Is Snapchat the right platform for your business?
How do you decide whether to grow your business with Snapchat when there are so many conflicting stats about the platform? The company’s Q4 2017 revenue went up by 72% compared to a year earlier, signaling that more businesses are investing in Snapchat ads. In the meantime, Kylie Jenner, Rihanna and Chrissy Teigen sent Snap into turmoil by announcing they are no longer ‘team Snapchat.’ In spite of theses ups and downs, Snapchat still reaches over 41% of teenagers in the US.
Luckily, there’s a few key questions you can ask to determine whether to grow your business with Snapchat.
Want to grow your business with Snapchat? Join Inna’s class to learn how it is done.
Who are your customers?
If you cater to a younger demographic, Snapchat should be your go-to platform.
Snapchat is the top social media platform for 13 to 24 year-olds in the US, and what’s more — this core audience cannot be found on other platforms. According to a reportSnap published at the close of 2017, 48% of our daily audience in the US can’t be found on Instagram on any given day. As for Facebook and Twitter, 40% and 80% of our daily audience (respectively) is exclusive to Snap.
What industry are you in?
From luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, food and beverage giants like Pepsi or McDonald’s, to tech companies like Spotify or Tinder, all types of businesses are represented on Snap. Even seemingly unlikely players like NASA and General Electric use Snapchat to share their stories and grow their business with Snapchat ads.
Where are your competitors spending their time and money?
When it comes to ad reach, around 88 million people in the US can be reached with Snapchat ads, which is more than the 74 million on Instagram Stories, and almost half of Facebook’s 190 million mobile audience reach. When that reach is filtered to 13 to 24 year-olds, Snapchat ads can reach around 47 million people. This is approximately 9 million more than Facebook, and over 15 million more than Instagram.
Are your competitors spending most of their time and money on Instagram? Chances are, with the right approach (as well as content and ad creative), you can differentiate your brand and dominate the space by catering to the Snapchat audience.
Do you “get” Snapchat?
If you’ve ever thought Snapchat is confusing to use, you are not alone. Many people get turned away by the perplexities of the platform’s design. Snapchat is in fact much different from other existing social platforms largely because its founder urges its product team to highlight fun, rewarding experiences in its design.
Snap encourages this sort of fun experience in several different ways. For example, something called a Streak is awarded to anyone who chats with a friend for more than three consecutive days and trophies are given for a multitude of reasons. Add in a rolodex of lenses, filters and Bitmoji, and it’s no surprise why any teenager wouldn’t want to log in and discover what’s new several times each day!
If you approach Snapchat with an open mind and embrace the fun it promotes with a sense of curiosity, you might just be surprised how much it can do for your brand.
Are you doing the right things on Snapchat?
There are hundreds of ways to grow your business with Snapchat. You can tell stories, take your audience behind-the-scenes, share exclusive product drops, sell products and services, and much more! Companies like McDonald’s and BNP Paribas run hiring campaigns on Snapchat, luxury apartments rent listings in New York via Snaplistings, and French grocer U Supermarket shoots stories with Snapchat Spectacles to show the shoppers how their fish is caught and delivered to the store. The possibilities are endless.
The Snapchat community can also be reached outside of its “native” Snapchat environment by simply placing a Snapcode (or URL that links back to a specific Snapchat profile) on billboards, posters, banners, flyers, business cards (you name it!). Snapchatters simply have to Snap it to unlock that content.
Whether you’re a big international brand or a tinier startup, Snapchat can be a lucrative place for you, so long as you’re trying to reach a younger demographic and willing to embrace the fun.
Want to start creating Snapchat ads that work? Join Inna’s Snapchat Ad Manager class to learn how it is done.
