Launched in 2011, Snapchat changed the way people communicate by introducing short-lived, ‘disappearing’ content. Well known for 24-hour stories and unique filters, the platform first welcomed teen audiences in droves. Today, the social media landscape is more competitive, but Snapchat has stayed afloat, and not just for teens. It, in fact, has more users than X. For businesses seeking alternative strategies to connect with their audience and drive engagement, Snapchat, with a longtime strategy of connecting users with their real-life social circle, offers the online space to do so. In this article, we will explore how your business can leverage Snapchat to craft engaging visual stories that leave a lasting impact on your audience.
Why Businesses Should Create a Snapchat Strategy
A Snapchat social media strategy can offer many benefits to help your brand connect with modern customers. Some of the key benefits include connecting with a younger audience, creating interactive content, increasing engagement, and collaborating with influencers.
Connect with younger audiences
While no longer teen-only, Snapchat is still predominantly popular amongst younger demographics, particularly Gen Z and Millennials. As a brand, establishing a presence on Snapchat can help you effectively reach those demographics by engaging with them on a platform they spend a lot of time on and enjoy with friends and friend groups.
Create interactive content
The interactive features on Snapchat (filters, lenses, stickers, AR experience) offer your brand the opportunity to create immersive experiences and engaging content that will captivate your audience. Snapchat interactive tools will help you foster deeper connections with your followers.
Visual storytelling opportunities
As a visual platform, Snapchat offers the opportunity to showcase your brand through authentic and compelling visual stories that will resonate with your audience. You can connect with your followers on a personal level with behind-the-scenes, product demonstrations, or even exclusive sneak peeks.
Increased user engagement
With an ephemerality to its content, Snapchat encourages real-time interactions and fosters a sense of urgency among users to engage with content before it disappears. Snapchat will help you reach an audience that is more likely to engage with your content before it expires.
Influencer marketing potential
Many Snapchat influencers have a large and dedicated follower base, meaning there is high potential for influencer marketing. With influencer collaborations, your brand can benefit from existing communities and foster connections with potential customers. Snapchat influencer marketing can amplify your reach, increase brand visibility, and drive conversions.
How to Set Up a Snapchat Business Account
To start reaping the benefits of a strong Snapchat strategy, you will need to set up a Snapchat business account. The process is pretty straightforward and involves the following four steps:
1. Create an account
The first step you need to take to set up your Snapchat business account is to sign up for a new account if you don’t already have one. To do so, you will need to provide basic information such as your email address, password, and username. Once your brand personal account is created, you will be able to follow with the next step.
2. Verify your account
To access Snapchat business features, you will need to verify your account. To do so, log into your account, navigate to your profile settings, and follow the instructions to verify your email address and phone number. The verification process is crucial to confirm your identity and provide an added security layer to your account.
3. Enable business account features
Once your account is successfully verified, you can enable the business account features. To do so, access your account settings, select the “Business” option, and follow the prompts to set up your business profile. This includes adding your business name, category, and contact information.
4. Familiarize yourself with Snapchat features
Now that your Snapchat business account is set up and equipped with business features, it’s important to become familiar with the platform’s various features. Snapchat business features enable you to access additional tools and analytics tailored to your business needs. Some of these features include stories, ads, filters, and lenses, to name a few.
Discovering Snapchat Features for Your Business
Snapchat business features can help you create engaging content, reach your target audience, and achieve your business goals. Here’s a rundown of key Snapchat features that you can use with your Snapchat business account.
Stories
Stories enable you to share engaging and ephemeral content with your audience through Snapchat Stories. This type of content can be videos or photos and will disappear after 24 hours. This feature can help you showcase product launches, behind-the-scenes glimpses, daily updates, product demonstrations, or promotions.
Snap Ads
With Snap Ads, you can reach a wider audience with full-screen ads that seamlessly integrate into Snapchat’s interface. Snap Ads allows you to create engaging videos or static ads to drive awareness and conversions for your business.
Sponsored lens
Sponsored lenses offer a unique opportunity to promote your products or services through augmented reality (AR) experiences. This feature adds a playful interactive experience to your content, as users can interact with your brand in a fun way. Sponsored lenses enhance brand visibility and engagement.
Snap Pixel
Snap Pixel collects data on user activity to help you track and measure the effectiveness of your Snapchat campaign. With this feature, you can monitor conversions, optimize ad performance, and retarget users who have interacted with your ads.
Snap Map
With Snap Map, you can showcase your business location and connect with nearby Snapchat users to drive foot traffic to physical location(s). This feature can help you promote events, special offers, or new products to nearby users, as well as track the performance of location-based campaigns.
Creating a Snapchat Business Strategy
A robust Snapchat business strategy is essential to leverage the platform’s potential and connect with your audience to drive growth. Here are some of the key steps to develop a successful Snapchat strategy.
Identifying your target audience on Snapchat
As a brand, you should take the time to research your target audience to understand them. Snapchat audience insights and analytics tools can help you gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s demographics, interests, behaviors, preferences, and purchasing habits. This information will help you craft a Snapchat strategy that is tailored to your audience’s needs.
Setting goals and objectives for your Snapchat strategy
Goals are a great way to track your progress and measure the success of your brand Snapchat strategy. Your objectives could include driving website traffic, boosting sales, increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or improving customer engagement. Your brand goals should be relevant to your brand needs and achievable within your resources.
Determining the type of content to share on Snapchat
The key to a successful Snapchat campaign is to identify the type of content that resonates the most with your target audience. You need to determine the content format (i.e. behind the scenes, product demonstrations, user-generated content, interactive experiences, exclusive offers, and tutorials) that align with your brand voice and your audience preferences. The right content will help your brand maximize engagement and drive results.
Research your competitors
A competitive analysis can help your brand gain insights into your competitor’s Snapchat strategies. Your competitor’s content, engagement tactics, and posting frequency enable you to identify gaps, opportunities, and trends in your industry. These insights can help you differentiate your brand on the platform, and enhance your marketing strategy.
Create an Effective Snapchat Ad Campaign
Snapchat advertising capabilities enable you to create impactful ad campaigns to help you reach your target audience and drive engagement. An effective ad campaign should align with your brand messaging and resonate with your audience.
Leverage Snapchat features
Snapchat unique features can help enhance your content and engagement strategies. Those creative features such as snap stories, discover, stickers, AR filters, lenses, and snap maps are great ways to captivate your audience’s attention and encourage engagement.
Measure results
Metrics and KPIs can help you track the success of your Snapchat strategy. Snapchat analytics tools and resources enable you to monitor metrics (engagement rates, reach, impressions, completions rates, conversion rates, and ROI) and analyze them to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement. Regularly reviewing these insights can help your brand adjust its Snapchat strategy based on performance metrics to ensure ongoing success.
Best Practices for Using Snapchat for Your Social Media Strategy
To make the most out of your social media strategy, you can include our Snapchat best practices to enhance your brand presence and engagement.
Encouraging user-generated content on Snapchat
With user-generated content, your brand can benefit from user experience to add authenticity and foster a sense of community among your Snapchat followers. Branded hashtags can encourage users to share their experiences with your brand.
Collaborating with influencers on Snapchat
Collaborations with influencers who align with your brand values are a great way to expand your brand reach on the platform and build credibility. Sponsored content and influencer takeovers can drive traffic to your Snapchat account.
Consistency and frequency of Snapchat content
A consistent posting schedule on Snapchat is key to keeping your audience engaged and interested in your brand content. Your audience preferences and availability should determine the optimal frequency and timing of your posts to maximize engagement.
Staying up-to-date with Snapchat trends and updates
Snapchat keeps evolving by adding new features and trends. Your brand should stay informed about any changes within the platform to keep your content fresh and relevant to your audience.
Leverage Snapchat in Your Social Media Strategy with ICUC
Snapchat holds a high potential for businesses looking to enhance their social media marketing strategy. ICUC’s social media strategy service enables your brand to unlock the full potential of Snapchat’s unique features and elevate your brand storytelling.
Need a hand with your Snapchat strategy? Get in touch with us today.
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