Snapchat has come a long way from being a flash-in-the-pan social platform. Earlier this year, the disappearing photo/video app opened for public purchase with an average of 158 billion daily users, becoming the new trendy social media platform.
So now the big question: Should your furniture or lighting showroom be on Snapchat? Here's what you need to know marketing on Snapchat — and whether it's worth it for your business.
How it works
For businesses, Snapchat is mostly used as a photo and video platform to create narratives that last for 24 hours before disappearing, similar to Instagram stories. By adding text, stickers and filters, you can tell a story that your followers will watch over the course of the day. Unlike Instagram, you can't save the photos and videos from Snapchat.
The best way to use Snapchat for your business is at events or trade markets. As you make your way through High Point Market or Lightovation at Dallas Market Center, you can take photos and videos of the latest products from your favorite brands. Design lovers especially will get excited seeing the new products that will be hitting your store.
The pros
In terms of trendy, Snapchat is by far the biggest up-and-coming social media platform out there, and its popularity is growing.
A few stats:
- 2.8 billion snaps created every day.
- Users open the app about 18 times per day.
- The company estimates that users spend 25 to 30 minutes on the app every day.
- 60 percent of users message their friends on the platform.
- 71 percent of Snapchats users are under the age of 34.
That's a lot Millennials using Snapchat every day. If this is a demographic you're trying to reach, Snapchat could help you connect with this audience even before they're ready to buy furniture and help you foster a relationship with them. When they're ready to buy, they'll know who to go to.
Because Snapchat is so new, it's less competitive than Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter. You have an opportunity to build a following with Millennials before your competitors, which could really pay off in a few years when more Millennials are ready to buy lighting and furniture.
The cons
As previously mentioned, Instagram stories essentially performs the same function as Snapchat. If you already have a presence on Instagram, then a separate one on Snapchat may seem like overkill. Additionally, Instagram is owned by Facebook, the most popular social media platform of all, so you can post to Instagram and Facebook from the same app at the same time. If you also had Snapchat, you'd like to post all of your content there as well.
There is also a chance that your customers aren't on Snapchat. Its young audience may not be the people you're trying to reach. Even if you are trying to reach Millennials, about 59 percent of Instagram's active users are Millennials, so you still have a good, albeit more crowded, platform to connect with Millennials.
The verdict
The simple answer is no, your furniture or lighting showroom does not need to be on Snapchat. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have marketing tools that far outshine Snapchat's, and your audience is more likely to be on any of these three platforms.
However!
Social media marketing evolves rapidly. At one time, marketing experts thought Facebook would never go anywhere, and now it's pretty much an unstoppable force in social media marketing. Maybe Snapchat doesn't have the reach that Facebook does, but in a few years, that may change. You don't want to be left in the dust.
There's no harm in being on Snapchat if you have the time for it. Will you give it a try? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
(Photo: AdamPrzezdziek via Flickr)
