What 30 Days on Snapchat Can Teach a 40-Something

Simply put Snapchat is so much more than I thought I barely remember that snaps and chats amp8220disappearamp8221 anymore Instead I see storytelling made simple Over the last 30 days Iamp8217ve paid attention to how brands are sequencing Snapchat into their narrative strategy What Iamp8217ve realized is that it is truly an engagement platform one that is predicted to draw in more than 60 million users by the end of this year Fact 9000 snaps are shared per second which means since youamp8217ve been reading this approximately 350000 snaps have been sentHereamp8217s my take on how other skeptics can start to rethink SnapchatThink Chapter vs NovelAt first the notion of ephemeral messaging may seem silly Whatamp8217s the point of selfdestructing messages Isnamp8217t the beauty of the digital era that a brand can package and archive content so it can be seen and shared forever Snapchat is thriving because it took what we all knew about social networking a amp8220to my entire networkamp8221 model and flipped it on its head to amp8220only those I choose in my networkamp8221 modelConsider this Your entire story doesnamp8217t need to be told in just one snap For example Dr Pepper strategically used Snapchat to reintroduce Larry Culpepper the brandamp8217s iconic character to a new Millennial audience The brand created a Snapchat handle for Larry and posted short videos that redirected followers to a Dr Pepperbranded microsite that told a more complete storyDeliver More than Whatamp8217s ExpectedWhat users love most about engaging with brands on Snapchat is that they get access to content that feels as if itamp8217s created exclusively for them Because you donamp8217t like a snap and you canamp8217t share Snapchat content it all feels like one big proprietary behindthescenes sneak peekConsider this Create content with your curatoramp8217s cap on Develop teasers sneak peeks clues and tips and serve them up in ways that allow your target to feel as if they can uncover something about your brand only by following it on Snapchat Benefit Cosmetics has done a great job of taking the amp8220unboxingamp8221 concept made popular by YouTube and packaging influencer mailers to make them instantly snappableAsk amp8220What Have You Done for Them Latelyamp8221The disappearing nature of Snapchat content makes a brand only as relevant as its last snap Snapchat is one of few channels on which you can post multiple times per day sometimes even multiple times per hour if your brand is tied to pop culture and not have to worry about inundationConsider this Offer something valuable with each snap For example this year at Coachella our client Heineken used cropped snaps as clues to surprise shows taking place throughout the festival Users who identified the right band or artist got early confirmation of the act scheduled to play at the Heineken HouseRethink Your Product Launch StrategySomewhere along the way we learned that product launches need to be perfectly choreographed Snapchat however is changing all of that Many brands today are leveraging both the immediacy and the nonpermanence of Snapchat to launch or offer several second sneak peaks into new innovations and line extensionsConsider this Unless itamp8217s something sensitive like earnings rethink how you embargo your announcements and engage your user base by giving them the inside scoop via Snapchat Itamp8217s how brands from Taco Bell and Warby Parker to highend fashion houses like Rebecca Minkoff and Valentino have successfully launched new products and collectionsFlirt with NofilterThe hashtag nofilter was created because contributors of all types wanted their network to know they captured something remarkable without having to rely on a filter Snapchat takes a different approach to filters Snaps donamp8217t have to be aesthetically perfect to be authenticConsider this Snapchat delivers real insight into a brand and what itamp8217s doing in front of the camera and behind the scenes That means there is an element of surprise with each and every snap Instead of hiring a stylist for your post get going and have fun Donamp8217t drag your feet and worry about creating the perfect piece of content It wonamp8217t look authentic on Snapchat and in a matter of seconds it will be goneI guess the main thing I learned by stepping outside of my social comfort zone is that in the end Snapchat makes social sharing fun again Snapchatamp8217s founder Evan Spiegel summed it up best when he said amp8220Somewhere along the way when we were building social media products we forgot the reason we like to communicate with our friends is because itamp8217s funamp8221Even within my own Snapchat network it took me one day to figure out that engagement and fun is simply stronger on Snapchat I posted one photo to My Story and more than half of my Snapchat friends viewed it some more than onceSo in summary thatamp8217s what a month of Snapchat taught me Iamp8217d be lying if I didnamp8217t admit that Instagram remains my social app of choice But no doubt Iamp8217ll keep on snapping on especially if I want to stay relevant with my Millennial coworkersYou can snap meamp160jarwalpsThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet management or associated bloggersamp160amp160amp160

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