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As a slightly dorky 22-year-old female, with zero interest in football, I spent last Sunday getting excited for the Super Bowl commercials – and for the most part, they didn’t shock me.
But one thing did catch my attention, and (surprisingly) it wasn’t the delightfully charming puppies. It was the Pitch Perfect 2 preview. Not because of the catchy melodies or snappy one-liners – it was the first commercial I had ever seen that asked fans to follow them on Snapchat.
As tempting (or overwhelming) as it may be to jump on the new social media trend, engaging with fans 10 seconds at a time requires a lot of research, strategy, and commitment. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, is it time for your brand to get serious with Snapchat?
While it may not be a simple “yes” or “no,” there are a few things you can ask yourself before making the leap.
Who is your audience?
- 70 percent of Snapchat users are female and 71 percent are under the age of 25. If this doesn’t sound like your typical admirer, it might be time to reconsider tying the knot with this new platform.
Are you prepared for trial and error?
- Snapchat’s new Stories and Discovery features haven’t been around long enough for brands to see definitive results in terms of ROI. Is your brand ready to be at the forefront of a new social media trend, and are you prepared to deal with the results – good or bad?
Can your brand provide content in 10 seconds or less that will resonate with fans?
- Fans want to see behind the scenes footage, special promotions, giveaways and coupons, and new product releases. While this may seem easy enough, your brand may need to commit significant time and resources to provide this type of content on a regular basis. But the payoff could be considerable.
Think of how traditional sales and special promotions work – it’s the theory behind behavioral marketing. Consumers pay more attention when they are under time or quantity restrictions. Picture the last iPhone 5 on sale in your local mall…. You get the idea.
The same reasoning works for Snapchat. Your brand’s content becomes exclusive when it only lasts for 24 hours so fans may feel an urgency to take action. With approximately 100 million active monthly users in the United States and around 400 million snaps sent out each day, that could mean whole lot of return on your investment of time and resources.
So will your brand’s relationship with fans on Snapchat be a match made in heaven or should you start seeing other platforms? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.