You have probably heard of Snapchat but have no idea what it is or how it can help you market your business.

Social Networks

This fast-growing social network has been around since 2011, but has until now mainly been the domain of teenagers eager to move beyond Facebook to keep up with their friends’ activities. Now businesses are starting to take notice, as Snapchat has become an extremely viable network to reach the young adult demographic. 45% of Snapchat adult users are between the ages of 18 and 24. At the same time, this age group has been exiting Facebook in droves as they discover these newer and faster-moving social networks.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat

Snapchat is a mobile messaging app used to share photos or videos that are meant to be ephemeral. Photos are set to disappear after up to 10 seconds. Or users can choose to allow their photos and videos to be posted to a section of the app called “Stories” where they can be viewed for up to 24 hours. Businesses are taking advantage of this section to be able to consistently update their fans on their latest news. Some brands also allow users to send them snaps. Similar to Instagram, this is often done to collect fan content or run contests.

Why should I be using Snapchat?

Just as businesses were catching on to the power of Facebook marketing, the target young adult market was already moving on to newer social media networks. Now is the time to harness the power of Snapchat, while it is growing at its fastest rate. Even if your target audience has not yet discovered Snapchat, they will be sure to catch on soon.

What should I post about my business?

Snapchat is a great way to “get up close and personal” with your fans.  The younger demographic likes to feel connected to the brands they enjoy. “Behind the Scenes” photos or videos will introduce followers to the people behind your brand. Try snapping a picture of your team working on a project or a video of a satisfied customer giving a candid testimonial. You can even build momentum for a new product launch by posting different creative elements or photos with certain parts concealed each day. Remember, your customers are following you because they want to know the inside scoop — more than they can see on your website or your other “official” communications. Make it fun for them to interact with you and your business and you will keep them engaged and following.

Snapchat can help put a face and a voice to your business. With 100 million daily active users and growing, this is a network you cannot afford to ignore.

Begin with the End in Mind

One of the most famous motivational coaches/speakers/authors is Stephen R. Covey. In his most popular book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the second of the seven habits is “Begin with the End in Mind.”

What do you want your marketing to accomplish? What are your marketing goals? And how do they align themselves with your overall business goals?

The quick answer might be, “I just want to increase sales.” But, I would challenge you to be more specific than that. How much do you want to increase sales? 10%? 20%? And what type of sales are you looking for? Is there a particular product that you would really want to sell more than another? Or do you have a particular service that you would want to promote more than another?

When Setting Goals, Be Sure to Set SMART Ones

When we develop a marketing plan for a client, we always want to set clear objectives as to what needs to be accomplished. Our agency, uses the acronym of “SMART” in setting objectives for our client’s marketing.

• “S” is for Specific. Be specific about your goals.
• “M” is for Measurable. Are these goals that you can measure and quantify?
• “A” is for Attainable. You have to be somewhat realistic. You want to push the envelope, but you also want to be realistic so that it is possible to achieve these goals.
• “R” is for Relevance. Of course you want the goals to be relevant and add value to your business through your marketing objectives.
• “T” is for Time-bound. You want to be specific about when these goals need to be achieved, so you have firm deadlines to focus on. Focus your efforts to take action every day.

Many have heard the marketing term U.S.P. or Unique Selling Proposition, but I would wager most don’t have a clue to its inherent value when marketing your business.

Stand out from your competitors by promoting what makes you different

The term Unique Selling Proposition was originally developed in the 1940s by marketing guru Rosser Reeves, which he defined as the ability to communicate a distinct and unique benefit a product offers a consumer which only that specific product or service or brand can provide.

Business owners, often just assume their customers will understand what makes their business different or better than the competitors, and overlook the USP. When carefully nurtured, however, an U.S.P. will provide your company a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Rosser Reeves maintained an effective U.S.P. needed to accomplish the following four objectives:

1. It must make a specific proposition to the customer: “buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”
2. The proposition must be unique or “perceived unique” by your customers – something your competitors don’t have or offer and would not be able to imitate easily.
3. It should be so compelling and relevant to your ideal customers that it entices them to try your product or service because it addresses their needs, fears, frustrations, or desires.
4. It must be simple and easy to articulate and communicate so your customers quickly understand that your product or service offers them unique benefits.

An excellent example of an effective USP is the famous “Got Milk.” The campaign repositioned milk, a universal staple in practically all households, which had been maligned as an unhealthy, antibiotics-filled food to avoid, to the opposite: comforting scenarios of milk and cookies, as well as a nutritional drink appropriate at anytime.

The campaign stuck in the customer’s minds and was carried into the grocery store aisles while milk consumption rose dramatically. Genius!

The fact that the campaign fostered numerous copycats, such as Got Fish? Got Fleas? Got Freud? only added to effectiveness of the original USP. Even President Obama’s campaign slogan of “Got Hope” mimics the original campaign USP.

A strong USP (or lack thereof) for your business can be the driving force behind the success and failure. Is that really something you want to leave up to assumption? To occur haphazardly? Or instead, will you take a proactive, deliberate approach ensuring correct positioning of your product or service exactly where it needs to be for future success.