7 Ways to Leverage Snapchat in Video Content Marketing

1. Go Live

“Going live” on Snapchat isn’t quite the same as on Facebook and Instagram. With the latter two social media platforms, it’s a literal live stream that viewers choose to tune into. On Snapchat, on the other hand, you can give your audience a live look at what’s happening at your business — without requiring them to tune in at a certain time. For young viewers with unlimited distractions, this is key. Use the story feature on the app to create a ‘story’ of whatever you want — an event, a day in the life of an employee, a product launch — and it will stay up for 24 hours. This is longer than a traditional Snap, which disappears after a set number of seconds or after the user taps to dismiss it. However, the ‘disappearing content’ adds a level of urgency to view your content, which means people are more likely to check in frequently.

2. Give Exclusive Content

The urgency of disappearing content also works in your favor when it comes to using your video content marketing strategy to run promotions. Several businesses have taken advantage of this Snapchat feature to run exclusive promotions just for their Snapchat followers. Since your content can only be viewed by your “friends” who add you, announcing your promotion on a platform like Twitter can also get you more followers who flock to your Snapchat to see what they’re missing. Of course, if you run this promotion through your Snap story, it will only be up for 24 hours. Part of why engagement levels on Snapchat are so high is because of this urgency — users have to stay active or risk missing out. A limited-time promotion will drive people to your page.

3. Go Behind the Scenes

People love when they feel like they can get a peek behind the curtain. Research has also shown that younger demographics want their engagements to feel more meaningful and authentic. Snapchat blends those two observations together. It tends to feel more authentic than platforms like Instagram, for example, and it’s an easy way to take followers behind the scenes. What does an employee happy hour look like at your company? How do you prepare for a big event? Give followers a glimpse through short Snapchat videos. Behind-the-scenes opportunities are almost always interesting to consumers.

4. Get Creative With Your Filters

One of Snapchat’s more famous features is its filters. Most popular are its geographic filters that only appear when a user is in a specific location (a college campus, for example) and face filters that allow users to face swap with friends or give themselves a flower crown. Snapchat also offers businesses the opportunity to create and use their own filters, which is a great way to use the app to make sure you stand out to your audience. For smaller businesses, the best option might be to design a geographic filter or geofilter. You pay based on the area you want the geofilter to cover and how long you want it to stay up. Encourage followers to use the filter and use it yourself when you take a video or photo.

5. Design Video Lenses

Larger corporations can afford to create a lens that appears for Snapchat users regardless of the specific location. Recently, HBO did this well with a Game of Thrones video lens. Users could create and upload videos of themselves as a White Walker from the show — they had fun doing it and promoted the TV show at the same time. Similar campaigns, like one run by Kraft, have been viewed more than twenty-eight million times. Snapchat has also been playing with augmented reality lately, even releasing a new feature that allows users to watch their “Bitmoji,” a cartoon version of themselves, act out things like playing the guitar or doing yoga seemingly right in their homes. (Think Pok? mon Go.) Creating a video filter shows that you understand the app and gives your followers an easy way to interact with you. This leads us to…

6. Engage With Followers

Aside from the above ways to engage your followers with your content — behind-the-scenes looks, and exclusive promotions — you can also engage with them directly. It’s hard to tell immediately what people think about your content on Snapchat. It will tell you with a simple tap how many times your content was viewed, but opinion is harder to guess. There’s an easy way to get around this. Users can comment on a Snap story by swiping up on the video or photo to open a private chat with the original poster. You can use this as a comment section of sorts to gauge how people are feeling. In your Snapchat story, you can ask viewers to comment on what they’d like to see next or add questions to an ongoing interview. They’ll feel involved and you’ve added easy engagement to your video content marketing.

7. Partner With a Social Media Influencer

Finally, take the last step of meeting your audience where they are by partnering with a social media influencer. Influencers who already have millions of followers will often do Snapchat “takeovers” of a brand’s account and encourage their audience to follow them for a day. Chances are your audience is already watching every move of a young person on Snapchat — so find which one draws the most eyes and work with them to promote your business.

Want to Get More Out of Your Video Content Marketing?

Viva Media will work with you to redefine the way your business engages with customers online. Our marketing team is filled with experts who have worked with large brands and are ready to help you achieve results. Get a free quote, and let us help you use video to take your brand to the next level.