04

Jul 2016

Major Key Alert: Tap into Snapchat to Find Success for your Business


Proforma-Blog-Snapchat

Image courtesy of unsplash.com

If you missed the pop culture reference in the title of this article, chances are you don’t feel at home with using Snapchat personally or for your business. Today’s generation has become an expert at identifying advertisements and subsequently tuning them out. Pop-up ads and blatant advertising are now things of the past, forcing businesses to get creative with how they connect with their customers. It’s more important than ever to create authentic connections with your customers by providing transparency and giving them the opportunity to be a part of your business.

Luckily, Snapchat provides the perfect platform to do this. Although many are still cautious of this photo sharing app, there’s a good chance that a large portion of your audience is on Snapchat just waiting to be tapped into.

Here are a few tips to using Snapchat to connect with your customers and create authentic relationships:

Make customers feel close to you
As a consumer, it’s easy to forget that behind every business front and brand are a group of people working behind the scenes. Let your audience see who you are and get to know your team members on a personal level. This can be achieved by showcasing you’re employees’ jobs or unique interests, sharing exciting office events or giving your audience a peek of an upcoming product or special.

Provide a sneak peek of products
Everyone loves to feel like they’re part of an exclusive group. Give your followers a ‘sneak peek’ of a new product, store front or other exciting unveiling. Bonus points if you advertise the sneak peek on other social sites and direct those followers to Snapchat.

Allow customers to become a part of your story
Snapchat is all about connecting with your customers and allowing them to connect right back. Encourage two-way communication with your followers by asking them to share their images with you (these can be of your product or a selfie taken at your store). Create a fun contest out of it and promise to share the best submissions on your own Snapchat.

Highlight events
If you’re hosting an event or attending someone else’s, like a grand opening, anniversary celebration or awards ceremony, Snapchat is a great tool to showcase the highlights of the event with photos and short videos. This gives your audience direct access to the live event, no matter where they are.

Take advantage of Geofilters
One of the most prominent features of Snapchat are geofilters. Geofilters are location-based filters that overlay a Snapchat image or video. These filters often coincide with a specific community, neighborhood, city or event and allow Snapchat users to tell their friends “I’m in New York City!,” or “I’m attending an awesome event!” with a fun or artsy filters. Marketers can now take advantage of this technology on Snapchat too by paying to create a geofilter for a certain amount of time in a specific area, increasing the likelihood that users are snapping about your brand.