Snapchat for Business: How to Use it to Promote Your Brand

How Can You Use Snapchat For Business?

When business owners think about potential avenues to market their business and grow, most don’t think about Snapchat.

With about 293 million daily active users worldwide, Snapchat isn’t the largest social media platform. 

And it’s also not as straightforward; you don’t have an aesthetic grid of posts like Instagram or a designated business page like Facebook or LinkedIn. 

It’s mostly known for sending temporary snaps to friends that disappear after they open it.

So we think the biggest question for a lot of people has been, is Snapchat still relevant?

But what if we told you that Snapchat was a little more than that now? That it had some new features that business owners should maybe care about?

We’re covering how to use Snapchat for business in this post so you’re definitely gonna want to read till the end of this article.

Let’s jump right in and start with defining what Snapchat is.

What Is Snapchat?

“Snapchat is a mobile messaging application used to share photos, videos, text, and drawings. It’s free to download the app and free to send messages using it. 

There is one feature that makes Snapchat different from other forms of texting and photo sharing…

…the messages disappear from the recipient’s phone after a few seconds.”

So we think the easiest way to explain this is to just show you how it works.

How Snapchat Works

When you open the Snapchat app, you land on the camera screen where you can either take a photo or video in real-time.

Or, you can upload one from your camera roll using this icon. 

Once you take a picture using the big round button at the bottom, a line of editing options appears on the right-hand side. In here, you can:

• Add text to the photo
• Draw on the photo
• Add a sticker or GIF
• Use the scissors to cut out a certain part to make a sticker that you can use in future photos
• Add music, a filter, or a link
• Crop the photo.

The last icon is what Snapchat is most known for making your photo temporary.

You can set it to last anywhere between 1-10 seconds.

Or, the infinity icon which means it can stay on screen until the viewer taps it (which makes it exit and disappear forever).

Now if you hold that big middle button down, it starts taking a video.

With video, you get all the same editing features plus the quotations icon which allows you to transcribe any audio that’s on your video.

You can take videos up to 1 minute long, but any videos you take that are 15 seconds or less, can loop. 

Any videos over 15 seconds will just play once and be done and not loop.

Once you’ve got a photo or video ready to send, you can either tap this icon to send it to your friends, or you can tap this icon to post it to your Story.

“A Story is a collection of Snaps that play in the order they were taken,” and they’re available to see for 24 hours before they disappear.

Now if you’re hearing all of this and thinking, “Wow this is a lot like Instagram Stories!” Well, where do you think Instagram got it from?

But anyway that is the basic premise of Snapchat. So some of you may be thinking, “Okayyyy…so how do I use it for my business?”

Snapchat For Business: New Snapchat Features That You Need To Know About

1. Snapchat Spotlight

This is Snapchat’s version of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts and you get to it by clicking the play icon. 

It seems that most social media platforms now have a dedicated space for endless scrolling through short, vertical videos like these.

So unlike posting to your Story which is just viewed by your friends and the people who follow you…

…Spotlight videos are a public thread and can be a great way to get higher reach and build brand awareness for your business.

So if you’re already making TikToks or Instagram Reels…

…just repurpose them here by uploading them from your camera roll and submitting them to Snapchat Spotlight!

Snapchat says, “Spotlight is the easiest way to discover the world of Snapchat in one place and see perspectives from across our community.

It shines a light on the most entertaining Snaps, no matter who created them.

Start exploring by swiping up and down to move between content.

Tap on the trending button at the top of the screen to browse Trending Sounds, Lenses, and Topics!”

So you can tap on the trending arrow in the top right to see the trending sounds, lenses, and topics they’re talking about.

And then, you can add your own video using any of these trends to jump in the mix.

2. Public Profile

Another way to increase your brand awareness on Snapchat is to create your account using a Public Profile.

“A Public Profile lets you be discovered in the app, showcase your creativity, and help fans find you on Snapchat.

To help with this, Public Profiles have access to a unique set of profile features that let you…

…showcase Lenses and Stories, separate Subscribers from your friends, and more!”

So if you want to learn more about it, visit this link next https://ift.tt/7puH6bQ

It will tell you exactly how to create a Public Profile step for step. 

And, it also gives you a few reasons the option may not be appearing for you and how to troubleshoot it.

If you’re not seeing the option to submit Spotlight videos, it could be that you need to change your profile to Public, so be sure to check that out. 

Now one thing you may have noticed in Snapchat’s definition there was that…

…having a Public Profile allows you to have “separate Subscribers from your friends.”

What this means is, if a viewer is scrolling through Spotlight and sees a video they like, they can click on the username and be taken to their Public Profile.

This is where they can scroll through other Spotlight videos they’ve made and hit the Subscribe button.

People can click on the friend’s icon to see any Stories their friends have posted.

And just beneath that, they’ll see any updates or posts from people they’ve subscribed to under the Subscriptions section.

So as you can see, you can now have a profile and follower-like functions on Snapchat which wasn’t always the case. 

3. Location Functions

If you tap on the location icon at the far left, viewers can see where their friends are (IF their friends have their location marked as available to view). 

But more importantly, there are snaps to view from public places. For instance, we can see all the snaps from Billie Eilish’s concert here. 

So if you own a local, brick-and-mortar store, this is another way to promote it on Snapchat.

You can do so by encouraging people to tag their location when they’re there and by tagging your store location anytime you post as well!

Key Things To Keep In Mind When Using Snapchat For Business

1. Snapchat is known for its younger demographic. 

“82% of Daily Snapchat Users Are from The Age Group of 18-24.”

And we would guess even younger than 18 because our bet is that a lot of kids just put that they’re 18 on the app. 

So if your target audience is closer to older millennials and above? This might not be the right marketing strategy for you. 

However, if you sell toys, makeup products, sports gear, own a local coffee shop, or ice cream parlor…

…anything that would appeal to teenagers and young adults, this could prove to be a really profitable strategy for you.

2. Snapchat is a budget-friendly option for small business owners. 

If you have a smartphone, you can market your product or service on Snapchat.

The nature of the app doesn’t require professional content.

In fact, the more casual and authentic your content on there is, the better it usually performs. 

So if you have a younger target audience and are looking for a low to zero cost marketing strategy to just help get you started with marketing…

…we would look into Snapchat as an option. 

3. Integrate your Snapchat marketing with your overall marketing strategy.

If you have a huge Instagram following, plug your Snapchat on IG, ask them to follow you there for exclusive content. 

Consider working with popular influencers and have them do a Snapchat takeover to drum up some subscribers and attention from a relevant audience.

The more you can fit your Snapchat marketing in with your overall marketing plan…

…instead of just treating it as a standalone strategy, the better it will perform.

So that’s how you use Snapchat for business!

If you’re looking for professional social media marketing services to help with promoting your business on social media platforms, contact us today!

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