How to ... Use Snapchat for business

In just six years, the mobile messaging app Snapchat, with its self-destructing messages, has reached more than 150 million users. The appeal of fun photo and video filters and editing, plus a way to share 10-second “snaps” of life without eating into memory, widely appeals to a younger demographic.

Should your business snap?

In many cases, the answer is yes, says Maciej Fita with Naples-based digital marketing company Brandignity. “Snapchat is another tool in your company's customer engagement toolbox,” Fita writes in a blog post.

“Any business that tends to have a younger audience should be on (Snapchat),” Fita says in an email interview with the Business Observer. This includes restaurants, food manufacturers, clothing retailers, fashion brands, car dealerships and “any individual building a personal brand.” It also includes “less sexy” companies in finance, real estate and construction.

Some creative ways to stir up engagement, Fita says, are timed teaser trailers, a product glimpse or customer competitions promoting merchandise. Snapchat marketing can reach beyond customers, too. Businesses can even use the platform for recruiting talent, says Fita.

One notable tip from Fita is to use Snapchat in conjunction with other social media. Gather a following by leveraging other social media to invite “friends” over to your Snapchat account. A Snapchat code, (like a barcode) can be displayed in your site, product, in store or on literature to encourage followers to find your account, too.

Other ideas? Perhaps a construction company can use its 10 seconds to tell the story of a home makeover. Think demo-day, progress updates and the big reveal, prompting users back to seek the full video or story on YouTube or Facebook.

“Businesses that are in dry industries that are strongly focused on building their brand will find a way to create a presence only because it's part of the big picture they're going after,” Fita says. “They can't stand by and not include (Snapchat) in some sort of way.”

However, Fita cautions that “it takes a special someone to consistently provide material. It can be challenging.” Interns, he says, are a viable starting point.

The best first step, he says, is to get going in some way.

“Get comfortable with the platform and then put together a strategy and start promoting the account to your audience, that's a solid way to getting traction,” says Fita. “If you're creative, you can spin your business branding to be appealing.”

— Alicia Ceccarelli