Snapchat is no longer just used for quick selfies among friends—it’s evolved into a real-time marketing tool for small businesses. Many businesses are now using Snapchat to increase user engagement by showcasing events, promotions, and new products and services. Like any other social media platform, in order for Snapchat to be effective for your business, you need to build your audience on the platform. This post will cover how to find, reach, and engage with your target audience on Snapchat.
Finding Your Target Audience on Snapchat
Before you can focus on creating fun and exciting content, you need to first focus on how to find and build an audience. To build an audience on any social media site, you must first know who you’re trying to target. Snapchat isn’t for all audiences, so while it can be a great marketing tool, it won’t work for every business.
Snapchat is becoming more widely used among different age groups, but its primary users are between the ages of 13-26. If you’re looking to reach a younger audience, Snapchat is definitely the way to go. Snapchat is the next revolution for real time marketing which makes it a great way to stand out to a younger audience.
Building Your Audience on Snapchat
If you’re new to Snapchat, check out our post on how to get your business on Snapchat here. While it’s good to know how to find people or business on Snapchat, as a business owner, you’ll likely be more concerned with making sure people find you to add you.
Building your audience won’t be too hard if you already have an active and engaged audience on your other media platforms. The easiest way to build an audience on Snapchat is to transfer your audience from other social media accounts. If people in your audience on Facebook or Twitter are already on Snapchat, there is a good chance that they will follow you.
Since the groundwork is already laid out, simply tell your followers that you’re on Snapchat and ask them to follow you. Post on your other social media accounts to alert your followers of this new way to interact with you and tell them to add you. The easiest way for your audience to find you on Snapchat is by posting your username on your other social media accounts to encourage your audience to add you.
“We’re now on Snapchat as Thrive_Hive! Follow us for real-time marketing tips and examples of effective promotions. Add us today!”
You can also add your Snapchat username in your other social media bios to make it easier for your audience to find and add you. Since there are so many ways to add new people to your account, and there is no limit on the amount of people you can add, the opportunities for outreach are nearly endless.
When you post on your other social media accounts to announce your new presence on Snapchat, make sure to also encourage your audience to share the post and tell their friends—an effective way to expand your reach and your audience is by word of mouth marketing. If you post interesting things on Snapchat, your followers will tell their friends to follow you!
How to Engage Your Audience on Snapchat
Once you’ve added some people, figure out how to use Snapchat to effectively engage your audience. Snapchat is constantly evolving to allow its users to not only post photos and videos for potential customers to see, but also have phone calls, and send messages.
Snapchat has the ability to be an effective small business marketing tool and new features are being added every day. With Snapchat, you don’t just show what your business does and how your business does it, but you create a personal dialogue and a face-to-face relationship with your customers.
Creative Ways to Use Snapchat to Engage Customers
Snapchat has nearly endless possibilities when it comes to promoting your business. Here are some easy ways to engage potential new customers on Snapchat.
Introduce New Products
On Snapchat, you can choose to post something at any given moment, whether you’re at an expo, on a business trip, or starting to work on a new project, even use your account to promote new products that you’re working on to build suspense and keep your audience excited about your business.
Give a Behind-the-Scenes Look
Give your Snapchat followers a behind-the-scenes look at what your business is doing. Snapchat enables you to provide inside look into where and how you do your work. You can show photos and videos of sketches and other teasers to keep them wondering what you’re up to and how your products go on the journey from your initial ideas and rough drafts to the actual item that’s sold.
Bakery or restaurant owners can show quick videos on how to make or prepare food or drinks, real estate agents can show an inside look before an open house, and personal trainers can share personal recordings breaking weightlifting or other feats of strength. As a small business owner, you and your products are always learning and growing—let your customers learn and grow with you!
Offer Special Promotions
Consider using Snapchat to hold special promotions to entice your customers to use your product or service, as well as spread the name of your business to their friends. Entice your audience to add your business on Snapchat by hosting special “welcome to Snapchat” promotion for a certain amount of time or for the first 50 or 100 people who follow you.
Snapchat is a free and easy way to keep in touch with all of your followers and make your relationship with your audience more personal than with almost any other platform. With so many ways to chat and send photos and videos through the app, the division between business and consumer is quickly diminishing. This helps build a rapport with your audience which encourages engagement and increases customer loyalty.
Which new Snapchat feature are you most excited to try? Let us know in the comments section below!
