Snapchat: The Next Big Thing in Your Marketing Campaign
By Shelby Ballou
Snapchat recently jumped headfirst into consumer awareness, especially among people in their 20s, by merging its momentary video with fresh design, addictive content-delivery, and a unique twist on marketing.
During a presentation with investors last week, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said its 100 million users now view 8 billion videos a day, which has more than quadrupled in the last year. In contrast, Facebook has more than 1 billion daily users who view around 8 billion videos a day. They’re on equal playing ground as far as video views, but Facebook is still ahead with active users.
Any platform that is so closely comparable to Facebook is likely to attract marketers. Sure enough, marketing professionals have their eye on Snapchat.
Snapchat’s real-time nature is intriguing for marketers
Snapchat is redefining how marketing can be used, according to David Berkowitz, CMO at MRY. In less than five years, Snapchat created a unique platform that is dominated by teens and young adults. Snapchat is used regularly today, but some marketers are still hesitant to use the service.
The fleeting, temporary nature of Snapchat is what makes it so compelling, according to Rebecca Lieb, an industry analyst and advisor. “Messages on Snapchat demand to be looked at immediately and have an expiration date,” she says. “Real-time attention is very important, and Snapchat is capitalizing on that.”
In addition, Snapchat is different than other major social media platforms because it lets brands be more real, according to Ted Dhanik, CEO of Engage:BDR.
Snapchat presents unique marketing challenges
Snapchat is on many marketers’ minds, but most companies don’t use it as a legitimate marketing tool, according to Misha Talavera, cofounder at NeoReach.
Many social media marketers today face two major barriers: pressure from important executives in their organizations, and complicated internal processes. Marketing directors often don’t want to throw money into Snapchat, and complex approval processes can cancel out the real-time, genuine tone that Snapchat portrays, he says.
Some marketers also feel uneasy about Snapchat because they think the core users are too young, according to Len Kendall, VP of communication at Carrot Creative.
“Snapchat’s community and user experience encourage in-the-moment content, not the typical highly polished and pre-planned marketing that most brands use on social,” Kendall says. “The benefit is a sense of authenticity that other platforms are starting to lose.”
Brady Donnelly, managing director at Hungry, agrees. “Because Snapchat videos are unpolished and in-the-moment, they add a human touch to global brands.” However, these same traits also make it difficult for marketers to gauge how successful Snapchat is in their marketing campaigns, he says.
If Snapchat’s audience continues to grow and expand, it will likely become essential in any marketing campaign, says Kendall. The next few years will determine how marketing professionals are incorporating Snapchat into their strategies.
Original story: Why Snapchat is the next big thing in digital marketing
