A look at the behaviors and usage patterns of Snapchat, and exploring ways brands are harnessing the power of its incredibly active user base.

1. Snapchat for Businesses
by guest blogger:
Alex Ardingera
© 2014 Off Madison Ave. All Rights Reserved.

2. Snapchat for Businesses 01 Snapchat
for Businesses
Overview
Snapchat is a mobile-only messaging application
that allows users to capture and send photos and
videos, which are promptly deleted 10 seconds after
friends and followers receive it. The app, which was
developed in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Jonathan
May for a class project at Stanford University, has
grown into one of the most popular apps among a
younger demographic.
The app allows users to take photos and videos,
known as “Snaps,” and send them to a controlled list
of recipients with a time limit (10 seconds or less) for
how long they can be viewed before being erased
completely from Snapchat’s servers. Since its launch,
the app has added several new features, including
messaging, video chat and “Snapchat Stories.”
As of August 2014, Snapchat reported its 100
million monthly active users are sending over 700
million photos and videos per day. The report also
indicated that the company is raising new funds,
which would value Snapchat at $10 billion, according
to Dow Jones.
While the majority of Snapchat’s users are under the
age of 24, many businesses and brands have begun
using the app to connect with its younger audience.
As the popularity of the app continues to grow, so
does the creativity that surrounds these branded
campaigns, which is explored further in
this viewpoint.

3. Snapchat for Businesses 02 Who Is Using Snapchat?
According to Snapchat, 50 percent of its users are
ages 13 to 17, 31% are aged 18 to 24, and 19% are
over 25 years-old, with the average user checking his
or her account 14 times per day.
Furthermore, it appears that Snapchat is becoming
increasingly popular among undergraduate students.
A recent study by Sumpto found that while 70
percent of college students report posting on
Snapchat at least once a day, only 46% of those
students reported posting on Twitter and 11% on
Facebook at the same frequency.
Due to its marketing potential, several big companies
have adopted Snapchat as another means to engage
with consumers. Brands that are currently using
Snapchat as a marketing tool include McDonald’s,
Taco Bell, Sour Patch Kids, General Electric, the
NBA, Acura, Rebecca Minkoff, Heineken, Free People
and GrubHub showing the diverse range of industries
finding opportunities for promotion.
App Features
The main (and arguably, most appealing) feature of
Snapchat is the limited lifespan of the content. In order
to view a Snap, the recipient must maintain contact
with the device’s touchscreen, which hinders the
user’s ability to take a
screenshot. Once the
recipient breaks contact
or the allotted time is up,
the content is deleted. In
the app, users can add
text and drawings to the
photos or videos that are
being sent.
Due to its growing
popularity, Snapchat
has become a
mainstream means of
communication for many
of its users around the
world. By centralizing
communication through
the newly added messaging features outlined below,
Snapchat increases usage time among its users
and aligns itself to compete with previous methods
of instant communication, such as standard SMS
messaging. This level of engagement on a free app
has proven very appealing to brands hoping to reach
a younger audience in a space that they are already
familiar and extremely active.

4. Snapchat for Businesses 03 In October 2013, Snapchat launched its Snapchat
Stories feature, which allows users to create links
of shared content that is shared with the user’s
entire recipient list and can be viewed an unlimited
amount of times over a 24-hour period. This has been
a popular feature among many brands, including
Taco Bell, who released one of the first Snapchat
Stories with a six-minute mini-movie launching its
Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. The
content, which included a scene on the red carpet
of the MTV Movie Awards, was filmed and posted in
less than 24 hours.
In May of 2014, new messaging and video chat
features were added to Snapchat. The conversational
messaging feature allows users to send text to other
users and save messages by clicking on them. By
default, messages disappear after they are read and
a notification is only sent to the recipient at the start
of a conversation.
At any moment during
the chat process, the
“Here” sign can subtly
appear as a blue bubble
in the chat window. The
bubble pulsates softly
to alert the user that
a friend is available to
engage in a video chat,
which can only occur
between users who are
concurrently using the
app. When the button
is held, a video chat
function is launched.

5. Snapchat for Businesses 04 The latest feature on Snapchat is called Our Story,
a location-based collaborative Story that throws
the viewer into the experience itself. The Electric
Daisy Carnival and World Cup Rio Live were both
successful examples of Our Story. This feature
brought viewers to the festival crowd, into the soccer
stadium and even into the homes of those celebrating
from afar by allowing users to add their own snaps to
a central “Our Story” that pertains to the event, which
are then curated by the Snapchat team in real-time
to remove anything inappropriate, and added to the
story narrative.
Why Brands Should Use Snapchat
The main reason brands should consider using
Snapchat in their marketing campaigns is to
capture the attention of millennials. A recent
Comscore report found that Snapchat was the third
most popular social app among 18 to 24-year-olds,
behind Facebook and Instagram. According to
Edelman’s 8095 study, this demographic is not only
the largest in size, but also the most influential, as
they heavily impact the purchase decisions of peers
and parents, and are predicted to outpace Boomer
earnings by 2018.
According to research by Future Foundation
Millennials Study, 2014, millennials tend to trust
brands more when they use social over traditional
advertising, and 58% want to have full control
over how they engage with a brand. Snapchat
provides the perfect platform for this type of
brand-to-consumer relationship, given that they
have full control over the branded experience as
individuals can choose if, when and for how long they
want to be exposed to the messaging.
By having a presence on this rapidly growing social
media platform, brands can combine the value of a
limited-viewing timeframe and social engagement
through creative narratives highlighting a product,
event or promotion.
How Brands Are Using Snapchat
Brands that are already using Snapchat are doing
so in many different ways, specific to their creative
efforts and product type, with a heavy focus on
exclusive content. Following are examples of the
types of content currently being employed by some
of the world’s most influential brands.
Behind-the-Scenes
One engagement technique that brands have used
on Snapchat is giving fans unique behind-the-scenes
access to exclusive content just for them.
McDonald’s, for instance, snapped commercial
footage giving fans an inside look at their favorite
athletes, while also sending out creative food snaps
and contests to push its products. Fans of the
National Basketball Association were given exclusive

6. Snapchat for Businesses 05 clips of the 2014 NBA draft, including players
arriving on the bus and videos in between games.
By providing these behind-the-scenes videos and
images exclusively on Snapchat, these brands build
and retain a younger audience looking for insider
content.
Sneak Peeks
Another engagement tactic that brands are using is
giving fans inside scoops and sneak peeks before
anyone else. Acura used the platform to send
teaser footage of its NSX prototype in action to its
first 100 followers. By promoting this exclusive first
post through other social media platforms, Acura
propelled its new efforts on Snapchat to an already
engaged audience. Another brand that successfully
used Snapchat was fashion label Rebecca Minkoff,
which debuted its 2014 Spring Collection just
before it hit the runway at New York Fashion Week.
A great way of getting consumers excited for a
product launch is by giving them information others
don’t have, essentially building an army of brand
ambassadors.
Event Perks and Product Offers
Similar to behind-the-scenes content and sneak
peeks, some brands have used event information
and exclusive offers as a way to engage with an
audience on Snapchat. At this year’s Coachella
festival, Heineken sent cropped snaps to followers
with clues to upcoming surprise shows. Taking it a
step further, the beer brand engaged directly with
users who responded with the right band or artist by
providing confirmation of an act scheduled. GrubHub
took a more simple and focused approach by using
the Story feature to lead users to promo codes.
While there are a number of engagement tactics on
Snapchat that have proven successful with big name
brands, the creativity of the platform affords brands
the opportunity to continuously create new and
innovative ways to engage with their audiences.
As with most social media platforms, there are also
the possibilities that lie within future updates and
features. Snapchat users have indicated an interest in
connecting with new content via Snapchat, with 45%
saying they would use discovery features. While this
has not yet been introduced on the app, Snapchat is
constantly experimenting with new features and, with
its newfound interest in marketing to businesses, it is
likely a feature we may see in the near future.

7. Recommendations for Agency and Client Use
Snapchat for Businesses
06 As outlined above, the possibilities for brands on
visit:
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Snapchat are only limited by the imagination. Many
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of the engagement tactics and approaches being
used vary from brand to brand, specific to the type
of product it offers and the ultimate goal the brand is
trying to accomplish.
Alex Ardinger
Social Media
Brands in many industries with a consumer
focus can truly find opportunities to thrive on this
exciting platform. Given the heavy usage of the
platform’s existing audience, engagement and direct
interactions allows brands to reach followers in
creative ways.
While the platform itself is free to access at this
time, success on Snapchat requires planning and
resources to execute well, so it’s recommended to
work with a communications partner to ensure efforts
on this platform are optimized and aligned with
overarching business objectives.
Sources
Mashable:
Sorry, Facebook: Snapchat Still More Popular Among Undergrads
Mashable:
Report: Snapchat Valued at $10 Billion in Latest Investment
Digiday:
Pitch Deck: How Snapchat Is Selling Itself to Marketers
Fast Company, Create:
How 12 Brands Used Snapchat