Popular chat apps are quickly evolving from messages between friends to content-rich platforms, and their value for brands is growing. A telling sign of their importance? Facebook spending $16 billion to acquire WhatsApp. Here are 20 tips on how to use chat apps in your 2014 content marketing efforts.

1. 20 BEST TIPS FOR USING
SNAPCHAT, WHATSAPP, INSTAGRAM
DIRECT & OTHER CHAT APPS IN YOUR
CONTENT MARKETING EFFORTS
Image by Janitors. Edited.

2. What Are Chat Apps?
On a basic level, chat apps are simply messaging services that push
content through a mobile device’s data connections.
However, popular chat apps are quickly evolving into content-rich
platforms that are open for brands to explore – so much so, that
Facebook just spent $16 billion to purchase WhatsApp.
Chat App Examples
WhatsApp
Snapchat
Tango
Kik
Facebook Messenger
LINE
WeChat
Instagram Direct

3. So how can you incorporate chat apps into your 2014
content marketing efforts?
Here are the 20 best tips from some of
the biggest thinkers in content and
social media marketing.

4. #1: Understand the audience you’re after.
―[Snapchat is] the most valuable
marketing tool for my personal
brand right now …
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.‖
– Gary Vaynerchuk via LinkedIn

5. #2: Think outside of direct messaging.
―What [chat apps] all have in
common is that they‘re evolving to
become more like platforms.
Rather than just letting users talk
back and forth, they have other
functions too, many of which are
built around content: portals to find
content; games and contests that
unlock content and prizes; features
and tools to interact, make
content, and tell stories.
As mobile usage grows, the Internet
is increasingly being experienced
through apps. This presents a lot of
potential marketing opportunities.‖
– Sam Petulla via Contently

6. #3: Embrace it as ephemeral.
‖If you want to use Snapchat as a
platform for your marketing
campaign, you need to think of its
time-limit feature as a point for
leverage, not a detriment.
The reason SnapChat has piqued the
interest of so many…is because the
time limit captures their
attention, holds it, and then leaves
them laughing, scratching their heads
or speechless. Marketing campaigns
on this platform need to do the same
thing. … It allows companies to create
a back-and-forth dialogue with
followers in a way no other social
media platform can.‖
– Ryan Bonnici via BRW

7. #4: Make it easy to share your story.
―People aren‘t using Instagram for
photos, WhatsApp for text, Line for
stickers … they‘re using everything for
everything. Instagram to tell people
you‘re running late, WhatsApp to
share holiday photos, Snapchat to
make plans for the evening and so on.
WhatsApp and Instagram are not in
different categories – they‘re direct
competitors for time and attention.
Instagram, Snapchat, Line and all of
the others are all poking away at
different social behaviours and
different options in the same
communication space.‖
– Benedict Evans

8. #5: Create a sense of intimacy.
―Send information only to your most
loyal fans.
Send ‗leaked‘ images of your latest
product or information to create
excitement and interest in your
brand. Send discounts to specific
customers based on their buying
habits.
Your customers will feel part of an
intimate and special club, helping
build your brand and reputation.‖
– Amy Birch via Social Media Today

9. #6: Make it interactive.
―One simple idea could be to ask
users to snap themselves using or
wearing your product and then share
it on your Snapchat account – in
return you could offer competition
entries or unique discounts.‖
– Michelle Hughes via ExploreB2B

10. #7: Get creative with promotions.
―If you only have a few seconds to see
someone‘s content before it‘s
gone, you‘re really going to pay
attention to that content.
… Let‘s say you‘re a clothing brand and
you have a Snapchat campaign running
in conjunction with a retail chain. With
something as simple as a promotional
sign in a changeroom, you can solicit
potential customers to Snapchat a
picture of themselves wearing your
product to the brand — and perhaps to
a few of their trusted Snapchat friends
— in exchange for an instant discount
on the product.‖
- John Ramirez, CEO of digital
marketing firm IOKON Media, via
Sprout Social

11. #8: Focus on relationship building.
―[Instagram Direct is] going to be a
great tool in terms of deepening
relationships with customers.
We can now have a visual
conversation with them in real-time
and help them faster and hopefully
with more customer satisfaction.‖
- Rachel Tipograph, global director of
digital and social media at Gap, via
Mashable

12. #9: Connect with a younger demographic.
―[The 13 to 25-year-old]
demographic can be hard to reach on
other, more established platforms
like Facebook and Twitter, so
Snapchat provides a way for brands
to potentially reach that audience in
ways they wouldn‘t be able to
otherwise.
It can be used as a platform to
encourage younger people to
influence the purchase decisions of
their parents or people outside their
age demographic as well.‖
- Stephanie Sciandra, social media
strategist at Situation Interactive, via
Sprout Social

13. #10: Bring fans behind the scenes.
―Give customers a behind-the-scenes
look at your business events.
For example, brands like Lilly Pulitzer
give their audience exclusive behind
the scenes looks of their latest
collection.‖
– Project Socialize

14. #11: Give fans what they want.
―Even sports teams are using
Snapchat.
Take the New Orleans Saints, which
created a Snapchat account in
October only use the app‘s Stories
feature.
The team said it will release behindthe-scenes footage, photos of new
merchandise, a sneak peek of which
uniforms the team will be wearing
each week, and so on.‖
– Jennifer Beese via Sprout Social

15. #12: Offer exclusives to influencers.
―Exclusivity is highly valued in the
media industry.
Instagram Direct could be a perfect
platform for unique content, because
you‘re able to hand-pick a list of who
receives your photos, videos and
messages.
This will allow brands to segment
audiences, particularly when it
comes to key influencers.‖
- Cheryl Gale via Examiner

16. #13: Up the FOMO factor.
―The platform actually taps into
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
You better subscribe to the brand to
see it, and once you see it, it‘s gone.
For example, if a retailer decided to
advertise, they can get a celebrity or
a band to blow a kiss to followers on
Snapchat, and the instant
sentiment/feeling of receiving that
video on your phone is something
that can‘t be replicated through
Facebook, Twitter, etc.
It feels more personal and private at
the same time.‖
- Hanna Park, digital strategist at
JWT, via Clickz

17. #14: Make it a contest.
―Contests give brands a level of
immediacy that is important in this
technological world. Brands can
reach out to specific customers (as
you need to know the username of
the recipient before you send a
snap), and get feedback quickly.
You could try sending snaps
featuring clues or tips that a user
must gather to receive a prize, or
money off. Use other social media
sites, such as Facebook, to promote
your contest, or to gather
participants.‖
– Amy Birch via Social Media Today

18. #15: Provide customer service.
―In addition to engaging with fans on
a positive level, brands could also
use Instagram Direct for customer
service issues and brand reputation
management.
Before, if a brand had a jaded
customer commenting on your
brand‘s Instagram posts, they could
just report or block the user. Direct
messaging allows brands to take
issues out of their comments and
directly engage back and forth with
users.‖
- Jackie Quintana via Lonely Brand

19. #16: Collect data.
―Customers can initiate the dialogue
as well.
Perhaps a user wants to alert a
brand about a product error.
Now, users can send a photo of the
problem and direct message it to the
brand via Instagram.
Then, the brand can discuss the
issue with the user privately to solve
the problem. It‘s important to note
that the brand must be following the
user in order to initiate the dialogue.‖
- Nicole Rose Dion via
Business2Community

20. #17: Provide exclusive, worthwhile deals.
―New York frozen yogurt chain 16
Handles was one of the first brands
to use Snapchat back in January for
its ‗Snappy New Year‘ coupon
promotion. 16 Handles asked its
Facebook fans to send out a
Snapchat photo of their frozen
yogurt, and in return, customers
received a coupon worth either
16%, 50% or 100% off.
16 Handles opted to use Snapchat
instead of Twitter since people were
unable to share the voucher codes
with friends. 16 Handles claims that
after the campaign, it received more
than 1,400 interactions with
‗friends.‘‖
– Search Engine Journal

21. #18: Create a narrative.
―The ability [of Snapchat Stories] to
build a daylong narrative opens the
door for creative uses of Snapchat by
brands.
Brands can now create a connected
and engaging narrative for
users, instead of relying on one-off
snaps. Much like Vine brought about
flipbook-style videos for brands;
Snapchat provides a medium for
content that tells a connected story
that doesn‘t get disrupted by the
content of other accounts.‖
– The Strategy Room Blog

22. #19: Think big.
―We like Snapchat for same reasons
we liked Facebook and Twitter when
they came onto the scene: they‘re
cool and possibilities are endless.
Snapchat provides marketers and
brands a platform for interacting with
consumers in humorous and personal
way. Imagine if you got a Snapchat
from the Burger King King or the
Michelin Man?
It‘s funny. It‘s slightly unsettling. It‘s
a great brand experience.‖
– Digital Surgeons

23. #20: Don’t brush it off.
―Chat is very big. It‘s engrained in
our habits ever since the inception of
SMS. In fact, chat is taking more
than 20% of user‘s mobile-dedicated
time, making it an essential pillar in
mobile marketing. Technology will
allow app owners to get really smart
on how they bring brands into the
fold and how they target users based
on their specific interests.
With exponential smartphone
growth, this opportunity will continue
to grow dramatically. Chat platforms
that don‘t capitalize on this will be
left behind, as deeper pockets will
eat them alive.‖
– Nadim Khouri via Resolution Media

24. What Do You Think?
Let’s share ideas!
Are you considering chat apps for your content strategy,
or are you experimenting with them now?
We‘d love to hear from you!
@cursivecontent
Read more at:
www.cursivecontent.com/blog
Image: Unsplash

25. Presented by:
Emily Cretella, Owner, Strategist & Copywriter
www.cursivecontent.com
www.google.com/+EmilyCretella