Unless you happen to work for a digital marketing agency, you may be under the impression that apps like Snapchat are only for personal use and don’t really have an application for marketing a brand.
Some marketing professionals are understandably still hesitant about the idea of a ‘private’ social networking platform, especially one where valuable content – which took time and effort to produce – simply disappears after 10 seconds. The platform used to be associated with a loyal but limited market of teens and young people, but the latest statistics suggest that Snapchat has well and truly gone mainstream, which could make it a very important digital marketing trend for brands to get on board with.
According to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, the app’s users currently view over 8 billion videos a day. It has 100 million users compared to Facebook’s 1 billion, yet Snapchat is rivalling the platform with the same amount of video views – an impressive statistic indeed.
Here are just a few points to consider, from the mouths of digital marketing experts, when considering Snapchat as a viable marketing platform:
Why does Snapchat content demand to be noticed?
Snapchat content demands to be noticed primarily because of its short-lived nature and immediate expiration date. Digital marketers often struggle to attract attention amidst social media 'noise,' but Snapchat's unique ephemeral format creates an urgency that compels users to view messages now. As industry analyst Rebecca Lieb explains, 'Messages on Snapchat demand to be looked at now and have an expiration date,' fostering a level of focus and concentration that other channels often lack.
“Messages on Snapchat demand to be looked at now and have an expiration date,”
“I think there’s an element of focus and concentration that Snapchat enjoys that other channels don’t.”
Real-time marketing is on the rise
Real-time marketing, with Twitter as a crucial starting point of course, is incredibly important for brands wanting a sense of authenticity and a genuine tone of voice. The unpolished, spontaneous and ‘throwaway’ nature of Snapchat appeals to those who feel that platforms such as Twitter have become slaves to paid-for content. Carrot Creative’s Len Kendall explains to Digital Arts Online:
“Snapchat’s community and user experience encourage in-the-moment content, not the typical highly polished and pre-planned marketing communication that most brands have adopted on social,”
“As a result, marketers have to move faster to capitalize on cultural events, but the benefit is a sense of authenticity that other more-developed networks are starting to lose.”
What are the challenges in tracking Snapchat engagement and realizing ROI?
The primary challenges in tracking Snapchat engagement and realizing ROI stem from the platform's ephemeral content and the difficulty in analyzing user interaction. Unlike other platforms, Snapchat content disappears quickly, making it tricky to track and analyze user engagement. This also leads to concerns for marketing budgets, as content creation costs time and money but is short-lived. Understanding ROI for Snapchat requires a shift in digital marketing thinking and may not be cost-effective for all brands.
Have you tried using Snapchat to market your brand – if so, how successful has it proved to be? Please feel free to share your thoughts.
