Hey guys, it’s Jessica with Oberlo, and in this video, I’m going to show you how
to leverage Snapchat to build your brand, market your store, and grow your business.
Let’s jump straight in.
First, Snapchat marketing is different.
So many businesses shy away from it, because they don’t understand it.
Snapchat is not a full-blown social network, but it’s far more than just a messaging
app.
What makes Snapchat different is that the content that you share is lost forever as
soon as it’s consumed.
And you don’t have a public-facing profile, like on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
For these reasons, Snapchat marketing might seem like a bad idea.
But, don’t be fooled.
Snapchat’s apparent shortcomings are actually its greatest strengths.
The fact that content disappears after it’s been viewed, means that there’s an urgency
to Snapchat that other social media platforms don’t have.
And Snapchat does a great job of capitalizing on this urgency.
As a result, the average user opens Snapchat over 25 times a day, and spends over 30 minutes
a day on it.
Bottom-line?
Users pay attention to Snapchat content.
So, why else is Snapchat marketing a good idea?
For a start, there are 187 million daily active Snapchat users around the world.
Of these, 71% are under 34 years old.
So, if your target market is millennials, there’s probably no better place to reach
them than Snapchat.
Another great benefit of Snapchat?
It’s free.
And let’s be real, in 2018 many marketing tools aren’t…
Now, while there’s a lot of opportunity on Snapchat, it’s vital to understand that
Snapchat marketing isn’t like Facebook advertising.
It’s not about money in, money out.
Instead…
Snapchat marketing is all about branding and authenticity.
Branding is a strategy, not a tactic.
Let me explain.
A strategy is a long-term, overarching plan to achieve a goal or fix a problem.
Tactics are the practical activities you do within your planned strategy.
Here’s an example:
Your strategy might be to boost conversions on Facebook, so that every dollar you spend
on Facebook ads will convert more customers.
Now, to boost conversions, you need to use tactics.
In this example, your tactics might include optimizing your ad creative, or adding social
proof to your website.
With me so far?
Now, Snapchat marketing is more of a long-term strategy than a tactic.
That’s because it’s primarily about branding.
You can’t run ads, or build a huge follower count on Snapchat, but you CAN build deep,
long-term relationships with people in your target market.
Snapchat’s power lies in its ability to engage a small community of your most avid
customers on an intimate, personal level.
That’s why Snapchat is a strategic, long-term investment.
It’s about deepening and strengthening your brand.
As Gary Vaynerchuk, a huge advocate of Snapchat marketing, explains:
“It's not how many followers you have, it's how many care.
It's not width, it's depth.
It's not how many impressions you get, it's how much attention you get.”
Snapchat offers depth and attention.
That’s why Snapchat marketing can be so powerful.
The nature of the platform means you’ll only attract your most engaged followers on
Snapchat.
But you can create authentic relationships with these followers on Snapchat that you
simply can’t replicate anywhere else.
And best part?
These highly active and loyal customers are extremely valuable to your business.
These people are likely to become advocates of your brand, which will help you grow your
business way beyond Snapchat.
So, what do your customers want to see on Snapchat?
First, Snapchat isn’t the platform for polished, professional-looking content.
That’s not the aim of the game.
Instead, Snapchat users want authentic, transparent, and personal content.
Yes, social networking in general is about connecting with others.
But Snapchat takes this to a whole new level.
Snapchat connections take place in real-time--no photo editing allowed!
While it might sound scary, embracing that kind of transparency can be great for your
brand.
In fact, a whopping 94% of consumers say they’re likely to be loyal to a brand that offers
complete transparency.
Let’s look at an example of transparency done right.
DJ Khaled proved the power of Snapchat marketing way back in 2015.
This hip-hop icon and entrepreneur used Snapchat to build a rapport with his closest fans.
His snaps were entertaining and provided a behind-the-scenes look into his lifestyle.
Google Trends shows the correlation between the introduction of DJ Khaled’s Snapchat
presence and his rise in popularity.
Once Snapchat elevated his brand, DJ Khaled used his popularity to promote products from
his fashion line.
For his fans, having authentic, everyday access to DJ Khaled gave his products a special appeal.
Alright, by now you know why Snapchat marketing is important for your brand.
Ready to grow your following?
Great There are 2 key tactics to growing your following
on Snapchat.
First, let’s address the biggest challenge with using Snapchat: There’s no way for
people to find you within the app.
The only way to promote your Snapchat channel, is outside of the app.
With that in mind, let’s discuss...
Tactic Number 1: Share your Snapcode or handle on other channels.
This is the best way to get started.
Promote your Snapchat handle on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and any other social channels you
use.
You can also use your Snapcode as your profile picture on other social media channels to
draw attention to your Snapchat presence.
Share it regularly, but not so much that you annoy followers who don’t use Snapchat.
Another great idea is to feature your unique Snapcode in the emails that you send out to
new customers.
Why?
Well, purchase receipt emails get an average open rate of 71%.
Most other emails, by contrast, have an average email open rate of 22%.
In other words, receipt emails get the highest engagement scores out of all the emails you
send.
So purchase receipt emails represent an awesome opportunity to promote your Snapchat handle.
Next up?
Tactic Number 2.
Download and share your Snaps on other channels.
For this tactic, simply download your snaps and create a compilation of your top performers.
Then, upload your compilation to other channels like YouTube and Facebook video.
This is a great way to draw attention to your presence on Snapchat, and it gives followers
a taste of what to expect if they follow you.
You get to re-use content you’ve already created.
And, your best snaps will be hosted somewhere permanently.
Now that you’ve got some Snapchat followers, you need to share content and promote your
store.
A word of warning though: Be careful you don’t overdo the self-promotional tactics.
Research has shown that a massive 45% of consumers will unfollow a brand if their activity is
dominated by self-promotion.
It’s also important to note that you can’t create outbound links on Snapchat.
Instead, you’ll need to create short links using a service like Bitly then paste these
links as text onto your snaps.
We provide links to both of these URL shorteners in the description below.
With these tips in mind, let’s run through 6 ways you can create content, and promote
your store on Snapchat!
Number 1.
‘Day-in-the-life’ content.
Share selfies, funny photos, and any entertaining moments that occur throughout your day.
These posts should give followers an insight into your business culture.
Sound easy enough?
It is!
Even better, these posts should make up the majority of the content you share on Snapchat.
Number 2: Product teasers.
Oberlo allows you to offer new products to your customers in seconds.
However, it’s good marketing practice to build anticipation prior to pushing a new
product on your store.
Use your Snaps to build excitement by dropping hints about new products.
That will make followers feel like they’re getting an exclusive peek at what’s to come.
Number 3: Product placements.
Take a few Snaps of your products being used out the in real world!
Share Snaps that give customers a better idea of your product’s size, color, or other
details.
Number 4: Exclusive promo codes.
Incentivize followers to buy from your store by sharing special discount codes just for
Snapchat followers.
Number 5: Reach out to Snapchat influencers.
Like all social networks, Snapchat is home to influencers who already have a huge following.
These are often YouTube vloggers, or other celebrities who have adopted Snapchat as a
way to connect with their audiences on a deeper level.
Find relevant influencers in your niche and reach out to them.
Offer to send a discount code influencers can share with their audience, or give them
free products and ask for them to feature your products in their Snapchat Story.
Number 6: Do a Snapchat ‘takeover.’
This is when you let another Snapchat user take over your account for the day, so they
can post their content on your account.
It can work brilliantly if done right.
Invite an influencer in your niche to take over your account for the day.
The idea here is to cross-pollinate your audiences.
To do that, it’s important for both you and the influencer to promote the Snapchat
takeover on other channels ahead of time.
Similarly, if you have a business or team members, you could take turns running the
account to keep things interesting!
Lastly…
How can you measure your Snapchat marketing success?
Well, Snapchat only provides three main metrics for each snap.
These are views, the number of screenshots taken, and how many replays it received.
You’ll want to watch these closely.
And remember how you need to create short links, and paste them over your snaps?
Well, services like Bitly allow you to track how many times these links are visited.
Also, another way to track your results is to create promo codes specifically for Snapchat,
and then measure how many of the promo codes are used.
Okay, that brings us to the end of our video on Snapchat marketing!
It’s true that Snapchat can’t deliver the instantaneous return on investment that
tools like Facebook Ads can.
But, if used right, Snapchat marketing can be incredibly powerful over the long term.
Do you have any questions about Snapchat marketing?
Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll reply with my thoughts!
Thanks for watching, and if you liked this video, be sure to hit the subscribe button
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Until next time, learn often, market better and sell more.