SnapChat is the darling platform of young Millennials, especially the coveted 18-34 age range. From the perspective of a marketer or business owner, SnapChat, when used properly, can be one of the most useful items in your arsenal. I know what you’re thinking: Is SnapChat that thing teens use to send nude photos (aka sexts) that disappear?

Turns out that this is a bit of an undeserved reputation, as a recent study demonstrated that only 2% of surveyed users sexted. So why are people using SnapChat? The driving force behind its popularity seems to be that it is a new way for people to be creatively expressive, to show off their personality via a new Social Outlet.

But it’s also a way that the 18-34 age range finds new products, brands, and services. It’s the way that they consume, share or distribute media – and they do it at an incredible amount; by some accounts, there are more than 400 million Snaps every day from 100 million daily active users (DAU) globally. 60 million of those daily users are in Canada and the US alone.

A. Let’s take a lot at some numbers (mostly pulled from an industry research study by Sumpto, all US Based):

B. 71% of SnapChat users fall within the 18-34 Age Demographic;

C. 77% of college students use SnapChat

D. 45% of college students would open a Snap from an unrecognized brand – and an astounding 73% would open one from a brand they did know.

E. 67% of college student users PREFER to receive promotional (discounts, coupons, etc); and

A whopping 58% of the same group are more likely to buy a product if they receive a coupon via SnapChat as compared to any other medium!

So obviously, this all points to an exceptionally potent marketing tool. Points C through E are especially useful to business owners. So let’s talk about how the savvy entrepreneur can use these insights to grow their business.

How SnapChat Can Grow Your Brand and Drive Sales

It seems counterintuitive SnapChat is one of the best ways to grow your business. After all, the whole idea is that a Snap disappears. So how can it be something that builds a brand? The answer is that we live in a world where private, exclusive content is a rarity. If you share something on Twitter, it’s going to tear through Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram in no time at all.

SnapChat provides you with a way to provide exclusive content to only your SnapChat Followers. It creates an air of mystery or allure that consumers love – and it makes them feel special and valued.

‘Value’ is what we should really be focusing on here; as the above statistics demonstrate, much of the 18-34 target demographic actually like getting promotions on SnapChat. But if you are too promotional or too ‘all about your brand’ you will squander your advantage. Users want something out of the brand, some reason they should be paying attention to it.

While coupons or discounts are a great way to give back to your followers, it can also be something as simple as promoting content from other users. The popular food delivery app GrubHub is commonly cited here; their 2013 SnapChat campaign followed this mixed-tactic approach and saw a 20% increase in followers.

Additionally, people love feeling like they’re included. SnapChat users especially love behind the scenes snaps. Photos of your employees, the manufacturing process, events or company parties; all of it is a great way to get SnapChat Users talking about you, your brand, and what you offer.

Building a Buzz

Several big-name companies have found success in using SnapChat to preview new products to potential consumers. It goes back to that allure and mystery thing; it gives you a chance to let consumers know about your new product, without them becoming overwhelmed by a viral video that gets plastered all over the web.

But there’s a way to do this. You can’t just go in all willy-nilly throwing Snaps around like they’re so much nonsense. You need to tell a story, you need to keep fun, entertaining and engaging. For an example of how this was successfully done, look no further than Amazon’s Echo.

Amazon’s SnapChat campaign was a masterpiece. It managed to provide a quirky, wonderful, and lovely personality. The endearing Snaps released by Amazon not only made us fall in love with Echo, but they also explained a product with which many were struggling. This is one of our team’s favorite examples because it accomplished so much with so little.

To Sum Up

So to recap, SnapChat lets you grow your brand, attract young, passionate consumers, and lets you create a stir around your brand. I know – this seems like (and is) a lot to process. But don’t worry; that’s why SDI is here to help. We can help you create unique and effective marketing strategies for SnapChat that grow your business and make you money.

Want to know more about how to use SnapChat to grow your SMB? Give us a call at 408.805.0495/408.621.8481 – or click to contact us!