Should Your Brand Be On Snapchat?

Snapchat, one of the most popular social apps amongst millennials, has also found its niche with celebrities and numerous brands. The photo-driven messaging app allows users to snap videos and photos directly to their friends/followers that can last anywhere from 1-10 seconds before they disappear. Before jumping on the Snapchat bandwagon, it is important to note this social channel does not work for every brand.

So, how do you know if Snapchat is the right fit?

Your Audience

The first question you must ask yourself is: “Who am I trying to target?” If you answered millennials, or specifically people between the ages of 13-25, you’re headed in the right direction. When you first join a new social channel, it’s key to make sure the purpose of the channel and what users utilize it for aligns well with your marketing goals and objectives.

Your Resources

When using Snapchat, brands have to be consistent and have the ability to respond and react quickly to users. The app works well for time-sensitive news and events, giving you the ability to snap pictures and videos while living in the moment and then sharing those experiences with fans. Whatever your brand is posting should be able to offer a unique and exclusive experience, different from what they would typically see on Twitter, Facebook and other social channels.

Your Brand Voice

You need to be mindful that being fun, humorous, personal, and authentic is a must on this channel! When users follow brands, they are looking for entertaining and light hearted content. As a brand, this is your opportunity to show your authenticity and be able to connect with fans on a different level. Be brave! You have to be okay with pushing the envelope a bit in order to stand out from other brands.

Amazon releases a series of Snaps to showcase some of the crazy reviews posted.  In a series of photos, Amazon features the review and then asks users to guess what it is.

Amazon releases a series of Snaps to showcase some of the crazy reviews posted. In a series of photos, Amazon features the review and then asks users to guess what it is.

Your Data

But be warned, no matter how fearless you are, you won’t get big metrics from Snapchat. One of the challenges within the app is the lack of robust analytics. No matter how amazing and clever your content is, there is no way of directly tracking against ROI. This makes it difficult to measure the success of marketing efforts through your snaps. The only data available within the app is the number of users that viewed your snap/story and comparing that with the completion rate of how many users viewed your entire story. Having strong call to actions such as asking users to send back a snap or screenshot one of your photos is another way to be able to measure fan engagement with your brand.

                Track Views and Completion Rate  Have a strong Call to Action.

So, does it make sense for your brand to join Snapchat?

In summary, here are the key points to keep in mind before joining:

  • Compare your target demographic to Snapchat active users.
  • Make sure your Snapchat presence aligns with your marketing goals.
  • Find out whether or not your brand has the capacity to be consistent and quick with content and responses.
  • Communicate to your team the lack of metrics within the app to avoid high expectations related to ROI.
  • Most importantly- have a sense of humor and be fearless!


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