Snapchat is one of the less talked about social media platforms among marketers and entrepreneurs. One of the reasons for this is the intrinsically ephemeral character of Snapchat posts: once viewed, they disappear in a short time. Another reason is the fact that the great majority of Snapchat users are young people under 25.
Many businesses are not interested in approaching a younger audience because they deem them not financially stable enough to be considered a valid target customer. Other entrepreneurs do not believe that sending out messages which disappear within seconds after viewing is fruitful in any way to their marketing strategy.
So, Why Should You Use Snapchat?
However, there are statistics showing that 58% of college students would buy a product if they receive a coupon on Snapchat. And there is another interesting statistic, according to which only 1% of all Snapchat accounts are businesses and marketers. As a small business owner, this is a huge point in your favour: there is very little competition to fight against – and sending Snaps is absolutely free.
So, how can you use Snapchat to attract potential customers and help grow your business? Here are a few helpful tips.
1. Introduce Yourself and Your Team
Snapchat is ideal for businesses which want to put a human face on their brand. Using the photo or video Snap, you can introduce yourself, your passion for starting a business and your drive to develop products and services. Snapchat lets you build stories in a succession of Snaps, creating engagement among your followers.
2. Post Work in Progress Snaps
Document your manufacturing process in a series of Snaps. Along the process, you can challenge your followers to guess what you are making, or how the product may be used. Work in progress Snaps are extremely popular among Snapchat users. A lot of talented artists use this social media platform to promote their work.
3. Host Q&A Sessions
You can answer questions about your business or products in a series of short video Snaps. With Snapchat you can address individual users and give them a sense that you are establishing a one-on-one relationship with your customers. In this respect, Snapchat is an ideal social media platform for building customer loyalty and being in constant direct communication with your prospects.
4. Send Out Coupons
The ultimate type of limited time offer is the Snapchat coupon. Users have a few seconds to use the discount code or write it down before it is gone. There are many ways in which you can engage your audience, such as announcing ahead of time that on a certain day you are giving away discounts. In this way, you will have your followers’ attention all day long until you post the coupon.
5. Behind the Scenes Snippets
People are curious to learn more about the businesses they engage with. Large companies organize Open Doors Day – as a small business, you can show your customers around your workshop, home office, posting short videos with a clever caption to build more customer loyalty.
In short, Snapchat is the right social media platform for you if you want an alternative way to reach your prospects and to do this without investing a lot of money in social media marketing. It is still unexplored territory for many marketers, so take advantage of it and build your followers’ base before your competition starts doing the same thing.