WHY USE SNAPCHAT TO TARGET YOUNG PEOPLE?

80% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 use Snapchat, which is generally accepted as the Generation Z age group. Not yet saturated by advertising, only 5% of companies are using the platform, but that is about to change. If major companies are not currently taking advantage of Snapchat, that leaves a massive opportunity for small business owners to take advantage of this platform before it becomes saturated and advertising costs rise.

Until now, Snapchat had not created a channel that was easy to market. Although the commitment was high, these prospects had nowhere to go with the absence of outbound links. It was a social media dead-end. Another big problem for eCommerce stores looking to market their brand was the lack of analysis. Now we are so used to having metrics of all our strategic content, that investing in a blindfolded campaign is difficult to justify.

All this changed this year when Snapchat introduced professional analytics for its users.

A QUICK LOOK AT SNAPCHAT ANALYTICS

These are the metrics you can now use in Snapchat to measure the success of your campaign:

• Total views of the story: you can filter it by week, month or previous year
• Time spent viewing stories (in minutes) - again filter this by week, month or last year
• Every day, unique viewers of the story
• The average time unique visitors view your content
• Completion rates
• Audience demographics - includes gender breakdown, most prominent age group, and geographic location
• Audience interests - this is divided into categories such as film, television, food, fashion, and sports

Compared to a couple of years ago, this gives Shopify marketers much more power to direct their campaign strategy to find and connect with potential customers.

SUCCESSFUL MARKETING IN SNAPCHAT

To successfully market with Snapchat, it is essential to know how to interact with the Generation Z audience on the platform. This generation has a clear preference for customization to streamline their shopping experience from discovery to delivery. Compared to their younger Millennial counterparts, Generation Z youth are much heavier users of the application and spend approximately 45 minutes of their day on it. There is also research that assures brands that this demographic fine with the presence of brands and advertising content on the platform. More than half of the respondents did not have strong feelings towards the brands, another 25% said they were fine, and 10% said they liked or loved the brand activity on Snapchat.

TIPS FOR E-COMMERCE MARKETERS USING SNAPCHAT

DISPLAY SETTINGS

Snapchat automatically sets the display settings so that only your Snapchat friends can see your content. Obviously, as a store looking to expand their reach, you need to find your target audience. If you haven't already done so, go to Settings > Who Can View My Story From here, change Friends to Everyone.

BRAND HASHTAGS

Having a branded hashtag is essential if you plan to use any of your user-generated content. To create one all you have to do is include it consistently in a couple of messages. It may be beneficial to consider giving gifts to users who publish using the brand's hashtags.

IDEAS TO CAPTURE ATTENTION IN SNAPCHAT

VIP CONTENT

Snapchat is a playful application and users are looking for an authentic portrait of life. The application was created in 2011 as a reaction to the polished and unrealistic snapshots of life that users displayed on Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Create genuine content that portrays your brand's personality and avoid using content that is overly polished and planned.

BE FUN

Here is a fun idea and a refreshing behind-the-scenes image if you're looking for something a little different.

Give employees access to the company Snapchat account for a day to showcase your company's culture, creative processes, and team-based approach to your business. The happier and more fun, the better!

COUPONS AND DISCOUNTS

The vast majority of students or youth will probably buy a product or service from a brand if they receive a Snapchat coupon. Also, consider offering hidden sales via flash sales, as Snapchat users are 70% more likely to make impulse purchases than other social media users.

VIDEO TUTORIALS

Are there any questions that continually appear in FAQs that you can answer in a Snapchat quick video? Here's your chance to upload an instructional video. It could be how to use or take care of your new product or maybe a little sale by showing how your product works in conjunction with another one you are currently selling.

RUNS CONTESTS

Contests and sweepstakes are a great way to drive user-generated content. People, regardless of their age, rush to have the opportunity to get a desirable product for free. An additional advantage of this is that even if a Snapchat user does not win the prize, they are likely to check on your site to check the product and buy it anyway.

ANNOUNCE PRODUCT LAUNCHES

Announce the launch of your product on Snapchat to create a sense of urgency. Take a look at what products you can offer and countdown to each daily snapshot of the number of days remaining before the product launch.

SNAPCHAT ADS

As part of Snapchat's efforts to attract brands to its' platform, they have introduced Snapchat ads. These ads reach 5 times the click rates of comparable video ads on other social platforms. Here's a statistic that will make your marketing team look for your smartphones to download the application; where 25% of your email list will open your newsletter, 90% of your Snapchat followers will watch your video!

Are you currently utilizing Snapchat to drive sales to your Shopify store? Comment below and let us know!