Unlocking the Potential of Snapchat for Business: 15 Expert Tips

Marketers are faced with the challenge of meeting the high standards set by customers: authenticity, active listening, and innovation. With rules of commercial and social discourse rewritten, it’s crucial for businesses to adapt to new marketing practices. This article explores the power of Snapchat as a platform for connecting with millennials, offering expert tips to help business owners thrive in the Snapchat marketing space.

Using Snapchat

Building a Strong Following: To get started on Snapchat, focus on gaining followers. Make a promise that sets you apart from others and deliver on it. Provide exclusive deals, updates, intimacy, and fun to attract and retain followers. Promote your Snapchat account through various channels using your username and snap code.

Embracing the Snapchat Style: Snapchat has its own unique style and language. Keep your content short, fun, and designed in the Snapchat style using stickers, filters, text, and drawings. Get familiar with Snapchat’s vocabulary by exploring resources like Urban Dictionary.

Sharing Exclusive Deals: Create a sense of scarcity, urgency, and exclusivity with your deals. As Snapchat Stories no longer play automatically, entice your followers to come back by offering exclusive deals and content.

Announcing Important Updates: Use Snapchat to drive awareness and store visits by announcing sales or new products. Leverage the platform’s reach to engage your audience and generate interest.

Elevating Your Visuals: Snapchat is a powerful video platform, rivaling Facebook in daily video views. Invest time in enhancing your photography and videography skills. Focus on striking visuals, contrast, and lines to create captivating content.

Mastering Snapchat Hacks: Explore the various hacks and features of Snapchat to make your content more engaging. Switch between front and back cameras with a double tap, zoom in and out while recording videos, and use a stylus or tablet for doodling.

Storytelling with Sequences: Overcome the 10-second time limit by creating a sequence of images and videos that connect to form a story. Save these sequences to your camera roll and repurpose them on other social media platforms.

Building Intimacy: Snapchat demands intimacy like no other social media platform. Foster trust and connection by spending time with your audience, having conversations, and sharing behind-the-scenes content. Involve your followers to deepen the bond.

Running Effective Ad Campaigns: If you have a substantial budget, consider sponsored campaigns on Snapchat. Starting at $100,000, these campaigns can yield positive results, such as increased purchase intent.

Hosting Engaging Contests: Drive participation and excitement among your audience by running contests on Snapchat. Offer coupons or prizes that incentivize engagement and create buzz around your brand.

Collaborating with Influencers: Influencer takeovers on Snapchat can be highly entertaining and engaging. Find influencers who resonate with your audience and collaborate to reach a wider demographic.

Creating Custom Geofilters: Leverage the power of geofilters to enhance brand visibility during events or at specific locations. Use cost-effective on-demand geofilters to create memorable experiences for your audience.

Embracing Authenticity: Break through the noise and stand out by being real on Snapchat. Share content that reflects your brand’s personality and values. Differentiate yourself by going against the norm and providing unique perspectives.

Gamifying Engagement: Snapchat incorporates a scoring system based on user interactions. Focus on building engagement and earn points by interacting with your audience. Use engagement metrics, such as unique views, story completions, and screenshots, to measure success.

Avoiding Third-Party Apps: Steer clear of third-party apps that offer shortcuts for posting content on Snapchat. These apps may violate the platform’s terms of service and result in temporary lockouts.

With a way to connect with millennials and their growing spending power, Snapchat is crucial if you’re going after a younger audience. By following the strategies we’ve outlined, your brand will build a strong Snapchat presence.

And don’t forget to embrace authenticity, innovation, and compelling storytelling to make a lasting impact on Snapchat and beyond.

Ready to unlock Snapchat’s potential and captivate millennials? Dive into these expert strategies now to elevate your brand’s presence and connect authentically in the ever-evolving world of Snapchat marketing. Contact us.

FAQ: How can I unlock the potential of Snapchat for my business and connect with millennials effectively?

Leveraging social media platforms is crucial for connecting with diverse audiences. If you’re wondering, “How can I unlock the potential of Snapchat for my business and connect with millennials effectively?” you’re not alone. Let’s delve into this inquiry with the expertise needed to navigate the vibrant world of Snapchat and successfully engage with the millennial demographic.

Understanding the Snapchat Landscape

To start, comprehend the unique features Snapchat offers. With its ephemeral nature, Stories, and interactive lenses, Snapchat provides a creative space for businesses to showcase their personality. Millennials, known for their appreciation of authenticity, are drawn to engaging and visually appealing content.

Crafting Authentic Stories

Millennials value authenticity. Craft your brand narrative through Snapchat Stories that resonate with your audience. Share behind-the-scenes glimpses, highlight company culture, and, most importantly, keep it real. Authenticity builds trust and creates a connection that transcends a mere transactional relationship.

Utilizing Interactive Features

Snapchat’s interactive features like lenses and filters can elevate your brand’s engagement. Create branded filters that users can apply to their snaps, turning them into brand ambassadors. Encourage user participation through interactive elements, fostering community around your brand.

Strategic Content Planning

Develop a content strategy tailored to Snapchat’s short-form, visual nature. Keep content relevant, entertaining, and aligned with your brand identity. Use a mix of product showcases, user testimonials, and interactive polls to maintain a diverse and engaging content calendar.

Leveraging Snapchat Ads

Snapchat offers targeted advertising options that can boost your visibility among millennials. Utilize the platform’s advertising tools to create visually striking ads that align with your brand message. Target your audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors to maximize the impact of your campaigns.

Step-by-Step Guide: Unlocking Snapchat’s Business Potential

  1. Create a Snapchat Business Account: If you haven’t already, set up a dedicated business account on Snapchat.
  2. Define Your Audience: Identify your target demographic among millennials to tailor your content effectively.
  3. Explore Snapchat Features: Familiarize yourself with Snapchat’s features, including Stories, filters, and lenses.
  4. Craft Authentic Content: Develop a content strategy that reflects your brand’s authenticity and resonates with millennials.
  5. Utilize Interactive Elements: Experiment with interactive features like filters and lenses to boost user engagement.
  6. Plan a Content Calendar: Outline a consistent posting schedule and plan diverse content to keep your audience engaged.
  7. Create Branded Filters: Design and deploy branded filters to encourage user-generated content.
  8. Encourage User Participation: Foster a sense of community by encouraging users to share their experiences with your brand.
  9. Explore Snapchat Advertising: Delve into Snapchat’s advertising tools to target your ads effectively.
  10. Optimize Ad Creatives: Design visually appealing ads that align with your brand and resonate with your target audience.
  11. Set Advertising Budgets: Allocate budgets strategically to maximize the impact of your Snapchat advertising campaigns.
  12. Monitor Analytics: Regularly analyze Snapchat analytics to assess the performance of your content and ads.
  13. Adjust Strategies: Based on analytics, refine your content and advertising strategies to optimize results.
  14. Engage with Followers: Respond to comments, messages, and user-generated content to build a sense of community.
  15. Collaborate with Influencers: Identify and collaborate with Snapchat influencers to extend your brand reach.
  16. Stay Updated on Trends: Keep abreast of Snapchat trends and adapt your strategies to stay relevant.
  17. Measure ROI: Evaluate the return on investment for your Snapchat efforts to ensure they align with business goals.
  18. Adapt and Evolve: In the dynamic social media landscape, be flexible and adapt your strategies as needed.
  19. Collect User Feedback: Solicit feedback from your Snapchat audience to continually refine your approach.
  20. Celebrate Milestones: Acknowledge and celebrate milestones with your Snapchat community to strengthen brand loyalty.

Mastering Snapchat for Business Success

Unlocking the potential of Snapchat for your business and effectively connecting with millennials requires a strategic and authentic approach. You can cultivate a meaningful presence on Snapchat by understanding the platform, creating engaging content, utilizing interactive features, and leveraging advertising tools. Embrace the dynamic nature of this social media giant, and watch your brand resonate with the ever-discerning millennial audience.

This article was updated on December 11, 2023.

Virginia Nussey is the director of content marketing at MobileMonkey. Prior to joining this startup in 2018, Virginia was the operations and content manager at Bruce Clay Inc., having joined the company in 2008 as a writer and blogger.

See Virginia's author page for links to connect on social media.

Comments (18)
Still on the hunt for actionable tips and insights? Each of these recent Social Media Marketing posts is better than the last!

18 Replies to “Unlocking the Potential of Snapchat for Business: 15 Expert Tips”

Very interesting read, not sure if i agree. Will read more

It’s true, that you should use it “if your audience is there”. As for me, I prefer Facebook and not very familiar with Snapchat. Thanks for some useful information about it. Now I have plans to check it.

Hi…

That’s an important and indeed very useful piece of advice here. It’s true that other social media platforms are taking off as compared to the major platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Brands are actively using platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to boost engagement within their community! Nice post (:

I get it, use snapchat in the way that they offer the service and use it often. Don’t be afraid to try new things but probably most important you must get followers. Thank you this is a really good informative piece of info.

Very good information about snapchat. I am in the social media industry and the idea of SnapChat still scares me.

Spachat is emerging as big marketing asset in us.
I personally used geofilters couple of time and blown away by the kind of results i got.
its still yet to hit many countries like India, Whee i am located.

I think the relationship between business-owners and the younger (Millenial) generation of consumers is very important, and one that really is not talked about often enough. While it is a good thing that most business-owners are conscious and aware of the fact that social media and online marketing techniques are absolutely imperative, there is always going to be a communication and technological gap between the generations- as mentioned here, with regards to Snapchat.

Snapchat is just one particular form of social media that is very relevant nowadays, and would be a wise medium for an owner to appeal to, particularly in targeting millenials. But give it six months to a year, and an entirely different website/app/medium may present itself, and leave the owner scrambling to keep up. That, is the reality of marketing between generations in an online world that is constantly changing!

Virginia Nussey

Milan, you really take it home with these observations, all the way to the scary twist at the end: just try to keep up! Not like we have any other choice!;D

i have never think of using snapchat so effectively for marketing . Thanks bruceclay

Just a few months back I have started using the SnapChat for my business. Initially, I was thinking that It would be easy for me as I am already managing my business Facebook page but now I have realized that it require more creativity.

I found your tips really helpful.

Hope these tips will work for me.

Virginia Nussey

It’s true, Tauseef. Snapchat won’t let you repurpose your Facebook content (although you can repurpose your Snapchat content to Facebook, if you download your Stories as videos and then upload to Facebook). Good luck!

Snapchat is becoming a pretty big deal in the marketing world. I am yet to use Snapchat but these tips are perfect for when I finally do get a Snapchat account up and running.

Thanks for sharing, I have heard of snapchat but didn’t quite understand how to use it. Could be something to have a closer look at.

Virginia Nussey

Thumbs up, Solidworks! Snapchat is the next platform, and one that’s taught me that we who do digital marketing need to be fearless, pivot and adapt to the next thing. Give it a go!

Very good information about snapchat. I am in the social media industry and the idea of SnapChat still scares me. Content that is gone is a short time, just is frightening. At the same time 150 million users is a pretty big deal, and if millenials are your thing then it is a must and no amount of precaution or fear should lead a marketer to back away from such an influential social media network.

Virginia Nussey

Thanks, Mr. Courses Online! Agree 1000% percent. :)

You need to be really creative for snapchat! This is a trend where you can use Millennials for Millennials.

Virginia Nussey

Lorna, creativity is definitely key on Snapchat. Here’s a fun game: Use the Snapchat lenses and add a caption of some pop culture reference that you’re imitating. I did this back and forth with a friend one time and it was hysterical. For instance, one of the lenses I accompanied with a caption like Mike Tyson on a psychedelic trip. All that’s to say, Snapchat definitely rewards the creative types. :)

LEAVE A REPLY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Serving North America based in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Bruce Clay, Inc. | PO Box 1338 | Moorpark CA, 93020
Voice: 1-805-517-1900 | Toll Free: 1-866-517-1900 | Fax: 1-805-517-1919