Snapchat isn’t like those other social media networks. While content you publish on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram stays there forever (or until you delete it), what you publish on Snapchat is literally gone in a flash.
Snapchat content marketing has a lot to offer brands and marketers, but it’s important to really understand what makes the social platform different from the rest. It’s not just that your Snaps will vanish. It’s also the quality of the Snaps you produce will be different from what you put on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms.
Why Snapchat?
Compared to Facebook and its 1.28 billion active daily users, and Instagram, with 250 million active daily users, Snapchat might seem like small potatoes. Around 166 million people use it daily.
But those who use Snapchat really use Snapchat. Nearly three billion Snaps are made daily, and daily users tend to use the app more than 15 times each day.
According to Pew Internet, which classifies Snapchat as a messaging service and not a social media platform, about 24 percent of smartphone users used Snapchat (or a similar messaging service) in 2016, up from 17 percent in 2015.
And it’s not just a lot of people are using Snapchat. The company also recently changed its tune when it comes to promotional material on the app. As AdAge reported, Snapchat is reconsidering its hardline against product promotions and branded content. The company also recently signed a deal with Time Warner to produce shows and content exclusively for the platform.
Snapchat is also redefining what content and content marketing is, according to some. For example, the CEO of AwesomenessTV, Brian Robbins, pointed out that any form of communication over the platform is content. As more and more brands and content creators turn to short-form content formats, Snapchat, with its focus on short-and-sweet, gone-in-a-flash content, will become a more popular option.
Who’s Using Snapchat for Content Marketing?
What does Snapchat content marketing look like? It’s taken several forms over the years, and some brands have pulled it off better than others. Here’s a look at some of the more successful campaigns.
WWF, #LastSelfie
The most effective type of content is content that tugs on people’s heart strings and resonates with them. What better way to play to people’s emotions than to show them what might be the #LastSelfie of certain endangered species? That’s the technique the World Wildlife Federation used for its #LastSelfie campaign in 2014.
Gatorade Shower
Snapchat lets people add filters to their snaps, which change the look of the image or add cartoony features to a face. During a major football game in 2016, Gatorade created its own filter for the platform. The filter made it look as though people in a photo were having a cooler of Gatorade dumped on their heads. As Digiday reported, more people used the filter (160 million) than actually watched the big game (115 million).
Hide and Seek With Heineken
During Coachella in 2014, Heineken created snaps for its followers that contained clues about upcoming shows on the beer brand’s stage. If a follower guessed the clue correctly, he or she would get a confirmation about who was going to play on the stage next.
How Your Brand Can Do Content Marketing on Snapchat
If your brand is ready to give Snapchat content marketing a try, how can you do it right?
You can take a few clues from the brands and examples above. Make sure your content has emotional resonance. You don’t have to send out pictures of endangered animals, but you do want to connect with your followers on some emotional level.
It also helps to make your content fun. Who wouldn’t love the chance to play around with a filter and have pretend Gatorade dumped on their head? Part of the joy of Snapchat is its unpolished, anything goes nature. Feel free to be more entertaining and carefree with your Snapchat content than you would on other social media platforms.
Finally, although there’s something to be said for content that’s available to everyone, having some exclusivity also gives content more weight. People are excited to get access to something that others can’t see. While you can use the discover feature to open your snaps up to anyone on Snapchat, don’t be afraid to produce content that only those who follow your brand can see.