Snapchat is a social
media platform that allows users to send temporary, seconds-long images to
other users. Launched in 2011 by former Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby
Murphy and Reggie Brown, the platform lives off its short-term messages, which
become inaccessible after they're opened. Although Snapchat is one of the most
popular mobile social media apps, its website (as you'd expect) doesn't receive
as much traffic, according to internet analytics company Alexa. Business
Insider reports 158 million use the app every day, opening it on average 18
times daily. Additionally, 63 percent of respondents to a Variety survey said
the main motivation for using the app was to message friends. Unlike most
social networking platforms, the app's messaging services are entirely
mobile-based, so if you want to use Snapchat for your business, your smartphone
will become a crucial marketing tool.
Snapchat is also more
widely used amongst millennials, so you should consider your target audience
before committing to the platform. If you want to become a Snapchat
marketing pro, you'll need to understand the app in-depth.
Signing up for an account
Just like Facebook, you have to sign up for an account to use Snapchat.
You can't view its content otherwise like you would on Twitter or Instagram.
However, registration can only be completed on some type of mobile device.
To sign up, you first have to download the app in your mobile device's
app store. Next, you'll have to open the app and click the "Sign Up"
button. From there, you'll add your birthday, choose a username, enter your
email address and start adding friends from your contacts list.
You'll want to use your own information as a small business owner,
rather than information about your business. During this process, you'll also
be required to verify your account by hunting for ghosts in a grid of nine
images.
The anatomy of a Snap
Now that you've signed up for an account, it's time to navigate the
opening screen. When you first open the app, the screen defaults to a standard
back-facing camera setting.
The top left button, a lightning bolt with or without an X beside it,
indicates flash or no flash. The top right button, a camera symbol with two
arrows surrounding an O shape, will switch the camera to its front face for
selfie mode. The top center ghost icon will lead you to your profile.
To take a photo, press the bottom circular button. Press and hold to
take a video. Once you have taken a photo, you can adjust how long the picture
will last (from 1 to 10 seconds) when it is sent to a friend, using the bottom
left clock icon. However, before you send your Snap, there are a few ways to
edit it using the top right icons.
First, there are a series of emoji stickers to add, including Bitmojis,
using the turning page icon. Bitmojis must be enabled in your Settings and
linked with your Snapchat account, Buzzfeed News says. Next, there's text in a default bold, white font, which
overlays your content using the capital T icon. The drawing tool, which allows
you to paint over your content, is the pencil icon located at the very right of
the top corner.
Using a thumb, you can swipe left or right to apply a series of filters.
There are color filters, similar to those you see on Instagram, which adjust
the color of your content. Then there are three similar kinds of filters, where
each displays temperature, time and speed. Lastly, you can choose to speed up,
slow down, or reverse your content (if it's a video) with different filters.
Next to the timer icon on the bottom left corner, there's an arrow icon
that allows you to save your videos and pictures before or after they're
edited. Previously, the app stored all saved content into your phone's photo
gallery, but it has since evolved into the Memories feature.
According to Mashable, you can import photos directly from your camera roll as well as store
content from your stories. The "My Eyes Only" feature within Memories
allows users to password-protect content using a passphrase or a four-digit
code. However, know that you can't recover your password if you forget it.
The third button from the left towards the center, a square border with
a plus sign in its upper right corner, allows you to add content to your
Snapstory, which is discussed in depth later in this guide.
Customizing your profile
Snapchat is a rather unconventional social network in that it doesn't
allow users to customize an extensive profile. However, it does offer space for
users to provide information about themselves.
At the default screen, the top center ghost icon leads you to your
profile. Here, you can view your Snapchat score, which is the total number of
Snaps you've sent and received. You can also see which users have added you
under the "Added Me" tab as well as click shortcuts "Add
Friends" and "My Contacts."
The top trophy icon reveals a trophy case of accomplishments (like
"Sent a Video Snap" or "Sent 10,000 Snaps") through the
app. You can tap on each icon to view its description. If you're new to the
platform, many, if not all, icons will be locks.
At the profile screen, you'll notice a yellow square with a white ghost
in the center. The white area will later be filled with your avatar, which is
viewable to anyone on the platform. To change your avatar, click the ghost and
get ready to pose! Your camera will take a few photos in a row automatically,
which will later be compiled to a GIF and ultimately, create your avatar. You
can also opt for a picture from your camera roll, such as a company logo or
group photo.
These unique avatars are generated into QR codes, says TechCrunch, which were introduced in January 2015. Rather than searching for a
user manually, a user can focus their Snapchat camera on another user's code to
add them without typing their name. Now, you can generate a QR code that links
to any webpage on the internet through the app.
Interacting with other Snapchat users
There are several ways to interact with other Snapchat users. Unlike
most social networks, these interactions are all private, with the exception of
the stories feature.
·
Adding users: To add users to your friends list,
you'll need to search for their usernames. You can also connect to your
contacts list, which will allow you to add other users based on their phone
number. As mentioned prior, you can add another user using their specific QR
code.
·
Viewing stories: You can view and reply to other users' Snap
stories. They will be notified of both.
·
Sending snaps: A more straightforward step, you can
send and receive photo and video content with other users. These interactions
are what built and established the entire platform. If you screenshot a Snap,
the sender of the Snap will be notified.
·
Instant messaging: The instant messaging feature allows
you chat privately amongst users. Responses can be sent much faster than
standard text messages, and you can also see when the other user is typing.
When you reply to a user's specific Snap sent to you, or a portion of their
Snap story, your reply will be sent as an instant message. If you screenshot an
instant message, the sender of the message will be notified.
·
Sending Snapcash: You'll need to activate this feature in your
Settings and link with a credit or debit card, Business
Insider describes,
where you can also view your transaction history and add a security code to
appear before each transaction. You can
enter how much you want to send to a user through an instant message. The
company recommends not sending money to users you don't know personally.
Snapchat stories
Stories are
individual compilations of user content, which expire 24 hours after each Snap
video or photo is added. Although no story is too long, you need at least one
photo or video to compile a story. Portions of the story can be deleted at any
time.
You're able to see
which and how many users view your story. That means other users can see when
you view their stories. While you have the ability to watch a user's story as
many times as you want, the user will not be notified of how many times you
view it.
A story is a great
way to show your audience daily operations of your business. It gives potential
customers an idea of what an average day in the life is at your workplace. In
addition, it gives your employees an opportunity to express their unique
personalities.
There are also Live Stories, which
allows users "who are at the same event or a specific location to
contribute Snaps to the same community narrative," the company explains.
Location services should be turned on in order to contribute. For instance,
major cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, have their own Live
Stories, which are always ongoing. They can also be oriented around a specific
event, such as the Super Bowl or the Oscars.
Ways to advertise
There are quite a few ways to
advertise on Snapchat. According to the company site, there
are three main methods: Snap ads, sponsored geofilters, and sponsored lenses.
Major brands like Vans, Coca-Cola, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have turned to
Snapchat for marketing campaigns.
Snap ads
Snap ads are
10-second, full-screen, vertical videos and can offer some type of interactive
element, such as a call to action to visit a specific link. Two-thirds of all
ads include audio, which play automatically with the sound on. The short clip
should provide information about your company and what its products and/or
services are.
Gatorade, for instance, once featured
an 8-bit tennis game that celebrated Serena Williams' 23rd Grand Slam victory.
For more creative guidance and development, check out the company's guide to Snap ad attachments. The
possibilities are endless.
Sponsored
geofilters
Sponsored
geofilters allows users to send Snaps from specific locations.
The lenses can cover a specific location, like coffee shops or department
stores. For instance, if your business has multiple branches, you can set the
geofilters to your specific locations. If you're familiar with the platform,
you'll notice major cities and its boroughs have different filters, like
Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City.
Additionally, a
geofilter can be also applied nationwide under a certain theme or holiday, like
Cheerios' National Cereal Day and Michael Kors' National Sunglasses Day
filters.
Sponsored lenses
Sponsored
lenses are more interactive than geofilters. Filters are
applied after a video or picture is taken, prior to sending to friend(s) and/or
adding to a Snapstory. Lenses have special facial recognition technology, which
allows users to become dogs, pretend to be Santa Claus, turn into demons, wear
flower crowns and even puke rainbows through the app. It happens in three
steps: pretrigger of detecting a user's face, trigger of reacting to the user's
expression (like sticking a tongue out or queuing music) and post-trigger of
creating the final product.
If your company
sold cars, for example, your sponsored lens could have a user driving a new car
with a Little Trees air freshener. The company says this product is their most
popular, driving on average three times higher brand awareness than mobile
norms and two times lift in purchase intent.
Snapchat Discover
In January 2016,
the platform unveiled a new corporate feature: Discover. It's an entirely
different part of the app, which allows users to view content created by
prominent media organizations like Vice, Cosmopolitan and ESPN.
Similar to the Stories feature, these
Discover stories compile both audio-video and photo content, which links to
articles and graphics, through a Pinterest-like dashboard. TechCrunch says you can choose your favorites and
send parts of Discover stories to specific users individually.
Brands have the opportunity to
advertise within these stories, in between the vibrant graphics and short
clips, but unfortunately, the costs are out of reach for many small business
owners. Wallaroo Media reports these ads begin at $50,000
for daily rates. Plus, the spots, which get premium placement by the app, are
already reserved for publications and well-known brands. A live story, on the
other hand, begins at $250,000.
A note about
influencers
If you know
anything about DJ Khaled and his Snapchat success, then you know how the
platform can reach an audience even beyond the mobile app. The record producer
and radio personality's Snapchat account gained attention in late 2015. His
legacy has since been deemed a "living meme" and "meme in human
form" by enthusiastic fans.
Why is DJ Khaled so
important for small business owners, anyway? He's a perfect example of how much
leverage a single influencer can have on Snapchat. These influencers cultivate
large audiences that you can potentially market to if you choose to pursue a
partnership with them. For instance, it's a great opportunity for product
placement. Many influencers promote brands and products for a fee (though it
often exceeds its return on investment for companies). Of course, this is an alternative
way to advertise that isn't mediated by Snapchat itself.
To learn about more popular personalities, Mashable compiles other marketing influencers on the platform, such as
Elite Daily cofounder Gerard Adams, Instagram fashion editor Eva Chen and Wall Street Journal technology journalist Joanna Stern.
Snapchat tips and tricks
Now that you understand the basics of Snapchat, here are a few tips and
tricks to use the app to your brand's advantage.
·
Document your company's day-to-day operations. What's a day in the life like at your
company? Use the app's story feature to walk followers through business
operations at your workplace. Give them a sneak, exclusive peak they can't see
anywhere else on social media.
·
Upload content regularly. Don't let your following forget that you
exist. Use the app regularly to upload frequent, daily content. Snap stories
are a good opportunity for this, especially for capturing what it's like to work
for your business.
·
Interact with other users. Many users use the app's messaging feature,
so be sure to answer any messages that come your way. The same goes for returning photo snaps!
·
Sponsor a Snap Ad. Ten-second audio-visual clips are more
traditional but allow you the creative freedom to drive an advertisement using
video content as you would on Twitter, Instagram or a similar site.
·
Sponsor a lens. Inspire users to engage with your brand's
awareness by bringing it to life. Find a way an average customer would engage
with your business's products or services and apply it to a lens. If you sell
coffee, it could be as simple as the filter allowing the user to drink coffee.
As mentioned earlier, sponsored lenses are the most effective on the entire platform.
·
Design a sponsored geofilter. If you use Snapchat in any McDonald's across
the country with your location settings on, a McDonald's themed geofilter will
appear while flipping through your different filters before sending a snap. You can do the same with your business
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