With over 150 million daily users, Snapchat continues to grow and has become a game changer in terms of communication among brands. The photo and video sharing app has tremendously transformed since its launch in 2011. Today valued at $16 billion, the company has disrupted the way companies, brands and celebrities communicate. Following the rise of “picture marketing”, some brands like CNN or McDonalds have incorporated the phenomenon into their strategy, developing a strong presence on this new communication channel.
Engaging and playful, Snapchat has become the 2016 most preferred social media platform.
SNAPSHOT OF SNAPCHAT
Gradually, Snapchat is surpassing some of the most iconic social media platforms such as Twitter. But what does the app exactly represent today?
- 150 million active users every day
- 6 million active users in the U.S. every month, 35 million in Europe and more than 25 million in the rest of the World (Source: TechCrunch)
- Most of users are spending between 25 and 30 minutes on the app
- 65% of the users are women according to Business Insider
- 71% of users are under 25
- 10 billion videos are viewed every day on Snapchat
WHY TO INVEST IN SNAPCHAT?
A CAPTIVE TARGET TO REACH
Since its launch, Snapchat has been able to attract millennials. 86 percent of users are between 13 and 25 years old. This is a godsend for brands that are struggling to reach this target through more traditional channels.
Cherry on the cake, Snapchat’s users base is gradually changing, attracting more and more older demographics.
ENGAGEMENT & CREATIVITY
Snapchat provides visibility and a significant commitment capacity. Since its inception, nearly 800 million “snaps” were individually sent every day. And more than one billion were visible as “Story”, e.g. publicly accessible. The social network is centered on the image, which enables brands to enjoy a quirky and ephemeral channel, allowing them a more uninhibited communication.
Moreover, Snapchat is part of a chosen and non-intrusive marketing, strengthening the commitment and proximity of brands with their target.
FILTERS
Creating custom filters, location-based and sponsored selfies enables brands to be part of a new communication universe. The most significant example is McDonald’s, which was one of the first brands to introduce its own filters, enabling customers to enhance their selfies with cones of fries, burgers or slogans. In a sense, users are becoming content creators for the brand.
But…
BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
can be tricky and time consuming with a low ROI.
It is difficult for a brand to create an audience on Snapchat. The snaps are visible only to people who follow you. Therefore, if the brand does not communicate its presence in the application via other communication channels, customers will not know that the brand is active on this social network.
Better then to already have a strong presence in other social media such as Facebook & Instagram in order to communicate on the company/brand’s Snapchat presence.
LIMITED INTERACTIONS
There is no possibility of sharing, like or comment. Brands must think then cross channel and offer hashtags to monitor the impact on other social networks and encourage users to share snaps outside the application.
Whether it is branded native video ad products, sponsored stories or geo filters, snapchat offers a wide range of ad services to brands and companies.
Still, these services are not yet available in Asia. After a fast growth while continuing innovating, Snapchat had to focus on strengthening its presence in Western countries. All Snapchat’s features are available in 25 countries, Australia being the only one in the Asia Pacific region.
The recent and successful release of SNOW, a popular South Korean Snapchat clone, shows a strong interest of the public in short self-destructing messages. A sign of future success for Snapchat.
To put it in a nutshell, Snapchat can fast become an indispensable tool for brands which focus on customer relations in their strategy.
Snapchat’s influence is undisputable. Better to learn now how to get the most of it and prepare your brand/company when it will arrive in Asia.
(Nicolas Trinquier is Vero’s Regional PR & Engagement Manager. He can be reached at nicolas@veropr.com)