Published on June 10th, 2016 | by Guest

Increase Your Sales With Snapchat

Snapchat, the increasingly popular photo/video sharing site, now has 100 million daily active users. Instagram can also be used to share photos and videos, but Snapchat media can only be viewed for 10 seconds before they automatically get deleted. A collection of short videos and photos, called “story,” can be viewed as many times as the user wishes, but only for 24 hours, at which point they, also, are automatically deleted.

So what’s the draw? Why would someone want to view disappearing content that can’t be saved or referenced later? Here are a few reasons:

Snapping and sending is quicker than any other photo/video app
Special effects can be added to content
The impermanence of snaps removes any pressure to get the perfect shot – instead, users are usually only interested in sharing moments with their friends and families.
Millenials love the private nature of Snapchat, mimicking “real-life” behavior

You want your business to have a solid presence on multiple social media platforms, but is there any way to get your foot into Snapchat’s door and use its following to increase sales?

The answer: Yes! And we can show you how. Keep reading to find everything you need to know to increase your sales with Snapchat.

Gain Followers

The main way to increase sales with Snapchat is to gain followers, who will have access to any material you send out. But Snapchat doesn’t have the ability to search for others’ accounts. In order to gain a following, you must provide people with your exact username, which they can then add to their “follow” list.

For this reason, you’ll want to promote your Snapchat username in all sorts of locations. Make sure each of your business’ social media accounts mention Snapchat – and give a taste of the kind of material you’ll be sharing. You can even post this information in relevant physical locations, if applicable.

So which followers should you target?

Mainly female millennials. While Snapchat is still popular with teens, its user demographic is shifting. Many millennial women have young children, and in this digital age they are eager to capture and share little moments throughout the day. The popularity of Snapchat among moms makes them the best audience to target when recruiting followers.

Once you get followers, there are many creative ways to engage your viewers, encourage interaction, and increase sales.

Post Ads

While Snapchat does allow brands to purchase advertising space, the costs might not always be worth it. Snapchat charges businesses $50,000 for a day of streaming an ad on Snapchat Discover. Discover is a list of channels which feature video clips and photos about various topics that can be browsed by any user. These channels have “sponsors,” which is where the ad space comes in. If you’re interested in sponsoring a Discover channel, do your research and learn the risks first.

Participate in Live Stories

Snapchatters at a particular event can submit snaps to Snapchat itself, which looks through the submissions and creates a “live story ”which has the potential to be viewed by millions of people. With some creativity and luck, you can submit a snap which features your company – and it might get filtered in the story.

One way you can do this is to design and purchase a geofilter for your business. People like snapchat because of the graphics and overlays that can be placed over snaps, making everything a bit more eye catching. If your “live story” snap has your company’s geofilter on it, and it gets accepted by Snapchat for use in its story, you’ll have lots of exposure. Geofilters can also be used as overlays by any Snapchat user, which could then get sent to other individuals or included in users’ stories. McDonald’s was one of the first businesses to adopt this feature, and it was an overwhelming success.

Snapchat isn’t as business-friendly as other social media sites, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, but as you can see, it’s not impossible to gain visibility and increase sales with this app. If you think your business could mesh well with Snapchat, make a profile and give it a try!

Tags: business, increase, marketing, sales, Snapchat, social media