6 Things You Need to Know About Snapchat

Snapchat caught fire with teens and twentysomethings last year. Now it’s on marketers’ radar screen as the latest intriguing social media tool.

Here’s what you need to know about the popular smartphone app to enhance your marketing plans.

1. Snapchat lets users take a picture/video, send it to friends, and set it to self destruct after 10 seconds or less of viewing. The receiver cannot forward or take a screen shot, and Snapchat stores nothing on servers.
2. The press has hypothesized that Snapchat’s primary use is sexting. However, 80% of snaps are sent during “school hours,” making naked pictures less likely.
3. The app appeals to young people who grew up taking photos of everything and sharing them, sometimes with less than positive results. They know that anything posted on Facebook or Instagram lives forever.
4. Users say Snapchat is fun because it allows them to share a moment in real-time with friends. They use the app for sending snaps that are silly, funny, or just not worthy of being stored for digital eternity.
5. 50 million snaps are sent every day. Since the service launched in October 2011, over 1 billion pictures have been shared.
6. Handles, a frozen yogurt chain in New York, became the first company to gain visibility by using Snapchat to deliver coupons to loyal customers.

• If your target consumers are between 15 and 30, you need to become familiar with Snapchat. You should also monitor Facebook’s Poke app which was launched to compete with Snapchat.
• Coupons and contests appear to fit Snapchat best. Consider experimenting to see if you can intrigue and engage teens and twentysomethings with your brand.

If you would like the latest insights about how consumers use technology, social media, and the Internet---so that you can make smart business decisions---check out The Digital American 2013. Click here for a sample.

For help developing powerful marketing strategies that drive results, strategic plans that deliver  growth,  or  new  products  that  consumers  love,  contact Brandology at 925-417-2253.

Sources: Mashable 2013, TechCrunch 2012, 2013