Should you use Snapchat for your business? And how?

No longer the domain of teenagers wanting to share photos and videos of themselves with friends, Snapchat is a valuable marketing tool that your brokerage can’t afford to ignore. The casual atmosphere of the social media platform makes it a savvy tool to reach out to your brokerage’s community and engage them in a way that is fun and humanizes the face of your company.

Listed as one of the fastest growing social networks, Snapchat started in 2011 with humble beginnings and now boasts 100 million daily active users, who upload over 400 million snaps per day.

While very much a “millennial’s” tool, 71% of Snapchat’s users in the USA are 18 to 34 years of age. Yet even if your company’s demographic doesn’t necessarily fall into this age range, the increasing use and proliferation of the app, indicates that other age demographics may soon be using it. Yet at the end of the day, it’s what you can do on this app, more so than other platforms, that makes Snapchat a worthwhile component of your global marketing strategy.

However, utilizing the app to connect with potential buyers is not straightforward and the app does have its limitations, especially in terms of its unique set-up which you will need to adapt to. Despite that, it is certainly worth exploring. Below, we give you a few tips on how to use it effectively in promoting your company. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself happily, If not addictively, snapchatting.

Know Your Audience

Snapchat is not for every work culture, it has a causal mode of communication that is relayed through videos and photos. If your marketing team is creating a strategy for Snapchat then it’s important to pay attention to the casualness of the communication that is used by other companies similar to yours. Take the time to browse through other accounts to see how they are communicating to their community of followers.

Most likely it is going to be light, easy-to-understand and spiced with a sense of fun. This can make for an effective mode of communication, even if your audience is a group of black-suited executives.

The great thing about snapchat, is that you have a green pass to be as creative as you like, what is important though is that once you have settled on a tone of voice, you need to be consistent in portraying that voice.

Embrace the Time Limit

Snapchat puts a time limit on all the photos and videos that are available on the app, so that everything disappears often within seconds of it being posted, never to be seen again by either creator or recipient. This means that to make your marketing efforts worthwhile, you need to make the most of every second that your post is live. Yet, used at its best, marketers make this aspect of the app work for them.

Technorati used Snapchat as an ideal opportunity to post teasers of new products that they were about to launch. It also lends itself as the ideal platform to create contests, Grubhub effectively used Snapchat to engage their audience by putting out a challenge where each day during a five day campaign, followers were to post a daily snap of themselves, be it a food selfie of a food doodle.

The trick to getting the most out of Snapchat is the creative potential to find new ways to engage with your audience of potential clients. Doing this effectively means your audience will keep returning to be entertained, giving you more opportunities to roll out your marketing campaign.

The magic of video content

While a picture may say a thousand words, how many more words could be said on moving images? The fact that video content is a primary medium of communication means that Snapchat can show viewers a lot about what your company does, who your are and what you value.

Unlike a picture, in a video you have the means to verbalize the message that you are conveying, ensuring that the message is not lost in interpretation. Furthermore, the casual form of communication also has the means of making your brokerage appear relatable. Which brings us to the last and most important point.

Portray Your Company’s Personality

Through Snapchat you have the means to take your viewers behind the-scenes, giving them further insight into your company’s internal workings which helps to build the authenticity of your brand and evoke a stronger following. The media that you share over the app should give viewers are more accurate idea of who you are and the mission of your company.

The value behind Snapchat lies in its ability to create a more intimate interface with your clients. Posts, both videos and photos, should be infused with personality so that people connect with your brand in a more relatable, “human-like” level.

The takeaway message here is not to use Snapchat to put out more content on your products and services, but rather to grow an affinity for your brand. It is a platform to be as original and creative as you can. Do your best to entertain your audience and in return for your efforts, your audience will grow.