Is Snapchat the next big player in CPG social marketing? It may well be. Brand adoption on Snapchat in 2016 grew spectacularly, and that growth is expected to continue at a healthy clip in coming years.
CPG social marketing on Snapchat really took off in 2016.
Clearly, CPG social marketing is far from a passing fad, and Snapchat is likely to remain a key social marketing platform for brands that are a good match for their demographic. Brands that take the time to track performance and allocate ad spend accordingly have the most to gain.
Snapchat is not right for every brand, however, because not every population demographic uses the platform as religiously as young Millennials and the emerging Generation Z. For brands that are a good fit, it can be outstanding. Here are six tips for successful CPG social marketing on Snapchat.
1. Consider Working with Influencers
Having a Snapchat influencer (a content creator with large numbers of followers) help you roll out a new product can bring you far more attention than you would receive otherwise. Some brands choose to have an influencer do an “account takeover” for a day, which can ramp up Snapchat connections quickly. Brand partnerships with influencers (like the one between Sour Patch Kids and influencer Logan Paul) are also terrific for increasing follower counts.
2. Include Promo Codes
This is a game-like promotion where Snapchat users can snap themselves at a location or using a product to get a coupon code. You can make coupon codes all good for the same discount, or add a little more intrigue by randomly assigning different “percents off” for coupons. For example, one participant receives a promo code for 25 percent off, while another receives a promo code for 75 percent off. It is a great way to pique people’s interest when they are interacting with your brand .
3. Offer VIP or “Sneak Preview” Access
If your brand has special access to an event, using Snapchat to virtually share that access with followers is a terrific way to cement their loyalty to you. Are your products going to be used in a New York fashion show? Behind-the-scenes peeks that your followers will not get anywhere else generate interest. It does not have to be glamorous, however. You could give a sneak peek to preparations for a new product rollout in your flagship store, for instance.
Giving brand enthusiasts virtual access to special events can increase their loyalty.
4. Understand the Snapchat Demographic
Snapchat users trend young, with 71 percent of users under the age of 34. Among the Millennial population in the US, 30 percent use Snapchat regularly. It is not that you cannot effectively market to older people on Snapchat, but if your target audience skews older (in their 40s, 50s, or older), you may have better return on your marketing investment with other platforms. With young people, however, Snapchat is an extremely popular platform.
5. Consider Ad Attachments
Snapchat ads start with a video of up to 10 seconds, with advertisers then having the option of selecting from four types of interactive elements (“attachments”) to continue the user engagement. These attachments are effective, with “swipe up rates” an average of five times greater than the average click-through rate on comparable social media ads on other platforms. Attachment choices include articles, app installs, longer-form videos, and web views.
6. Learn How to Use Snap Publisher
Snap Publisher is a self-service ad creation tool that makes it easy to turn horizontal content into vertical video ads. One complaint of Snapchat advertisers has been the platform’s insistence on vertical video, making it difficult to reuse content from other platforms. Snap Publisher, however, turns any photo or video into a vertical video ad. New advertisers without existing content can choose from templates provided by Snapchat that include photos and videos.
CPG social marketing on Snapchat has similarities to and differences from other platforms. It has powerful targeting tools and it has the attention of a huge chunk of young adult users. Simply reusing your CPG social marketing content from another platform on Snapchat probably is not good enough. Not only are formatting conventions different, audiences are different. That said, if your brand meshes well with the prime Snapchat user demographic, it can be a tremendously powerful form of CPG social marketing.
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Topics cpg