Snapchat for brands; what you need to know

WHAT IS SNAPCHAT?

Snapchat is a free mobile app that allows you to send pictures and videos for free, which then disappear after an allotted time. Since launching in 2011, Snapchat, which has recently been valued at $16 billion, is now reported to be the most important social network for 18-24 year olds, with users spending 25-30 minutes a day on the platform. Currently Snapchat has over 100 million daily users and 8 billion video clips are being watched on the platform every day.

HOW DOES SNAPCHAT WORK?

Snapchat sends pictures and videos to your contacts, which you can then customise by adding stamps, filters and doodles. What makes Snapchat different from social platforms like Instagram is the ephemeral nature of the content; the image or video is only shown for a few seconds, and then disappears. Users have a limited amount of daily replays, but generally unless the sent picture is captured with a screenshot, it won’t be seen again.

As Snapchat is viewed full screen by default, it helps people see and consume more videos as there is no scroll function. This means the viewer can focus fully on what is shown on the screen before skipping on to the next snap.

HOW ARE BRANDS USING IT?

Despite Snapchat not providing much data apart from daily views, it is being picked up as a main channel for brands to promote products and keep in touch with consumers. So how can businesses use Snapchat? There are plenty of ways to create unique content for this platform. Here are some of the most popular ways brands are using the channel:

- To give followers exclusives with behind the scenes action

- To report live videos of catwalks/shows/photoshoots

- To promote favourite products

- To host competitions for Snapchat followers

- To offer discounts through Snapchat-only codes

- For collaborations where celebrities can take over a brand Snapchat account for a day

Most brands will use the story feature that gets sent out to all their contacts, and this can be replayed over a period of 24 hours. Rather than send each contact an individual Snapchat, this is a great way to publish ‘a day in the life’ style content and give followers a unique insight into the ethos of the brand.

CREATING BRAND STORIES ON SNAPCHAT

Live Stories

Rather than send a picture to a few selected contacts, a snap can be added to your Story which is displayed to all contacts. This will be uploaded for 24 hours and can be replayed and added to. Sponsored live stories, such as stories for live events that are happening, can generate up to 40 million views.

How to collect Story data

Once you have sent out a story from your brand account, the best way to record data is by clicking on the three dots at the right of the screen. This will then show you how many followers have seen and screenshot your story. In this section it will also list the name of each follower that has seen or screenshot the story. Brands can use this data to host competitions where the winner is selected at random from this list. You can also delete a snap from your story by pressing the bin icon in the corner.

Chat within Story

Followers can also chat to a brand through their Snapchat story if the brand adds followers as a friend. This is a great way to interact with followers. If a follower has any questions regarding products featured in the snaps they can send the brand a message on Snapchat chat by sliding up on the story. The brand can then reply directly in the private Snapchat chat.

OTHER TOP FEATURES FOR BRANDS

As Snapchat has grown in popularity, so have its features. These now include:

Discover

This is a new way to find stories from different editorial teams. Currently there are 23 companies distributing content through the app including Daily Mail, CNN, Buzzfeed and Cosmopolitan with Cosmopolitan claiming to have 19 million views each month on the channel. This is almost as many as views their website. The Daily Mail has also reported millions of views on a daily basis.

Geofilters

Geofilters on Snapchat are stamps that you can add over your picture. Generally they are for location e.g. London, New York, Amsterdam, but now you can pay to make your own geofilter when the user is in a particular area. These on-demand geofilters run in specific locations during designated dates and cost from as little as $5. Brands can use them to support launches and events, or even create them to run in certain stores if they cover a large enough area.

Snap Ads

3V Advertising is split into three V’s: Vertical, Video, Views. The adverts are purposely made for full screen mobile, giving the full attention of the screen. The 3V ads appear within the curated content, such as stories found in the Discover channel and the live stories.

Snapcodes

Also known as Snaptags, these are the Snapchat version of QR codes. Each user has their own unique Snapcode which can be found by pressing the ghost icon at the top of the app. Using a Snapcode is the easiest way for users to follow celebrities and brands on Snapchat. All you need to do is screenshot the code, and then upload it through the ‘Add friends’ section. For brands, posting the code on social media is the best way to show followers you are on Snapchat, as they can use the Snapcode to easily add you as a contact.

THE BEST BRANDS & CELEBRITIES TO FOLLOW ON SNAPCHAT

Here’s our pick of the top brands & influencers to follow on Snapchat right now:

- ASOS (asosfashion) – for discount codes and products of the week

- EVERLANE (everlane) – for behind the scenes action and upcoming products

- Birchbox (birchbox) – for makeup tutorials and behind the scenes

- Redbull – for live sports action

- Nike (nikenyc) – for fitness inspiration

- LACMA (lacma) – for art merged with fun lyrics

- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (rosiehw) – for makeup tutorials and her sausage dogs

- Kylie Jenner (kylizzlemynizzl) – for being the #1 most viewed Snapchat account

- DJ Khaled (djkhaled305) – for motivational snaps

- Chris Pratt (chrisprattsnap) – for funny videos

- Alexa Chung (chungalexa) – for fashion event snaps

- Justin Beiber (rickthesizzler) – for shirtless selfies

- Nick Grimshaw (hiyagrimmy) – for celeb selfies with his Radio1 guests

- Avicii (avicci) – for snaps at his shows

- Rebel Wilson (rebelwilsonsnap) – for hilarious videos

ASOS uses Snapchat as a key marketing channel and the brand’s content on this platform received over 20 million views during London Fashion Week. As well as behind-the-scenes snippets from high profile events, the fashion brand often uses Snapchat to post about the latest trends and products of the week. It has also been known to offer out Snapchat-only 20% discount promotion codes for its followers that are only valid for a few hours.

In 2014 Nasty Gal even recruited their social media intern through Snapchat. Followers were asked to send Nasty Gal a snap of what they would do on Snapchat as their social media intern. Any that the brand liked the look of were invited to interview.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR SNAPCHAT?

In 2014, Snapchat partnered with Square and launched Snapcash, which allows Snapchat users in the US to send and receive money through the chat feature. Snapchat has also sold extra features and replays to users for a small fee. And it seems the next step has been revealed; that shopping and ecommerce are coming to Snapchat. Through the Discover setting, users will soon be able to buy products without leaving the application, making it an even more desirable marketing platform for brands.