4 ways the promotional products industry can use Snapchat for marketing

Snapchat has grown from a passing fad into a powerful marketing tool over the last 5 years. Over 100 million people use Snapchat every day. On average, users spend 25-35 minutes a day on the app communicating with friends and exploring stories via the discover feature. Snapchat reaches 41% of users 18-34 in the U.S. with over 10 billion video views every day.*

Considering the data, it’s clear to see that there’s potential for distributors and suppliers to connect with clients on the app in fun and unique ways. To sweeten the pot, setting up an account for your brand/business is free and it’s very easy to use.

Once you download the app and create your account, Snapchat will send you a welcome snap with a mini tutorial of how to use it and the basics of the app. When you’ve got those down, you can explore all the different advertising options available. In this post we are going to cover some ways your business can use the app without having to spend a small fortune but there are more .

1. Showing off your brand culture

With Snap Stories your brand can curate creative content that plays in chronological order and expires in 24 hours. You can use this feature to tell your evolving brand story and share your company culture throughout the day through a series of posts. Use it to show off your cool office space, introduce new team members or share snaps of your pizza parties to help your clients better connect with your brand.

To use this feature: just take a photo or a video! When you’re ready to share it, click on the blue arrow and make sure the My Story button is checked to include it in your story.

2. Tradeshow and event hype ($)

You can purchase a custom geofilter for any tradeshow you attend or event your company hosts. A geofilter is a customize filter option that users can apply to their Snaps. All you have to do is create a design, pick a date/time, set a geofence and submit for approval 24 hours before you’d like the geofilter. The cost depends on the size of the geofence and the fence must be under 5,000,000 sqft, but it can cost as low as $10/24 hours.

To use this feature: visit the Snapchat site and you can play around with their templates or create your own like we did with our skucon example.

3. Announcing new lines and products

Whether your are a supplier or distributor, you can use Snapchat as a platform to showcase new and exciting products. Takeover your own Snap Story with photos and videos relating to your launch. You can also complete 10 second product reviews of how durable a product is or a case studies showcasing how other brands have used certain products.

To use this feature:  start with an intro snap of what you’re doing, like announcing a new product line, and a ending snap that has details of where they can find more info, like a landing page. Birchbox uses Snapchat to show off their new lines of makeup, skincare and haircare. They even did a live unboxing and a mini review of each product.

4. Running promotions

Do you have a holiday promotion coming up? You can use your Snap Story to run a promotion by including the offer details, discount amount and landing page where to claim the offer in a series of snaps. If you want to encourage clients to follow your brand on Snapchat you can even announce through your other social channels that you are running a special Snapchat promotion but they must follow you to find out more.

To use this feature: select the little circle under your bigger capture circle. This will bring up your memories which allows you to choose from your camera roll and upload a photo you’ve put together like the example below.

As the social landscape continues to change, so will the ways you can connect with your customers. Always remember when using a social app like Snapchat to add some value in what you are sharing. Authenticity is crucial. People are more likely to respond and engage if you’re giving them fresh, quality content. Also keep in mind that Snapchat offers little in the way of discovery for new brands starting to use the platform – fans need to know your username to be able to find you. so you need to include supporting your Snapchat account via other marketing channels you own or have access to.

You can download Snapchat for free on the App Store or Google Play. Once you create your account, be sure to add us!

*Stats taken from Snapchat’s website.