5 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Snapchat Engagement
The popularity and usage of Snapchat has grown steadily over recent years. In the first quarter of this year alone, the social media platform had 332 million active users on a daily basis from across the world. This is a huge milestone for a platform that’s only been active for a decade. And, it looks like it’s only getting stronger.
The platform is more than filters. This guide will show you how to leverage it to effectively boost the Snapchat engagement for your e-commerce brand, and appeal to the right audience.
5 Ways to Increase Your Snap Chat Engagement
1. Showcase Your Personality
Snapchat is one of the best platforms to increase visibility and build relationships with your audience by showcasing your brand’s personality. Adding a personal touch to everything you post is a crucial ingredient in boosting engagement.
Start personalizing your business Snapchat account by creating a customized Snapcode. These scannable QR codes are unique to Snapchat and will directly take your user to the page you want them to see. Showcase your Snapcode in creative ways that depict your brand’s personality.
Create a game out of it by hiding the code in secret and unique locations and promote it as a type of scavenger hunt for your audience. This will not only increase engagement but will also make your brand stand out from the rest.
2. Use Geo-filters
These image overlays are a great way to increase visibility in an organic manner. If your Snapchat Geofilter is used to tag a location, it can be seen by a huge population of your audience. Use it to spread brand awareness both in and outside your chosen location, as Geofilters can be sent to anyone regardless of their location.
1 billion Geofilters are used per day, starting from as low as $5. This makes it a cost-effective and proficient way to promote your business. And, you’ll engage a community that is already invested in sharing content based on their location. Look for relevant events that you can partner with to leverage their popularity. Geofilters are a great way to ignite conversations among your users and improve brand recognition.
3. Post Authentic, Raw Content
One of the most important elements that make Snapchat so appealing is its sense of transparency. Users on the platform do not want to see professionally-produced high-quality content – they’re happy with everyday selfies with a filter slapped on. This is a great opportunity for you to showcase your brand’s raw personality, by posting behind-the-scenes (BTS) content about your products, offices, and even employees. Your Snapchat audience will feel like it’s an exclusive inside look into their favorite brand while driving authenticity and engagement.
The young users on Snapchat, especially the Gen-Zers, are all about showcasing the realness and cheeky side of things. The platform itself was originally created to be fun, casual, and accessible. According to research commissioned by Snap Inc., many young users view Snapchat as a safe space where they can be themselves. They are actively seeking brands that showcase similar values such as freedom, safety, and individuality. Being honest, raw, and transparent is key to engaging Snapchatters for the long term.
4. Leverage Stories on Snapchat
Stories are a great way to engage with your user, as long as you keep them coming back for more and watching till the end. Your stories need to do exactly what they’re meant to: tell a story! Think about what your audience might find interesting. Align them with the rest of your digital marketing goals, new product launches, or business developments. Stories need to be quick, raw, and short to keep your audience engaged.
Create a weekly series of Stories to engage your users with familiar and regular content. This could be a weekly roundup of favorite product features or ways your team unwinds every Friday. Play with filters in a creative way, add stickers, GIFS, and interactive elements. Humans on average now only have an attention span of about 8 seconds, and it could decrease with every passing Story they view on their device. You might want to keep each story for less than 10 seconds, especially if it’s an image.
5. Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)
It’s a no-brainer that UGC is one of the central components of any e-commerce brand’s digital marketing strategy. You get to truly involve your community, increase engagement and make them feel seen. Snapchat users are sharing the details of their lives each and every day, it would be a shame not to capitalize on it for mutual benefit.
Encourage your customers to get online and share their thoughts and feedback on your products and services in an organic manner. You might incentivize it through competitions and giveaways, but many times if a customer truly loves a product, they’re more than happy to share their thoughts with their peers. 90% of shoppers trust product or brand recommendations from their friends and family.
Snapchat Engagement for E-commerce Businesses
Snapchat’s appeal is simple. Its temporary content encourages viewers to take action immediately and keep checking back for more. These e-commerce marketing tips are a great way to boost your brand’s Snapchat engagement and increase brand awareness. From driving traffic to your website to connecting with the right demographic – Snapchat is used by e-commerce brands of all sizes all across the world.
If you’re looking to amp things up by advertising on Snapchat, then our creative guide to sponsored content on Snapchat will get you started. If you have more questions about maximizing Snapchat in your digital marketing strategy, reach out to us and we’ll help you come up with a personalized plan for your e-commerce business.
About the author: Joanne has lived in five countries and is always on the hunt for a new city to explore. After a Masters in English Literature from the University of Leeds, she landed an internship at Google that ignited her passion for all things digital. She has 10 years of experience in content writing, reads 2 books a week, and loves ‘90s pop culture.
