Snapchat, useful for my business?

Are you over 30? Then you've already heard of Snapchat(Snap Inc). But you haven't managed to use it, or even understand how it works! All kidding aside, Snapchat is a social network that lets you tell the story of your day through photos (and short videos). The collection of photos and videos is called a: story. You've probably already seen the word story on Instagram and Facebook. Indeed, Instagram and Facebook have copied the concept, certainly because the format is so promising. As the saying goes, "only the best are copied". For the record, Facebook wanted to buy Snapchat in 2013 for $3 billion, but Snapchat refused the offer!

The concept: you take photos (or short videos) to tell the story of your day, for example. The photos/videos are published on the spot. It's all about immediacy. The story remains available for up to 24 hours. You can add elements such as a rainbow, emoticons, etc. to the story. It's also possible to add enriched information provided by the application, such as altitude, speed, temperature and other geolocalized filters. Snapchat is an original, authentic format with a multitude of strong points.

Lately, Snapchat has been separating media from social. On one side of the app, there's chat, which lets users talk to each other, and on the other, media and content creators (influencers). So one question arises even before we know more about the platform:

Does Snapchat have a place in my marketing mix?

Snapchat is made for your business

As with any communication channel, you've wondered about using Snapchat for your business. Indeed, a legitimate question arises:

Can I find prospects on this social media channel?

Snapchat's user base is around 173 million daily active users worldwide (including 75 million in North America, 57 in Europe and 42 elsewhere).

The demographics are as follows:

According to Mathieu Corthésy, there are 375,000 daily users in Switzerland. Worldwide, here's a breakdown of the application's usage:

• 25% of daily Snapchat users feed their story every day
• They access Snapchat 18 times a day
• 65% women and 35% men
• 71% of Snapchat users are under the age of 25

We have identified three points that could be important for your communication strategy.

What we bring to Snapchat for effective communication

On the one hand, if you want to reach a young target of 15 to 30 year-olds, then Snapchat is THE social network for you. This target is highly volatile, changes media frequently and doesn't like ads. The fact that this target group doesn't like ads is a strong point. At BB Switzerland, we have specific methods for reaching this type of prospect or prescriber! Don't underestimate the power of teenagers to influence their parents! Another important point: less than 1% of users are brands, so the space is totally open to you, with very little competition unlike other social media!

On the other hand, we can create geofilters. Snapchat uses geofilters. More specifically, these are elements superimposed on photos. These masks will only be available in a geographic area of your choice. This is a perfect complementary tool, especially for events. Indeed, if your filter is in phase with the target, then the power of virality is extremely strong. Finally, if someone uses your filter, all the people who follow them will also see your geofilter. At present, few filters are original, so your brand/product filter may encourage other users to use it. As a result, you'll get more visibility, increase your brand's goodwill and, in turn, improve sales conversion.

Would you like to take the plunge and test low-cost campaigns on a new medium where your competitors are nowhere to be found?

BB Switzerland® is very active on behalf of numerous companies, helping them to roll out new communication media.