Snapchat, the social media app that launched in 2011, has become a popular social media and advertising platform for businesses. As online advertising and brand awareness continues to be increasingly effective, your company has the ability to choose from any number of avenues to focus your marketing efforts on. Should Snapchat be one of them? The short answer is that it depends on your goals and the type of audience you are targeting. To find out whether your company should invest your time in creating and maintaining a Snapchat account, ask yourself these questions.
What Age Group Are You Targeting?
Marketing specialists know that age is a major factor to take into consideration before deciding on new platforms to invest in. You want to prioritize running social media and advertising campaigns on platforms that your audience uses frequently. A large majority of Snapchat's users are between the ages of 15 and 30, making it an ideal platform for brands with campaigns that target young consumers. If one of your company's marketing goals is to reach millennials, Snapchat would be an excellent place for you to connect with them. However, if your company sells life insurance, for example, your campaigns would likely be more effective on another platform because you are targeting an older audience.
Do You Have the Necessary Staff & Time?
Maintaining a Snapchat account is not as simple as creating content and scheduling posts for specific days. It requires a significant amount of staff time and attention. The app is designed for real-time, in-app picture and video messaging. It does have paid advertising capabilities that allow you to create posts ahead of time and reach users that do not follow your company. However, most of the content you share on your Snapchat story will need to be created on the day it is posted to appear authentic. The content you post to your Snapchat story also disappears after 24 hours, so you will need to be creating new content frequently to keep your audience engaged.
Like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Snapchat is a platform that requires social media monitoring. Users that follow your company have the ability to reply to your Snapchat stories and advertisements, and it is bad practice to not reply to consumer messages. Snapchat can be a time-consuming platform, so you may not want to set up an account for your business if you do not have the staff capability or time to make it a lucrative tool. On the other hand, it can be a very organic and effective way to interact with your audience when used correctly. Again, the decision to set up a Snapchat account depends largely on what your primary goals are.
What Are Your Goals for the Platform?
Successful companies always have measurable goals in mind when investing in new ideas. Make sure your marketing goals match up with Snapchat's capabilities before deciding to start social media and advertising campaigns on the app. Here are a few goals that Snapchat is well-suited for:
- Audience Relations: Snapchat is effective for interacting with consumers and is the perfect place to give them an inside look at your day-to-day company operations.
- Brand Awareness: Advertisements and Snapchat filters allow you easily to target potential customers and gain name recognition.
- Location-Based Campaigns: Geo filters that users can incorporate when taking Snapchat videos and pictures offer a highly focused way to advertise in a specific location.
Now that you have more information about Snapchat for businesses, you can make an informed decision about whether the platform would be a good fit for your company. Not sure where your marketing efforts would be most effective? Contact the Informatics Digital Marketing Team to create an innovative marketing strategy that will meet your company's goals.
