Lately, many business owners have asked me about Snapchat.
Snapchat is a mobile app that is geared to people under age 35, but mostly to teens. It uses storytelling, visuals, sequential imagery, group conversations and other elements that are common to the platforms we know.
What’s different about Snapchat is that the posts are temporary.
Snapchat is designed specifically as a visual medium that is impermanent (self-deleting). This is a radically different than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the other places where we document our life. To that extent, Snapchat feels very fresh and different.
However, Snapchat isn’t exactly new. It’s been around for six years, although people are becoming more aware of it as it percolates up from the teen world.
Snapchat advertises that, “On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18- to 34-year-olds in the United States.” (Source: Nielsen Media Impact)
If the 18-34 market isn’t your demographic target, consider this, more brands are climbing on board and learning how to present themselves in a highly visual and transitory medium. It demands a high level of creativity and storytelling, but the youth market responds well to brands that present and interact on Snapchat.
Should printing companies be using Snapchat for engaging with prospective customers and influencers?
Consider this: Snapchat has other valuable features that make it a truly social marketing tool, not just a broadcast medium.
For example, if colorful images, sequential imagery and fun is part of your company approach to networking, Snapchat might be a good fit.
In fact, any platform that maximizes the visual element is going to be a good opportunity for printers to showcase what they do and how they do it.
As for the age groups that Snapchat appeals to, I think you will see more people who are social media movers and shakers using Snapchat to tell their stories and reach out to wider groups of prospects and influencers.
If you want to know more about how brands use Snapchat, check out these articles:
Why Snapchat Is Becoming a Valuable Marketing Tool (and How to Use It)
10 Ways to Use Snapchat for Business
I’d love to hear whether you are using Snapchat for your business and what the results have been.
Ben Rutter is a full time student and the fifth generation in his family to make his name in journalism and the printing industry. Ben covers the teen perspective of media and print for Print Media Centr.
