Can Snapchat Be Used For Business

In the ever-growing world of social media, Snapchat has definitely become a powerful name. The mobile photo messaging app allows users to take and send photos and short videos, which can be viewed by recipients for up to ten seconds before disappearing.

While Snapchat primarily gained popularity in young, social media-obsessed audiences, its uses (and users) are expanding every day. The app has gradually added lots of new functionalities, such as chat, video calls, geolocation filters, and ‘stories’ (collections of snaps that play one after the other). All of these features have enabled Snapchat to become a viable business tool as well as a social media novelty.

But how exactly can Snapchat be used for marketing purposes? And can it really benefit your business? Let’s take a look at a few commonly asked questions to determine if and how you can use Snapchat for business success.

Snapchat statistics

First things first: if you’re not yet convinced about the business and marketing potential of Snapchat, here are a few interesting statistics. According to various surveys:

• Snapchat has over 100 million users worldwide. That’s more users than Twitter or LinkedIn.
• From May 2015 to May 2016, Snapchat's daily video views grew from 2 billion to 10 billion – that’s even more than Facebook (8 billion).
• Snapchat ads are seen anywhere between 500,000 to a million times per day.
• Around 77 percent of American college students use Snapchat on a daily basis.
• Around 58 percent of these students would be likely to purchase a product or service if they received a coupon via Snapchat.
• What all these stats basically say is this: Snapchat reaches an enormous audience of potential customers. So yes, it is a valid tool for your business’ marketing strategy!

What kind of businesses can use Snapchat?

From the NFL and NBA to the World Wildlife Fund and even the White House – practically everyone is on Snapchat nowadays. In fact, it really doesn’t matter what kind of business you have; as long as you develop a creative and effective strategy, you can find a way to reach your audience through Snapchat.

The app’s average user falls into the 12-34 y.o. age bracket, so businesses targeting this demographic will see the greatest success. Whether you’re offering a product or service, or just trying to get your brand out there, you can use Snapchat to reach potential customers.

How and when can you use it?

As with any social media platform, there are certain guidelines and rules to obey in order to maximise your potential on Snapchat.

The first thing you need to remember is that it’s a casual platform, not a corporate one. People are looking for playfulness and fun, not seriousness, when they open the app. Furthermore, it’s best to keep content relatively family-friendly, as young users make up a significant portion of Snapchat’s audience.

As for when to use the app – this is entirely up to you, but keeping Snapchat’s temporality and short, snappy format in mind will serve you well. You can afford to post more on this platform than most other social media without the risk of annoying your audience. The 10-second time limits on photos and videos, as well as users’ ability to view what they want, when they want, ensures that you can update Snapchat more often than you might update Facebook.

What kinds of things can you promote on Snapchat?

There are so many ways to market and promote your business on Snapchat. Here are just a few things you can successfully promote:

• Events. If your business is hosting or taking part in a special event, you can still reach people who aren’t there by recording pics and videos via Snapchat.
• Products. Whether it’s a new product launch or a run-down of the features and benefits of an existing product, Snapchat is the perfect advertising medium.
• Behind-the-scenes. Give your customers a sneak peek at the inner workings of your business!
• Incentives. Everyone loves a giveaway or discount, so why not promote one via Snapchat?

Just like digital faxing, we bet you thought photo messaging could never benefit your business… But it can and will! Now you’ve learned all about the marketing potential of Snapchat, it’s time to get snapping.