What Is Snapchat Marketing?

Snapchat marketing could easily play a role in your career, and not just if you work in marketing or advertising.

Any office job involving management, sales or promotion could see you having to grow the audience of a brand. With times changing, big data booming and publications going out of print and into digital, brands are being challenged to find new ways to stand out amongst their competitors and connect with their current and potential audience.

We all know social media plays a starring role in this process, but do you know how Snapchat can be utilised in marketing? You just might have to, so here are the basics.

Why Snapchat?

• There’s less competition; most brands stick to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and perhaps LinkedIn or Pinterest, as these are tried, tested and well-documented marketing platforms. Snapchat is newer and less used by brands for marketing.
• It’s less corporate and appeals to young people. Visually, Snapchat marketing is the most social and the least corporate of social platforms when it comes to marketing, making it appeal to a certain, young audience. More than 60% of 13-34 year olds with smartphones in the US use Snapchat.
• Its potential reach is huge. An estimated 200 million monthly active users send 700 million photos or videos each day, with approximately 500 million views per day.

Snapchat marketing: the basics

The most basic way to use Snapchat marketing is, of course, to set up an account and begin posting. This is free and the route most brands take with Snapchat marketing.

To set up a brand’s Snapchat account correctly, use a professional email address rather than a personal one, if possible. In settings, when you edit ‘Who can contact me/view my story’, allow everyone to view your stories and send you snaps. Increase your followers by advertising your Snapchat username and Snapcode on your other socials and website. Post ‘behind the scenes’-style content, utilising Snapchat’s full range of features.

Snap ads

While you may be aware that Facebook advertising is a huge industry, you may not be privy to Snapchat’s new advertising system.

This year, Snapchat released Snapchat Ad Manager, a similar, self-service advertising platform to Facebook’s Ad Manager. It’s a website which allows you to create 10-second adverts which run between the stories of friends or within premium (far more expensive) content in Discover, Our Stories, Publisher Stories and Shows. If you run a basic snap ad between stories, it should be reasonably economical for a small business.

Sponsored Geofilters

A geofilter is a graphic that Snapchat lays over photo or video that you take. They are only available in a chosen location, so if you are promoting a shop or festival, you can pay to offer a geofilter available in this location. A national sponsored geofilter typically reaches 40 to 60 percent of Snapchat users in the US, which is a good indication of how well a geofilter can spread awareness of a brand. 

So there you have a brief introduction to Snapchat Marketing. There’s so much more to know and Snapchat is constantly evolving. If you want to stay ahead in sales, marketing or advertising, keep an eye out!

Cristina studied English Literature and Hispanic Studies at Queen Mary University of London and now works as a writer and photographer. Catch her on Twitter, LinkedIn and her website.

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