The reality is that Snapchat only turned three years old this past September. Within those years, it’s been put through a whirlwind of events such as: the “Snappening” and criticism about the misuse of the app to send inappropriate photos.
But Snapchat has consistently come out on top.
Late last year they rolled out their first use of story advertisement and their event stories. Users can click on Snapchat stories and be virtually transported to football “Game Day” in the fall or “New Year’s Eve” to see what people are doing to celebrate around the world.
What is most enticing for users of the app is that everything on Snapchat is temporary. Individual snaps (sending a photo or video to a targeted audience and not your entire audience) can be sent for 1-10 seconds and Snapchat stories only last 24 hours.
So how does this app connect to someone’s personal brand?
Let’s take famous YouTubers, for example. Their videos are filmed professionally, edited for hours and the content crafted exactly the way the YouTuber wants to portray themselves to the public.
But Snapchat is informal. It’s in real time and provides no real editing features with the exception of a few filters and the ability to insert text and emoji’s.
With the click of a finger, users of the app can peer directly into the person’s everyday life. Which is why the app is a huge asset to brands.
If you are doubting if your brand should incorporate a Snapchat account into your social channels, here is a list of reasons why:
1. Can post more frequently than you would on say, Instagram without overwhelming users or “annoying” them. Because that’s exactly what Snapchat was designed for.
2. Can talk directly to your audience in an informal setting to help get the word out on something you want people to learn about (contests, new merch, new video posted, etc.)
3. Can see how many people are viewing your story (can see if it’s worth it to post).
4. Snapchat can remain strategy-less. Whereas a brand’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google Plus, etc. pages have distinct strategies on what content to push out or what you want to accomplish on each channel. However, the goal of Snapchat is just to post something interesting that would let users see into the everyday life of a company.
5. Gives a brand personality and offers behind-the-scenes looks.
6. Why not? It’s only temporary, anyway.
Think we should add something to the list? Leave a comment below!
