What is Snapchat and how can business use it?

Jul 18, 2016 0 Comment

Word count: 422 Reading Level: College Student Reading time: 2.34 Mins

Snapchat is so hot it is startling!! Worthy of a real double exclamation mark.

All you have to do is check out Google trends to see Snapchat is a tech beast running around dressed like a school girl. Some of Snapchats statistics are mind blowing.

  • 100 Million active daily users (Yes seriously)
  • 10 Billion Daily Views
  • 4 Strongest tech brand, higher than twitter
  • Very high uptake in Australia
  • Estimated Value of $20 Billion
  • 60% of Smartphone users are using it
  • 60% of Snapchat users are 18-34
  • Gen X and Boomers are the fastest growing user group
  • 70% of Snapchat users are Woman

    It is no wonder Facebook and others were trying to buy it for crazy money early on. Also not surprising that so many bigger companies and industry leaders, such as; Gary Vaynerchuk, Shama and influencers are screaming that you need to be trying to work an angle in this space.

    So what is Snapchat?

    Snapchat’s functionality consists of an app which allows mobile users to message each other (the chat). The users can take a picture or short video of 1-10 seconds (a snap). When sent peer to peer the snaps can only essentially be view once. However recently a story has been added and this is when marketers took a lot of notice. A story is where you can post snaps, like a Facebook wall. However they only stay up for 24 hours. The temporariness of the interaction causes the intense engagement. The fun and marketing potential part is enhanced through emojis, drawings, filters and text, which can be used in very creative ways.

    The concept is simple and clean and the UI is pretty friendly, though may require the nearest teenage for a quick begrudged demo.

    So with all the excitement about the volume of user, demographic and engagement. The race is on for businesses to find an angle to market themselves. The market for capturing customers with your branding with micro moments on mobile is huge. The marketing universe just got turned upside down and Snapchat probably just killed the TV ad.

    I’m going to followup this blog with some practical applications of marketing and audience building. Also I’ll illustrate some tricks and hacks to make your content more interesting.

    If you have questions about Snapchat or you just love it and want to tell me about your experiences please do in the comment section below.

    Bibliography:

    Mediakixcom. (2016). Mediakixcom. Retrieved 18 July, 2016, from http://mediakix.com/2016/01/snapchat-statistics-2016-marketers-need-to-know/

    Expandedramblingscom. (2014). DMR. Retrieved 18 July, 2016, from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/snapchat-statistics/

    Twiplomacycom. (2016). Twiplomacy. Retrieved 18 July, 2016, from http://twiplomacy.com/blog/how-world-leaders-use-snapchat/