Snapchat is an app, and many people are scratching their heads wondering if this is just “what kids are doing now” or is it valuable as part of a marketing strategy?

The good news is that Snapchat has faced tremendous growth since its launch a few years ago. In fact, the platform has an average of 9,000 snapshots per day and more than 8 billion video views per day.

Therefore, the conference on Snapchat marketing in the “Social Media Marketing World” that I attended yesterday started with the group members sending audience videos to their respective Snapchat audiences.

At this conference, led by Carlos Gil of BMC Software, these brand marketers and Snapchat influencers shared some wisdom on how to use Snapchat to build connections and build engagement.

1. Add Value for Everyone

Brands should try to add value to everyone who shares a Snapchat story with them, and value should run through the entire story. Snapchat is a very effective way to build brand affinity (especially with millennials), and because of all the options they have today, they must reflect themselves in the content they post.

2. Be Innovative, But Don’t Strive for Protection

According to these Snapchat experts, the platform is a great way to try new things without a lot of risk. Understanding how to create the perfect snapshot will largely depend on how your audience responds to the different types of content you create.

This means that start-up companies should not be afraid to do something innovative or interesting to initially attract the attention of Snapchat audiences. This helps alleviate the pressure that many brands may be under when trying to formulate strategies without first testing the platform and trying some measures to see if it resonates.

3. Give a “Behind-the-Scenes” Look

Both L’Oréal and San Diego Charger’s marketers strongly recommend conducting a behind-the-scenes survey of your organization to attract new users and attract existing users. Some of the best-performing famous celebrities appeared in a way that fans might never have seen.

This is a great opportunity to showcase the original or true stories behind these brands and the celebrities they work with.

4. Allow Influencers to do a Snapchat “Takeover”

One of the themes that all panel members agreed on was the benefits of the Snapchat acquisition. Allowing influential people to take over your Snapchat account within a day can attract your attention.

Sometimes it can be scary if you are not sure what they will say or do, so you need to set up a realistic game plan in advance, but let the influencers do whatever they want. why? You want to work with them for a reason. The more they can become a real brand, the more successful this activity will be.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Test But Be Realistic About ROI

At the moment, it seems that Snapchat is best used as a mechanism to increase audiences and build continuous participation. Although some companies (such as San Diego Chargers) already use it to manage sweepstakes (one of which received 6,000 submissions in less than 24 hours), you need to be realistic about your expectations of converting solely on Snapchat.

Marketers and other social media platforms that provide conversions have experienced the same struggle. Although it may not be directly converted from a social message (or snapshot), it is part of the process of guiding customers through the buying cycle and building brand affinity and trust.

6. Take Advantage of Snapchat’s Features

A good Snapchat strategy will not immediately satisfy all the needs of your audience, but will provide them with a small amount of information and make them crave more.

Some of these suggestions include using the many different tools available in the platform to increase vitality, and using a combination of graphics and text to keep the audience’s attention and interact with it.

7. How to “do” Snapchat with Limited Resources

For marketers, fortunately, Snapchat currently requires little or no investment to get started. Since the financial impact is small, now is the best time to start identifying the best apps for brands that are new to Snapchat.

Panelists also recommend using interns (usually a low-cost center), many of whom may be millennials who are starting to build your Snapchat followers. There are many opportunities for individuals who are already using Snapchat, and can actually teach the marketing team a recipe or two.

7 Snapchat Marketing Tips

As a bonus, I have also provided 7 additional tips that you should keep in mind when you try the Snapchat marketing plan for the first time:

1. If you want to humanize your brand, you must use Snapchat.
2. When you start using it, please use other channels to attract Snapchat traffic.
3. The key is to make up a perfect story with a unique and different beginning and ending.
4. The audience must have a good reason to follow you.
5. People need attention, they want to be famous on social media, and they want to win free stuff. If you focus on making your audience famous, then you will win the Snapchat game.
6. No matter what role you play in the company, you should use Snapchat. So you can understand the platform.
7. Taking Snapchat seriously is part of your marketing, but remember to be happy and create a great user experience.

Based on what I know today, it can be said with certainty that every brand has the opportunity to at least test the features of Snapchat and see if it suits its brand marketing strategy.

resource from: https://www.toprankblog.com/2016/04/snapchat-marketing-strategy/