Snapchat for Businesses: A #Bufferchat Recap

This week on #bufferchat, we talked all about how to use Snapchat for businesses, brand building, and customer engagement. The community discussed tips for producing great content, building a following, partnering with influencers, and much more!

Read on to discover all of the awesome insights that were shared during the chat!

Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!

4 pm AEST (Sydney time)

9 am PT (San Francisco time)

This week’s stats:
1st Bufferchat: 29 participants; reach of 1,088,040
2nd Bufferchat: 65 participants; reach of 1,096,396

Q1: How can Snapchat fit into a marketing strategy? What’s its purpose?

From the community:

• “#Snapchat is raw and real. Use it to go behind the scenes of your business.” @eggwhisk
• “For B2C it is an opportunity to invite your existing customers to help tell their stories.” @MichaelRo22ss
• “Snapchat is perfect for brands with a millennial audience. Speak to them in their language. Give BTS, a human touch.” @EricSachs_SEO

See all the great answers to question 1 here!

Q2: If a business is just starting out on Snapchat, what are tips to start building a regular following?

From the community:

• “Post often, but with purpose + variety. Show behind-the-scenes. Observe what gets the most views. Constantly reassess goals.” @ArrowDigitalAU
• “Get your snapcode out there and have content ready for them as they arrive. Thank each new follower one by one.” @NextGenBizMan
• “Cross-promote on other outlets. Update DAILY & many times throughout the day. Respond and interact with followers.” @GeoffTBlosat

See all the great answers to question 2 here!

Q3: What kind of content works really well for businesses to share in Snapchat Stories?

From the community:

• “We did a scavenger hunt for my university’s Snapchat. Students LOVED it. Plus, alumni takeovers!” @jenfwright
• “Use it for the purpose it was built – to share a side of you/or your business that people don’t normally get to see.” @JackyBarker
• “Stories told thru sequential messaging = Recipe, packing guide, components of an outfit, neighborhood walk, some ideas!” @jenngetsaround

See all the great answers to question 3 here!

Q4: What are creative ways to direct traffic from Snaps to your website?

From the community:

• “Use magnet comments & dialogues/situations to get people intrigued to see more. Snap & other platforms are great site pulls.” @ItsJeffHiggins
• “Create a teaser video of the content on your site, such as a blog post. Type in a link to direct them there.” @ExpWriters
• “Create a Story that directs Snapchat followers to exclusive sales or secret pages on the website, give custom discount codes.” @SwayGroup

See all the great answers to question 4 here!

Q5: What are fun ways to partner with influencers on Snapchat?

From the community:

• “Take overs! It’s so cool to watch @WomenInTechSnap snapchat cuz everyday there’s a new face with different experiences. :)” @vanessamaral_
• “Find the unique perspective an influencer offers your product/brand and leverage it on their account and yours!” @kayla_susko
• “Many universities are great at this! They let student leaders or alumni takeover for the day. Perfect for recruitment.” @daniellenkelly

See all the great answers to question 5 here!

Q6: How can you measure the success of your Snapchat strategy?

From the community:

• “Make a custom landing page for Snapchat marketing and see the number of traffic and sales that are generated.” @iuditg
• “I like to see how many impressions we got. If we ask for interactivity like “screenshot this.” See how many shots were taken.” @pjervis
• “Real human connection. Honestly, snapchat is all about the relationships and networking. Personal connection is intangible.” @DanHavlik1

See all the great answers to question 6 here!

Q7: What’s a great example of a brand rocking it on Snapchat, and why?

From the community:

• “@POPSUGAR is one of my fav to check out b/c they have recurring series’, takeovers, graphics, etc. that are interesting.” @TMCSocialMedia
• “@theouai rocks it on Snapchat! Good mix of behind-the-scenes, event coverage, and product tutorials.” @cass_longo
• “@Casper. They dedicate a great deal of manpower to Snap content. Note their Twitter is copy-only – interesting resourcing.” @JuiceboxCA

See all the great answers to question 7 here!

Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash