In 2017, many small businesses are taking advantage of the popular photo-messaging app SnapChat in order to increase their brand awareness and engage a growing following of users. Although most “snaps” disappear after 10 seconds, their effects on businesses are much more long lasting. Approximately 26 million people in the U.S. use SnapChat, most of them between the ages of 12 and 34. This is an extremely large audience that entrepreneurs have the opportunity to target if they can figure out what to snap in order to get their attention.

We’ve compiled a list below of things that small business owners NEED to be capturing in order to achieve SnapChat success in 2017:

Any and All Events

If you find yourself attending any kind of industry-related event, hopefully you also have your phone out and are SnapChatting short videos so your followers can see what you’re up to. This is a great way to get the attention of those who are interested in the event or industry but weren’t able to attend themselves. They’ll most likely find themselves tuning in to your story periodically throughout the day to catch a glimpse of what they’re missing out on, and you’ll definitely gain brownie points if you send the snaps directly to those users who you know are interested. While conferences, charity events, and lectures are all great things to snap, keep in mind that SnapChat mostly targets a younger audience who might be interested in things like concerts, fashion shows, and sporting events as well—anything engaging that you can remotely tie in to your business should be featured on your Snap story.

Previews of Things to Come

Before you launch a new product, most likely you’re going to give your audience some teasers in order to build excitement for what’s to come. SnapChat is a great platform to do just this. Consider starting out weeks (or months) before the product is set to launch by snapping a few short videos to get the word out. You could video the production process, or simply video yourself talking about the product and your inspiration. Film segments more frequently as the launch date becomes near, leading up to an entire story filmed the day of or the day before the product is set to be released. By that time your audience will be dying from anticipation and checking your SnapChat regularly for updates (which is why you should also be videoing other important information like sales at the same time).

It’s a win-win situation—consumers will be happy to have the inside scoop on the new stuff, and you’ll have a ton of free and easy advertising. If you want to reward your most loyal followers, consider releasing preview information only to them or to them first before a general audience. They’ll appreciate the extra attention!

Behind-the-Scenes Footage

Everyone likes a little behind-the-scenes action, though it’s not always possible to give backstage tours and individual attention to everyone who is interested in learning how your business ticks. Fortunately, SnapChat is a great way to reach a large audience without actually having them all in your store or office. Consider taking videos of how your products are made, from the very first step to the last. You can also use SnapChat to introduce users to your employees so they get a better sense of who else is involved in your business. If you find that a lot of customers are asking similar questions about a product, consider videoing a story of tutorials aimed at addressing those common concerns. The possibilities are endless. Just think about what you wish you knew about your favorite businesses and products, and start the camera!

Featuring Recent Sales

Thinking about having a sale? Most likely you plan on advertising, so why not advertise on SnapChat? Video the products that will be featured, as well as any discounts and incentives you plan on offering. Nothing inspires a sense of urgency like a 10 second video detailing a great sale that disappears and won’t be shown again! Consumers might visit your store just to get the details that were lacking from the SnapChat video. You can even use SnapChat to send a coupon to a specific group of followers to reward them for their loyalty. According to BusinessInsider.com, 67% of college students would be interested in receiving discounts or promotions from a brand via SnapChat and 58% would be likely to buy a product if they received a coupon from the app. So what are you waiting for? Host a sale and video a preview!

Product Demos

SnapChat can be a great way to introduce a new product or clear up any confusion on how to use it. Amazon took advantage of this strategy when they introduced their smart assistant Alexa; initially, consumers seemed to be confused about what Alexa was and how to utilize her, and so Amazon took to SnapChat to give some much-needed clarity. Not only did this strategy work in promoting the product, it also greatly increased the company’s brand awareness when Amazon was mentioned on Twitter over 6100 times during the 4 hour Super Bowl when the campaign was first launched. Listen to your audience; if they’re especially confused about, or interested in, a specific product, consider videoing a demonstration of how it’s intended to work. Just make sure the video is engaging and paints the product in a positive light; you don’t want to get a ton of publicity for the wrong reasons.

 

Anything That Can Be Used to Tell an Engaging Story

Not to be too obvious or general, but one of the best features about SnapChat is that you can combine all your short videos throughout the day into a “story” that can be viewed over and over again (in a 24 hour period). Business owners shouldn’t just haphazardly add videos to their story; however you want to think twice about what you’re sharing to make sure it’s consistent and conveys your intended message. Be creative when choosing videos for your story, and make sure everything you add is engaging for your audience. The better your story is, the better your chances are to increase your followers. You should construct your story using video the same way you would in print- with a beginning, middle, and end and a purposeful theme. Think about what you want to say to consumers, and then be creative about how you tell that story through video.

SnapChat is an excellent way to reach a younger audience, increase customer engagement, and get the word out about your brand, so if you’re not seeing success on the social app perhaps you should reevaluate what you’re putting out there for those 10 seconds. Once you become familiar with how to use SnapChat you should be better able to incorporate it into your business strategy, and we recommend starting with one or more of the ideas listed above! Are you a regular user of SnapChat for business? What do you recommend videoing? Comment in the section below!

Image Credit: All screenshots taken by author February, 2017