Too many B2B marketing experts are missing the wealth of opportunity that comes from a solid presence on social media sites with a reputation for B2C and personal, non-business content. Savvy marketers recognize that the addition of business analytics to specialized profiles on Instagram and the plethora of articles that detail the business uses of Twitter’s Periscope are more than tangential to the success of these companies; after the initial buzz and funding rounds are over, social media platforms need the business world in order to grow.
Snapchat is no exception; rather, the latest addition to the must-have smart phone app collection is finding a home with brands who want to build stories with their core audience, according to leading social media-centric business leaders like Gary Vaynerchuck.
The Statistics You Need to Know
- Six out of every 10 users who are online are now on Snapchat.
- 60% of Snapchat users are currently Millennials between 18-34; however, social media apps that hit the mainstream and achieve satiety will naturally begin to attract an older, more serious demographic.
- Ads on Snapchat can routinely receive over 1 million views in a single day
- More than 20% of advertisers plan on using Snapchat moving into 2017
Top Brands Currently Using Snapchat for B2B Business
Many brands you might not think could find an audience on Snapchat are actually leading the charge into the new platform, IBM chief among them. The seminal tech company gives its audience behind the scenes videos to humanize itself. Cisco is not far behind, with its employees taking center stage to provide potential clients with a more personal experience. Purple-haired admins and IT pros will take Cisco’s audience on tours of the office as well as the annual Cisco Crawfish Boil. HubSpot is another leading company that is using Snapchat to send the most salient parts of its industry talks to its audience.
How to Use Snapchat as a Viable B2B Platform
In order to maximize the use of Snapchat, as these leading brands are, you must create something new that is of value to your audience. The unique platform that Snapchat gives you does not lend itself to traditional content, and you should not try to shoehorn the content that you normally create into the space. You can use Snapchat to give people a seat at your table without the need for a business class plane ticket.
Use Snapchat to humanize your business. Companies that do not normally have an inroads to using humor or levity to create business now have the ability to do so. You can utilize the quirky personality of your administrative assistant or mail guy – these become tools that draw people to your message without the need to pay for a Hollywood production.
Tell a story. Snapchat gives you your own cable network for free – you can take the time to tell the stories that will put your company in the best light. Forget crushing a message into a 30-second piece that you must continue to pay for in order to distribute. Snapchat isn’t TV or radio. You determine when the messaging stops. Although each individual video disappears, this is actually an advantage. You leave your audience waiting anxiously for the next installment, and you do not have to put together another $100,000 in order to deliver it.
Snapchat is a platform that you can rely on for high distribution, low cost content creation that will engage your audience in a new way. If you can look past the stereotype of teenage pranks on social media, you will find a treasure trove of opportunity for new business.
