Using Snapchat for Business
Is Snapchat Right For My Business?
Snapchat is becoming more and more popular. It’s a common social media platform with the millennial demographic and the older side of the next Generation Z. There’s no denying its popularity or that it will likely be around and a player in the social media world for some time. So the questions become “Should I be using Snapchat for business? Is Snapchat marketing right for my program?” The answer—it depends.
Snapchat Marketing Strengths
Snapchat is definitely one of the shinier objects among social media platforms, especially with all of the current events regarding Facebook. However, whether or not you should be utilizing Snapchat marketing in your efforts can vary based on several factors. Considerations should include your target audience demographics, the objectives of your marketing program, your budget, and how your brand is performing on other social media platforms.
The demographics of Snapchat users are skewed towards a younger audience, with almost half falling into the age range of 18-24. If a small percentage of your target audience falls into that demographic, your marketing dollars may be more effectively spent elsewhere. If a key objective of your marketing program however is to build brand awareness among a younger audience, Snapchat could provide an ideal platform to accomplish that.
Snapchat is appealing to the younger audience because of the way younger web users consume media—short, direct and to-the-point, with images and video. Another thing working in Snapchat’s favor for the younger audience is that in many cases, their parents are on Facebook or Instagram.
Snapchat is continuing to build out its product and service offerings for advertisers. They have recently released a series of location filters, ad variations, lenses, embedded links in snaps, and unlimited viewing time available to marketers, all of which can be effective tools in helping companies build brand awareness and interaction through the implementation of a Snapchat marketing program.
Snapchat vs Instagram for Business Marketing
Snapchat is continuing to grow and currently has over 187 million active daily users. However, Instagram is growing too, and currently has over 500 million active daily users and a wider age demographic. Almost 60% of internet users between the ages of 18-29 use Instagram, and 33% of internet users between the ages of 30-49 use the platform. So if you’re looking to build brand awareness and engagement among a more diverse target audience, Instagram could be a better fit.
Budget also plays a role in determining whether or not you should integrate Snapchat into your marketing mix. If your budget is currently stretched pretty thin without Snapchat, it may be better to put the platform on the back-burner and focus on what you know works for the immediate future, and tackle Snapchat in the future as time and financial resources allow.
You may have heard the saying, “Don’t half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.” That mindset could be applicable in determining if Snapchat would be a good fit for you. We’ve found success with our clients when we focus on one social media platform at a time. For example, together we’ll spend a planned period of time with a concentrated effort on getting a social media marketing program going on a specific platform. Once that program and platform are up and running efficiently and effectively, we’ll shift our focus to the next, maintaining and leveraging the momentum gained with the previous focus, and so forth.
It’s easy to get spread pretty thin trying to grow a half-a-dozen social media programs for different platforms at one time. You can unintentionally underservice all the platforms and find yourself spinning your wheels without achieving any measurable growth anywhere.
So back to the question, “Should I be using Snapchat for Business?” Unfortunately, there is probably not a black and white answer. It depends on a variety of factors. It could make sense for your company and be a great addition to drive growth for your brand, if it’s executed well. Or, it could be an additional source for gray hair and eat away at your social media marketing budget without providing worthy results.
Regardless of where your brand may be in any of these scenarios, we hope you find this post helpful in evaluating if Snapchat marketing is right for your organization.
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