Once upon a time, Snapchat was just a hangout for the tween crowd trying to avoid the prying eyes of parents on Facebook. Now it’s one of the most popular social networks in the world, boasting over 200 million users. A whopping 71 percent of Snapchat users are 18-24 year olds and experts say the company is working hard to target growth in older demographics. Clearly, Snapchat is one of the hottest parties in town and your brand needs to be there, but what is Snapchat and how should marketing teams use it? Here’s what you need to know.

1. Why Your Brand Should Be
On Snapchat Right Now

2. Once upon a time, Snapchat was just a hangout for the tween crowd trying to avoid the
prying eyes of parents on Facebook. Now it’s one of the most popular social networks in
the world, boasting over 200 million users. A whopping 71 percent of Snapchat users are
18-24 year olds and experts say the company is working hard to target growth in older
demographics.
Clearly, Snapchat is one of the hottest parties in town and your brand needs to be there,
but what is Snapchat and how should marketing teams use it? Here’s what you need to
know.

3. What Snapchat’s all about
At its heart, Snapchat is a photo and video sharing platform with a twist. Posted content, or
'Snaps', disappear a few seconds after viewing and can’t be retrieved again by users or their
followers. Although it is possible to string images or videos together into longer “Stories,”
even those only remain available for 24 hours.
Unlike professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, Snapchat's a very casual
environment.
“When your marketing team is creating a strategy for Snapchat, you need to settle on a
tone of voice that will be used across the board,” suggests Forbes’ Jayson DeMers. “Ideally,
the language you use should be easy-to-understand, and your posts should have a sense of
fun. For example, think about incorporating the drawing function on Snapchat that allows
you to add edits to your photos. Doing so will make your team seem more personable and
approachable – all added bonuses when attempting to connect with your audience.”

4. How to use Snapchat
Marketers may wonder why they should bother to carefully craft branded images only to
have them vanish into the ether, but that’s looking at Snapchat the wrong way. A better
approach is to create a set of best practices on how to use Snapchat spontaneously and
post content on the fly.
Getting ready to take the stage at an industry event? Taking the sales team out to dinner
to celebrate a big win? Is it 'Bring Your Goldfish to Work Day' at the office? Snap a picture
of the audience from backstage, grab a pic of the IPA your team is quaffing over sushi, or
record a quick video of Gladys Goldfish swimming around in her bowl, and post those bad
boys on Snapchat.
Snapchat's the perfect medium for engaging customers in a way that lets your
organization’s personality shine through. Don’t worry about perfectly staged settings.
Don’t do 57 retakes to capture just the right 10-second video. Embrace imperfections, low
lighting, and shaky cam. It’s okay.

5. Remember that social media's all about about engagement, not a one-way sales platform,
so get your followers in on the action.
“Everyone loves social media giveaways and promotions, so think of ways you can keep
your followers coming back for more. For example, you could offer promo codes or
discounts to the fans who watch your entire Snapchat story, or ask them to take a snap
while holding your product,” recommends Social Media Examiner’s Kate Talbot.
Now that you know the basics of what Snapchat is and how to use it to engage your
customers, it's time to grab your smartphone and start Snapping.

6. Remember that social media's all about about engagement, not a one-way sales platform,
so get your followers in on the action.
“Everyone loves social media giveaways and promotions, so think of ways you can keep
your followers coming back for more. For example, you could offer promo codes or
discounts to the fans who watch your entire Snapchat story, or ask them to take a snap
while holding your product,” recommends Social Media Examiner’s Kate Talbot.
Now that you know the basics of what Snapchat is and how to use it to engage your
customers, it's time to grab your smartphone and start Snapping.