It’s hard to escape the headlines about Snapchat, the hot social media platform of the moment, particularly for the young demographic. It has 10 million daily views, according to Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report, and more daily active users than Twitter. And it’s more than gaudy numbers. With imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, Instagram made like Snapchat August 2, adding a feature called Stories, which works similarly to Snapchat Stories. In fact, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom admitted his platform was copying Snapchat, with a few notable differences. Discussing it with TechCrunch, Systrom said, [Snapchat] “deserves all the credit.” His justification is that Stories is a format and Instagram will “put its own spin on it.”
As PR News heads to San Francisco for the Big 4 Social Media Summit, Aug 9-10, we asked two speakers who’ll be discussing Snapchat there to talk about how brands can create unique experiences for audiences using the platform.
Do You Belong There? Leslie Douglas, senior manager, social media, at the professional services firm PwC, believes every brand can be on Snapchat. “The caveat,” she says, “is do you have the time and resources to devote to doing it well?” That’s also critical for Colleen Hartman, head of paid & shared social media marketing, W2O Group. “Snapchat is a great way to reach audiences in a consumable fashion,” she says. “But if you’re just going to regurgitate the same content you use” on television and other media platforms, “you’re going to struggle…people will be turned off if they just see yet another commercial,” she adds. “If you want to be creative…[and devote resources and effort to] creating unique content for Snapchat, then we can talk.”
First, Some Warnings: The question then becomes what can brands do on Snapchat that’s unique to the platform? Both Douglas and Hartman suggest taking advantage of Snapchat’s informal tone and feel to present a less-formal side of your company. Snapchat users are accustomed to consuming content that’s a bit rough and unpolished, both say. As such, it’s a platform for humanizing your brand. “Brands need to loosen their tie [on Snapchat]…show [the company] in a not-so-scripted way,” she says. Douglas adds, “Snapchat frees brands from many of the rules of social…it’s raw and unfiltered, [so] be creative and shake things up a bit…show your brand from a completely different perspective.” Easier said than done, of course. “This is hard for some brands,” Hartman admits. “Some brands try too hard…they employ influencers [to create Snapchat material] when those influencers really have very little to do with their products.” And brands need to beware of trying to seem “too cool,” she says. Some tech brands try to make themselves and their products seem “cooler than they really are…you don’t want to cross that line,” she adds.
What Content Works? With those warnings out of the way, Hartman favors brands telling “peripheral stories” on Snapchat. “How did the brand come to be? What are the other interests of people who make decisions at the brand? If you’re a nonprofit, show the behind-the-scenes effort needed to organize a big event.”
Douglas also urges brands to tell behind-the-scenes stories. In addition she suggests a Q&A with an executive, a weekly session where a brand entertains questions from its customers or a contest. Douglas tells of a brand releasing a white paper by creating a snap during an industry trade event with people on camera reacting to elements of the white paper.
Snapchat’s Future: Both Douglas and Hartman agree Snapchat is more interested in its individual users than in satisfying brands. “Integrity is very important to Snapchat…and they’re on a roll and they’ve seen how users have revolted when Facebook made tweaks,” says Hartman. As such, Douglas can envision accommodations to brands, such as improvements to Snapchat’s analytics package, “but not anytime soon.”
Another tweak might be a group-creation package, she says, allowing several brand members to contribute to a story. Another pro-brand tweak, Hartman says, could be an area on Snapchat where brands and their content could be clustered. There’s also the possibility of a live element for Snapchat, similar to Facebook Live. “Snapchat is almost live, but it’s not quite live,” Hartman says, noting this feature might be rolled out for the Olympics. “Hopefully [with any changes it makes], it will maintain the unique feel of Snapchat.”
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Editor’s Note: For more information on the Big 4 Social Media Summit, Aug 9-10, San Francisco, please visit: http://www.big4socialmedia.com/
This content first appeared in PR News Pro, August 8, 2016. For subscription information please click here.