Social media plays an important role in a modern industrial marketing strategy, and it may be time to include a new network in your approach. Snapchat is an easy-to-use platform that holds tremendous potential for businesses. That’s because, with almost 255 million users worldwide as of July 2018, Snapchat has established itself as one of the most popular social media platforms.
What Is Snapchat?
Initially released in September of 2011, Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app with pictures, videos, and messages that are only available for a small amount of time before they are inaccessible. The app originally focused on person-to-person interaction but has evolved to feature “Stories” for 24-hours at a time and a “Discover” section that lets brands provide ad-based entertainment.
Snapchat’s temporary nature is very attractive when it comes to digital marketing, as this feature conforms easily to real-time marketing. Real-time marketing focuses on current and relevant trends when executing a marketing strategy instead of creating one in advance. Keeping up with the latest trends is naturally appealing to consumers. Unlike other social media avenues, Snapchat is primarily video-based and gives brands the ability to generate a creative way to tell a story that is more impactful and leaves an impression on users over text media.
4 Steps To Creating A Snapchat Account For Your Manufacturing Business
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Set Up A Public Account
To use Snapchat, you first need to download the app from the App Store or Google Play. Then, you need to create an account. Setting up a public account means that people can follow you and see the things that you post even if you haven’t followed them back. Decide whether you’d like to register with your personal information or business details.
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Promote Using Existing Social Profiles
Use social media profiles you already have associated with your business to promote your new Snapchat account. This is a great way to engage and re-engage with your current audience.
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Create A Tracking System
Currently, Snapchat does not have a way to track the number of views that your account receives over time, so it’s a good idea to keep track of these metrics using a spreadsheet or similar tools. Some key metrics to track include the number of views your story or content receives, the number of story completions you have, and the number of screenshots people take of your content. These are effective metrics for determining how effective your Snapchat content is.
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Interact With Users
There are a few different ways to interact with Snapchat users and potential prospects. To add friends on Snapchat, tap “Add Friends” on your profile. Contacts from your mobile device can be synced with your Snapchat account and will be displayed here or you can search by username.
Ways To Advertise On Snapchat
Snapchat campaigns allow businesses and brands to easily target audiences based on a few different factors such as predefined audiences (Snapchatters interests), demographics (age, location, device type, income, etc.), audience match (combines customer lists with Snapchat custom audiences), and lookalike expansions (customize audiences similar to your best customers).
There are a few different ways to advertise using Snapchat by using Snap Ads, Filters or Lenses. Each advertising product has different objectives, goals, and guidelines depending on a business' audience. Here’s a breakdown of each tool:
Snap Ads
Snap Ads come in several different forms.
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The traditional view of Snap Ads displays an original vertical video ad with different customization features depending business objectives. It is 100% viewable, meaning 100% of the pixels in a display ad are in view and Snapchat offers audio by default.
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The Web View drives traffic directly to a pre-loaded website. This option has an automatic fill feature that allows Snapchatters to submit their email with just one tap, which can be great for growing email lists.
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The App Install option drives installs for apps with a simple swipe or tap. This allows Snapchatters to install your app without leaving Snapchat.
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Long Form Video is a great option to increase viewership of trailers, short film, how-tos, or any type of video marketing content.
Filters
Filters allow businesses to have a presence where their particular product is bought, thought about, or consumed. These are a fun and creative way to drive awareness, advocacy, and action. Filters can easily be designed online or uploaded using a laptop or desktop computer. Once the design is completed it’s important to map out your Geofence. A geofence is a virtual geographic boundary and Snapchat allows Geofences to be between 20,000 and 50,000,000 square feet. After editing and updating features on your filter, you’re ready to submit for approval.
Lenses
Lenses are the most memorable and playful way to increase awareness on a large scale. With one tap, businesses can invite users to enter their world and join in their story.
Learn More
Snapchat is a great way to build brand awareness and engender brand loyalty. It’s also a great venue for allowing people to get to know more about your company, its personality, and what goes on behind the scenes.
To learn more about how you can incorporate social media into your industrial marketing strategy, contact Team Thomas.
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