Tag: Snapchat

What Should YOU Promote on Instagram or Snapchat?

instagram

 

Just when brands got their arms wrapped around posting good content on Facebook and Twitter, some of their audience emigrated to Instagram and Snapchat. If your customer base fits the demographic of either of these channels, ignoring them is as irresponsible as not moving your brand into Facebook five years ago.

Although Instagram is looking more and more like Facebook, and Facebook is looking more and more like Snapchat, these channels are used very differently by consumers than Facebook.

 

Earned & Organic

Depending on your brand and strategy, you should explore spending on some Instagram ads. I’m less bullish on paid opportunities in Snapchat for most brands so far. So, let’s focus organic / earned content.

The good news is that 60% of 13 to 34 year-olds in the US use Snapchat. That’s approximately 50 million consumers.

The better news is they are not passive; they’re engaged!

The bad news is they’re engaged only with their friends and probably don’t want to engage with your brand.

So, let’s build on that. Get your current customers to post for you – in other words, be Snapworthy!

 

Be Snapworthy

Even the most prolific and obnoxious social sharers only have so many snaps or posts they can do in an hour. You have a limited opportunity for them to take a picture of something in your store or say something about your brand.

This goes well beyond social media marketing. This is a challenge for all store managers, franchisees / owners, and especially local staff. You must do something to make that customer feel compelled to pull out their phone and tell a story. This won’t be due to an offer, a discount, or a coupon. It will be due to the way you made them feel.

 

Using this tactic on Facebook too

If the customer posts a pic to Facebook, it’s even better. Even younger demos still have a much larger friend community there than anywhere else. And, with the algorithm changes Facebook made on June 30, a user’s friends’ posts now claim higher positions in his or her newsfeed than anything else — even from news publishers. That’s bad news for traditional media, but great news for you if your customers find you interesting enough to share something that includes you!

 

 

 

 

 

Using Snapchat for Business…Reluctantly

Snapchat SGR

Why We Don’t

Here are the top reasons many marketers have given me when I’ve asked why they’re not using Snapchat for their business.

  1. I don’t see a viable use for business
  2. It’s for kids
  3. By the time we get rolling, it will be replaced with the next “big thing”

All of these things were said about Facebook in 2010. And the internet in 1995. And probably television in 1950!

 

Why We Should Dive In

Snapchat’s potential for brands lies beyond sending funny pics that disappear. This week on Social Geek Radio, Deb Evans and I will start our exploration into Snapchat for your business with guest Sarah Shah who will guide us through the Snapchat features that brands are using to engage. Join this discussion at socialgeekradio.com! 

Diving into live streaming video apps Meerkat and Periscope also helped get our creative juices flowing for the advent of Facebook Live for businesses. So learning Snapchat’s business applications now may prepare us for the coming changes of the Facebook properties Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. All of them compete with Snapchat in some manner and the commercialization of each will be driven by that competition. 

 

When? Now.
 
When do you need to get onto a new social network? Right after it appears to make an impact and right before your competitors do. That window is now for Snapchat. Hang with Social Geek Radio for this one…we’ll figure it out, even if we do so reluctantly!

 

Stop Measuring Social Media

Einstein quote j

 

Stop Measuring Social Media

…unless you’re actively engaging!

You can spend all day measuring social media. But if you are not regularly publishing and engaging in social media, then all that measurement is a complete waste of time and money.

By regularly publishing, I mean multiple times per day, on all your pages with a good portion being original posts or links back to original content.  I’ve spoken with many marketing execs who ironically don’t have the resources to post this aggressively because they’re constantly monitoring and analyzing every word on social about their industry.   

Sure, monitoring and measuring the broad spectrum of social can give you some insights. The measurement industry people will tell you that you can make key business decisions with this information. Perhaps…but if you’re making important decisions about your organization based on what a few people may remark on social media, then perhaps you’re in the wrong seat.

 

Other Noise Versus Your Message

Look at the big QSRs – do they care? I hope not. Thousands of people say nasty things on social about chicken nuggets and $5 pizzas every week. But guess what? Millions of people still buy chicken nuggets and $5 pizzas every week. Those brands are actively putting out their own messages and not focusing on all the chatter.

 

What about the social channels you can’t monitor?

Those who over-measure have a particular fondness for Twitter. Why? Is it the most influential? No. Is it the biggest? No. But, it is the easiest to monitor and measure. Tweets are things that can easily be counted but might not necessarily count.  

Facebook and Instagram have real barricades to monitoring anything but your own content. They count, but can’t be counted. And Snapchat? No chance.

So most “share of voice” reports out there are only measuring a less important portion of a tiny fraction of what might be captured about of what’s being said about the brand! Please reread that last sentence in your most sarcastic voice possible.

 

Next: More Noise?!? 

As social and online conversations, chatter, and noise grow exponentially, each piece becomes less important. Where do you want to be a year from now…gathering more & more data that is becoming less & less relevant? Or, do you want to lead conversations and tell your story? Try these 4 tips:

1. Keep a finger on the pulse of social – not every inch of the body.

2. Of course be prepared to be alerted to any real crisis.

3. Focus all of your social listening on responses and engagements to your original content and your story. That’s all you can control anyway.

4. Focus the majority of your marketing resources on making news, not reading it.