According to research from Hootsuite, Snapchat has over 100 million daily users worldwide and over 50% of users log in every single day. This makes it a tempting platform for brands to try, with so many potential customers using the image messaging service. But is it right for your brand? Here are some crucial points to consider…
Snapchat for Business can be prohibitively expensive
If you’re thinking of using the platform’s advertising service for businesses and brands, you’d better have a hefty budget set aside. It isn’t particularly friendly to small businesses or those with limited funds for marketing, especially as Forbes.com puts the figure for minimum monthly spend at a whopping $40,000 a month (around £33,000). This is for traditional ads operating on a cost-per-impression basis, but there are cheaper options for those who don’t need such a large reach and have a less ambitious campaign in mind.
What’s your target demographic?
If your ideal customer is aged between 13 and 25, it’s likely that a large number of them will be using Snapchat. In fact, research from Omnicore has found that 30% of millennials in the US use Snapchat regularly, while 71% of all the platform’s users are under 34 years old. This makes it a platform that could be well worth investing time and money in if your target demographic is young.
Content types
Like all social media platforms, Snapchat tends to suit certain types of digital marketing content more than others. As images or videos on the platform disappear from the recipient’s device within a matter of seconds, they produce an urgent call to action – which makes the recipient feel compelled to act immediately to avoid missing out. This makes Snapchat the perfect platform for competitions and giveaways, where the first people to respond or follow the instructions will win. Needless to say, this can provide a massive boost for your engagement figures. You can also use the platform to encourage other behaviour, such as clicking through links to your site or downloading your app.
It’s very resource-intensive
Unfortunately, to achieve success and see any kind of return on investment (ROI) with Snapchat – you must dedicate time, money and resources to it. You can’t use it casually, infrequently or half-heartedly if you want real results. You’ll see the most success with a dedicated campaign focused on one key message or call to action, rather than a number of posts on many different topics that you might use on other platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. If you have the resources and the commitment, why not give it a go? If you don’t, your energies may be best spent improving what you do on other platforms.
Have you tried Snapchat for your brand, and was it worth your time? Did you see any tangible results, or consider the platform just a passing fad? Please feel free to share your thoughts.
