02 Jul New Snapchat Filters Add to its Appeal for Brands
It recently became known that the popular messaging app, Snapchat, was in the process of testing out new filters for users that include adding customized locations and various scenes. For example, a filter that overlays a bunch of money falling from the sky – adding the illusion that you’re making it rain. Perfect for those who need to look like they’re making rain in front of their bathroom mirror. There are also customized location filters users can add:
*images courtesy of @TaylorLorenz
Currently only available on iOS, the new filters are only available in some places. Taylor Lorens has a great write up on the details over at The Daily Mail. But these new filters that Snapchat that is offering got me thinking, some brands are already using Snapchat to reach their fans in a new way, what is stopping other brands from taking advantage of these new filters and other features to try and reach their fans, too?
Based on numbers from a study done earlier this year by Business Insider, it’s pretty obvious that social marketers should be looking to take advantage of the growing pool potential eyes.
- Snapchat has significant scale: We estimate it reached 82 million monthly active users globally as of May 2014. That’s about one-third Instagram’s size.
- The majority of Snapchat’s users are female, and 70% are between the ages of 13 and 25, according to our estimates. Young women are a difficult-to-reach and influential demographic.
- Engagement is high: Two-fifths of 18-year-olds in the U.S. use it “multiple times daily” to communicate with family and friends. That’s a higher proportion than those saying they use voice calls multiple times daily.
- Visual sharing on Snapchat is exploding. Sharing of Snapchat Stories increased 100% in the last two months. Stories are now getting 1 billion views daily, while 760 million disappearing photos and videos are sent daily.
Much like how Instagram became the perfect companion app to Facebook, Snapchat is quickly becoming (or has already become) the perfect companion to those Instagram users who have grown tired of Facebook. (Which is actually probably cool with Facebook, because they acquired Instagram for 1 Billion dollars in 2012.)
A sampling of the different type of free filters that are currently accessible by all Snapchat users.
When trying to promote a brand, Snapchat can be a viable resource to promote specific content, such as live event coverage, product reveals, surprise and delights for fans and behind-the-scenes footage. Content that is not suited for primary channel posting, or content that is extremely real-time focused is prime for the Snapchat realm.
Sending fans a Snap of a photo-shoot going on for your clothing brand, or a peek at a new model of car as it’s prepared for its reveal are great instant ways to connect with fans in ways that brands currently don’t utilize. It’s fun, quick and memorable – all the things that make for a lasting message impression that can lead to a relationship, or strengthen an existing one.
Snapchat offers a way to build customer relationships and cultivate loyalty through a new medium. As with all new media, it’s the experimental execution that determines the best way, or at least a starting point to build upon. Snapchat can also send CTAs that go beyond “Like if you love pizza, ignore if you’re a racist”. The color pen function can add a distinct look to any snap, and the text function serves as a platform to post a mini-tweet. ProTip – Emoji’s take up more space than regular characters in the text box.
I’m always looking for new ways to commutate the voice of my clients to users (I mean, it is my job and all). This the uncharted territory of advertising and marketing. It’s about reaching out and trying things. There is nothing as defined about social media marketing as there is in say, television or print advertising. We’re making our own paths, and for every fifty things that we try, we know that not all of them are going to work. But some will. And Snapchat just might be one of them, if we do it right.
