"Modern Family" star Sophia Vergara will be the subject of a six-episode short-form show, "Vergaraland," which will be available exclusively on Snapchat's Discover platform. The series will be co-produced by Fusion, the Disney-ABC/Univision hybrid which already produces a number of video series for Snapchat, according to a Variety report. For brand communicators wondering about Snapchat's future, look no further.
In the relatively short time since its debut, Snapchat has become much more than a disappearing message app. From Snapcash to Discover, the company has been consistently looking for ways to expand its offerings and widen its audience.
Snapchat will the subject of the session, "The Rise of Sharing Apps and What They Mean for Your Brand’s Future," at PR News' Digital PR Conference in Miami on June 1-3. Ahead of the conference, here are some tips to keep in mind when using Snapchat for your brand, courtesy of Christopher Bridgland, director of digital strategy at Leo Burnett Chicago.
Enable storymaking. True story power is when brands create culturally fueled content that motivates customers to live the brand purpose and positively promote the brand to others. Snapchat Stories and the ephemeral nature of the platform make it the perfect space for this exchange, as millennials (the predominant group on Snapchat) can take and create this content, remix and relive it in whatever way they see fit.
Celebrate brand purpose. Millennials seek out brands that support causes aligned with their values. A successful campaign from World Wildlife Fund highlighted this socially conscious mentality. To raise awareness about endangered species, WWF created the #LastSelfie campaign, which featured images of animals with quotes reading, "Better take a screenshot. This could be my #LastSelfie," and, "In six seconds, I’ll be gone forever, but you can still save my kind." The campaign connected with the audience because it was brutally honest and showed the true brand purpose of WWF.
Participation is the default. Participation is one of the key factors in connecting with an audience on Snapchat. The platform is built around private messaging and content consumption, and participation is the glue that holds communities together and makes them stronger for it. For example, the mobile app food delivery service GrubHub needs to use Snapchat to maintain brand recognition and preference amongst the millennial audience. The brand uses participation throughout its communication strategy, knowing it has an active audience. The brand creates Snapchat Stories that encourage participation for rewards, namely promo codes.
Follow Christopher Bridgland on Twitter: @chrisjbridgland
Follow Brian Greene on Twitter: @bw_greene
Prepare yourself for the future of brand communications by joining digital communications experts from leading brands, nonprofits and agencies at PR News’ annual Digital PR Conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Miami, June 1-3.