Uncover New Ways To Reach New Customers on Snapchat

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​Snapchat is a popular messaging app -- Snapchatters send pictures and videos that are meant to disappear after they're viewed within 24 hours. Snapchat is positioned as a "new type of camera" -- Snapchatters take either a picture or video, add a filter, lenses, or other effects and then share them with friends.

“Despite the competition with other networks, Snapchat remains one of the most popular social media platforms today, particularly for younger users. In fact, the number of daily active users jumped from 218 million in 2019 to 265 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Statista, 2021)” according to Finances Online.

Snapchat has been around since 2011 and this social media platform has proven to be successful in what they do. Snapchat has set trends -- first social media platform to add filters to photos, as well as the ability to post your story to be viewed for only 24 hours.  Other social media platforms -- Facebook and Instagram -- have implemented similar features on its social media platform.

Allen Marketing Communications, Inc. a NYC boutique travel and lifestyle public relations agency, spotlights six key ways to use Snapchat as a marketing tool to attract Gen Z and Millennial customers, 35 years or younger.

Larger Ad Presence
Snapchat is an effective social media platform to place advertisements about a company’s product or service. Brands are constantly working to promote these apps hoping to convert each viewer into a sale. 

Snapchat has created a clever way for users to interact with the brands by developing filters or lenses promoting a brand. The filters can include trying on different pairs of sunglasses or using different shades of lipstick.

According to Hootsuite, “Snapchatters are 60 percent more likely to make an impulse purchase on this platform”

More Features for Gen Z 
Although the App’s original features are what attracted users, the fact it continues to provide new and appealing features is what gets them to stick around. 

Snapchat has recently developed Snap Originals -- a series streaming feature that is only available on their platform and you can watch countless shows from different genres. 

Another new feature is Snap Games -- this feature provides a "way to hang out with your friends on Snapchat”. These kinds of features have helped expand their users.
 
News Programming
Snapchat has figured out ways to tell the news in a more interactive manner on their platform. They created a discover tab where you can see what’s going on in the world in short three to five-minute clips presented by actual news platforms such as Buzzfeed, TMZ, or CNN. 

This feature also allows brands to promote their products by posting their commercials or ads on a news program. Some brands even create their own tab and add its new content there instead of just showing an ad.
 
AR and VR Features 
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are both ways to immerse digitally created items into the real physical world. The AR filters are what attracted younger users in the first place and arguably revolutionized the way people create content and share them online. 

Through VR, the social media platform is doing so again by creating Snap Lenses. This feature allows you to add 3D effects, objects, characters, and transformations by simply flipping the camera. Both AR and VR features have led to more than 200 users using this on a daily basis.

Build User Profiles and Personas 
Snapchat users of the app are constantly documenting their daily activities, as well as milestones, celebrations, and holidays.

Snapchat has created a trend -- Snapchatters can record anything with just a click of a button. Businesses can gain insights about their target audience by learning what customers do in their daily lives and narrowing the company’s message to reach its target audience.

Reach New Customers
Snapchat has a feature for other users to “takeover” another Snapchat account to inspire an influencers’ followers to engage with a particular business or service.
Likewise, companies can also “take over” another Snapchat account and existing users to follow a brand or service.

Snapchat is an influential social media platform to reach younger consumers.  According to Hootsuite, “as of January 2020, 218 million users were active on Snapchat each day. That’s millions of Snaps created, sent, and seen every day.”

Our travel and lifestyle public relations professionals are here to help companies reach younger customers on Snapchat.  Give us a call.

​By Athanasia Gouvatsos at Allen Marketing Communications, Inc.

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