Just snap it!

Did you know that close to 9000 pictures are shared on Snapchat every second? Or that it would take you over 10 years to view all the photos shared on Snapchat the last hour?

Despite being the youngest service among other popular social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Snapchat has experienced some pretty impressive growth. With over 100 million daily users, the app has started to emerge as a hugely effective way for some brands to communicate with their costumers.

During his talk at this year´s Social Media Days in Oslo, Stian Reinhartsen, co-founder of digital marketing and social media company Reinhartsen Consulting, explained – with the use of examples with costumers such as the Norwegian football team Viking, and new DJ-sensation ”Matoma”, how to use Snapchat as a marketing tool.

– When we started working with Matoma, nobody knew who he was. Today he is ranked as number 89 in the world on Spotify, and he has over 12000 followers on Snapchat, says Reinhartsen.

By using Snapchat, he is able to show the followers the playful side of Matoma while promoting his music at the same time.

– The trick is to get people to feel like they know him personally. It´s all about capturing what people wouldn’t normally be able to see elsewhere.

– It is also very important to use the right tone of voice. If you´re talking to young people, you have to speak their language. Most importantly – just snap it! It´s better to try and fail than to not try at all, Reinhartsen explains.

To promote Matoma´s events, they often get other “Snapchat-stars” to host competitions for them as a way to attract more people to his concerts.

– This has been a huge success and is a great way of advertising without coming across too pushy.

How can you use Snapchat to market your brand?

• Teasers: Send teasers to show behind the scenes content of your brand.
• Offers and promotion: Send offers or promotions through Snapchat that your followers can screenshot and use in stores or online
• Competitions: Interact with your audience by telling them to send pictures back as part of a competition.
• Story-telling: Tell a story or show more of your companies personality and what you´re trying to achieve, by getting your message across in a fun, entertaining and informal way through pictures, videos, or both.