Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to snap a photo or a video, add a caption (or drawing) and send it to a friend. They’ll view it, laugh, and then the Snap disappears—like a mission impossible self destruct message. Users decide when sending how long the message will live for—between 1 and 10 seconds—and if they haven’t screen captured it, it’s history. Well, maybe. There are Snapchat stories that can be up to 25 seconds, and be re-watched over a 24-hour period.
Snapchat boasts 100 million active users, with 400 million snapchats per day. It continues to gain popularity and is such a contender in the social networking landscape that Facebook even offered founder, Evan Spiegel, $3 billion for it in late 2013. It also remains one of the most popular downloads in both the Apple and Android stores.
70% of Snapchat users are in the 25 and under audience. A brilliant place to be if that is your market. While Snapchat’s focus is on sending photo and video messages one at a time, there are potential benefits to having a business presence there—like announcing new products, and standing out from your competition by humanizing your brand.
Taco Bell has been dominating the Snapchat market for almost 2 years. They were an early adopter and find it to be one of their favourite places to engage with their audiences. Not only do they send out the self-destruct images that the community was built on, but they also put out some simple and fun Snapchat stories. They’ve had great success with a dedicated following and over 90% of their “friends” opening all of their messages.
Taco Bell adopted Social Media in 2007, and they did what most businesses do. They used the various large networking channels (like Facebook) to broadcast about new products and amplify reach of traditional campaigns. Then they changed it up. Social media is now intertwined into the entire organization—with PR, operations, product, and marketing folks all playing a role in the overall social strategy. Their SM operations run like a well-oiled newsroom, with team members from different business units sitting down to discuss current online trends. And it’s paying off. (Ad Age named Taco Bell it’s Marketer of the Year for 2013.) Is Taco Bell doing it right? You betcha!
Who else is on Snapchat you ask? Brands like Acura, MTV, American Eagle and Heineken… just to name a few. Understanding what resonates with audiences on different platforms is key to any strategy. Partner that with a point of difference that makes your brand memorable and engaging and you will be directly injecting content where your audience spends most of their time. That’s a (large) foot in the right direction of social media success.
Where is your audience?
