instance, snapped commercial

footage giving fans an inside look at their favorite

athletes, while also sending out creative food snaps

and contests to push its products. Fans of the

National Basketball Association were given exclusive

Snapchat for Businesses 05clips of the 2014 NBA draft, including players

arriving on the bus and videos in between games.

By providing these behind-the-scenes videos and

images exclusively on Snapchat, these brands build

and retain a younger audience looking for insider

content.

Sneak Peeks

Another engagement tactic that brands are using is

giving fans inside scoops and sneak peeks before

anyone else. Acura used the platform to send

teaser footage of its NSX prototype in action to its

first 100 followers. By promoting this exclusive first

post through other social media platforms, Acura

propelled its new efforts on Snapchat to an already

engaged audience. Another brand that successfully

used Snapchat was fashion label Rebecca Minkoff,

which debuted its 2014 Spring Collection just

before it hit the runway at New York Fashion Week.

A great way of getting consumers excited for a

product launch is by giving them information others

don’t have, essentially building an army of brand

ambassadors.

Event Perks and Product Offers

Similar to behind-the-scenes content and sneak

peeks, some brands have used event information

and exclusive offers as a way to engage with an

audience on Snapchat. At this year’s Coachella

festival, Heineken sent cropped snaps to followers

with clues to upcoming surprise shows. Taking it a

step further, the beer brand engaged directly with

users who responded with the right band or artist by

providing confirmation of an act scheduled. GrubHub

took a more simple and focused approach by using

the Story feature to lead users to promo codes.

While there are a number of engagement tactics on

Snapchat that have proven successful with big name

brands, the creativity of the platform affords brands

the opportunity to continuously create new and

innovative ways to engage with their audiences.

As with most social media platforms, there are also

the possibilities that lie within future updates and

features. Snapchat users have indicated an interest in

connecting with new content via Snapchat, with 45%

saying they would use discovery features. While this

has not yet been introduced on the app, Snapchat is

constantly experimenting with new features and, with

its newfound interest in marketing to businesses, it is

likely a feature we may see in the near future.

Snapchat for Businesses

visit:www.offmadisonave.com

contact:info@offmadisonave.com

Alex ArdingerSocial Media

Sources

Mashable:Sorry, Facebook: Snapchat Still More Popular Among Undergrads

Mashable:Report: Snapchat Valued at $10 Billion in Latest Investment

Digiday:Pitch Deck: How Snapchat Is Selling Itself to Marketers

Fast Company, Create:How 12 Brands Used Snapchat

06Recommendations for Agency and Client Use

As outlined above, the possibilities for brands on

Snapchat are only limited by the imagination. Many

of the engagement tactics and approaches being

used vary from brand to brand, specific to the type

of product it offers and the ultimate goal the brand is

trying to accomplish.

Brands in many industries with a consumer

focus can truly find opportunities to thrive on this

exciting platform. Given the heavy usage of the

platform’s existing audience, engagement and direct

interactions allows brands to reach followers in

creative ways.

While the platform itself is free to access at this

time, success on Snapchat requires planning and

resources to execute well, so it’s recommended to

work with a communications partner to ensure efforts

on this platform are optimized and aligned with

overarching business objectives.