Small Business and Snapchat
I work in the senior care service industry, which is probably the last thing that comes to mind when talking about Snapchat. However, that has not stopped me from trying to reach people there and “brand” my company, a small business.
Before you start thinking about how ridiculous it is to market a senior home care organization on a platform that inherently skews young, just hear me out.
Er — read me out.
Let me first outline that the objective here is not to acquire new clients, directly. Also, let me point out that our target demographic is not your grandmother. When it comes to marketing, we are all about the GenX mom who has a family to maintain but whose parents also rely on her to make important decisions for them as well.
You should also know that recruiting caregivers (a demographic dominated by females between 21–55) is a challenge in and of itself, essentially creating a whole different target audience.
So, why Snapchat? Aren’t there more relevant platforms?
Absolutely there are. Here’s the thing though, why would you ignore one of the fastest growing social platforms on the planet? Why would you think that 8 billion daily video views is not worth your time and has no up side?
The answer is obvious. I am not advocating that any business abandon the platforms that have been proven to reach their audience. I’m simply showing how Snapchat can play into the bigger scheme of things.
Platform by Platform Strategy
I’m dedicating the vast majority of my online advertising dollars to Facebook Unpublished Posts, where my target demo is present and extremely active, are my bread and butter right now. They drive incredible traffic to our site via our blog and show great conversion for my objectives. Base = covered.
I have a solid strategy that focuses on 3–4 “themes” with posts focusing on local community and connection. I am tampering with a few ads (via Facebook’s ad platform) and watching the results very closely as well. Base = covered.
I am curating content regularly with things like home decor, recipes and also putting out original content. I have dabbled with their ad platform as well, but have yet to be impressed with it’s results. I am keeping an eye on it. Base = covered-ish/could be a bit better.
Our audience is not as active on Twitter, but we are present. I see Twitter as a great tool for 1:1 communication and conversation. The ad platform is not a good allocation of resources at this time and I’m not confident (as I write this post) that it will be anytime soon. Base = covered.
Snapchat
<eye rolling>
Before you explain to me the obvious fact that my demo is not on Snapchat right now, please refer to Gary Vaynerchuk’s prediction as to what Spanchat will be in 2016 here (at the 1:32 mark).
I’m thinking long-term here and trying to establish a presence before everyone decides to jump in and create noise. First to market is usually a good idea and I want to stake out my plot of land now.
I am spending $0 advertising here. Everything I am doing costs me nothing but 20 minutes of time on a Friday evening which, coincidentally, doubles as a sort of “date night” activity with my wife.
2 birds, 1 stone.
On the advice of Jay Baer in his book Youtility, I am taking the approach of not just advertising and pushing content, but trying to be useful. It’s not enough to be focused on “me me me!” with our presence on a platform. Just because you are there doesn’t mean anyone should care.
There are enough companies that simply post something along the lines of “Hey! We are on XYZNewPlatform so come check us out!” The simple response I have as a consumer is, “That’s cool, but why?”
People need a reason to follow you on ANY platform, especially one like Snapchat. Just because you’re excited about something doesn’t mean they have to be.
With that in mind, I am approaching Snapchat with the idea that the content we produce must be useful, have the right “feel” for the platform and must be effective in communicating what is important to us beyond just generating new clients — FAMILY.
Enter: DinnerSnaps
Each Friday, the DinnerSnaps account posts a Story that walks viewers through the steps of creating a simple and delicious dish they can prepare at home with their family. It’s nothing fancy and it doesn’t compete with the production quality you see on popular food channels, but it’s real and relatable.
On Snapchat, that is what seems to work the best — something that people can relate to and feel like they are part of it. It’s a POV experience that they can replicate on their own with their family.
The purpose here is much different than the typical “marketing” strategy. I don’t want to sell anything to anyone (yet). At this point, the sole objective is to connect with people and build trust. I want to show them that there are people out there that truly care about the “social” side of social media and even though it’s a branded account, that doesn’t mean that you are just a dollar sign or statistic. You, as a follower, are someone that shares a love for food and family.
Marketers and Snapchat
In mid-2015, I asked Gary Vaynerchuk on the #AskGaryVee Show why people (marketers especially) are afraid of Snapchat. Watch at the 7:17 mark.
I really had no idea why it was so daunting. I assumed it was because there was a lack of “vanity metrics” like follower counts to flaunt to their peers, show off in their next book or demonstrate in an upcoming speaking gig.
I think Gary’s response was spot on. A HUGE amount of people in the marketing industry simply don’t understand it and throw rocks because it’s new and confusing. In fact, I think a lot of them are adequately described in this article.
I’m always disappointed to see people in marketing poo-poo on Snapchat. It makes me sad that they cannot look “outside the box,” something they, themselves, ask people to do all the time.
On the other hand I can understand it. They don’t feel comfortable. That’s fine. I really shouldn’t complain. By the time Snapchat becomes the elephant they cannot ignore, they will be far behind the 8 ball. Sure they may be able to catch up with a new and fancy ad platform, but they will have to spend an exponentially larger amount to get there.
For Small Business
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars and hours on creative content. You can deliver quality and consistent content in 20 minutes out of your Friday night, like I have done. Show people who you are as a person or as an organization. Let them come into your life without fear that the other marketing shoe is about to drop.
The most important thing is that you learn it and try it. The potential outweighs the 20 minutes a week you will be investing into it.
Many people will tell you that there are all kinds of disadvantages to Snapchat compared to other platforms. Don’t you think they said the same thing about Instagram and Pinterest and Twitter and Facebook and Google and the Information Superhighway and Television and Radio and Newspaper and Printing and Writing and Speaking and anything else that wasn’t “proven” yet?
Just remember, the critics today are using the same arguments used against any other new platform. Replace “Snapchat” with “Facebook” and you will have a free ticket to 2007.
Stop seeing obstacles and start seeing opportunities. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that.
