Are you getting the most out of Snapchat?

I recently blogged about the benefits of using Instagram for Marketing, well not far behind is the quickly growing mobile marketing tool- Snapchat. Just when we thought Social media was the newest form of marketing, along comes this form of temporary social media, and I'm about to familiarise you with the strengths and weaknesses of using Snapchat for your business.

There are many well known brands that have already adopted the concept of Snapchat. Particularly brands looking to target the younger audience.


'70% Snapchat users are mostly girls and women younger than 25', report suggests from Business Insider.

The 10 second photo sharing app is an ideal platform for Women younger than 25 and with the growing number of photos snapped per day it is no wonder brands are jumping on board to engage with their young audience.

For example, Mcdonalds used Snapchat photography app to engage with their audience about the launch of their new restaurant.

So where does that leave you business in terms of using Snapchat as a way to communicate with your market?

If your company doesn't fit the niche Snapchat demographic then there would be no point to put Snapchat in your marketing strategy. Especially as there are no metrics to identify the opening rate from your recipients, or online traffic.

Although if your brand DOES fit the younger audience and you are prepared to carry out heavy promotion beforehand to increase your user base, then there is no reason why your brand should not venture to this newer platform.

When joining Snapchat your content needs to be carefully considered as there are limitations to the visuals you send out. The camera app and the doodle function are the only tools your brand has to be creative with and there is no editing functionality, so ensure you are creating a mischievous, attention grabbing and fun image.

For example, Lingerie brand 'Miss Crofton' used Snapchat to build their user base on Facebook with a mischievous image, which goes well with their branding and belief that lingerie is only seen for a few seconds.

Whether you are trying to target a new audience or just add some variety to your social strategy, snapchat is a viable option for a two way conversation.

Some ideas for your snapchat marketing could be new product sneak peaks, discounts, behind the scenes and targeted videos.

The younger generation care on what's now and this is a great way of sharing present moments.Be fun in your approach and be more like a person, rather than a logo.


Although Snapchat is typically the younger audience and has a lot of features missing in comparison to other mobile apps, this could change and enhance to become a more popular and user friendly channel for businesses.

Facebook are already gunning for a similar concept and will be launching their version of slingshot coming soon...

5 things to consider before using Snapchat marketing:
- Promote your existence on other channels, especially Facebook & Twitter.
- Grab the recipients attention with fun images.
- Be creative in your approach as you only have 10 seconds to impress.
- Advertise discounts.
- Take customers behind the scenes for an insight on your business.

Why Google plus is better for business than Facebook...

Selfridge's have partnered with big brands to launch a six week campaign, 'The #BeautyProject' to explore the modern definition of beauty.  

  

The launch of new products, live music and beauty treats are all part of the campaign and are showcased through their Google plus network, for those unable to attend the in store event.

But what really caught my attention was why Selfridge’s choose Google plus as opposed to Facebook? 

Facebook has been the core channel for retailers and has been voted the 1^st largest social network, generating millions of like pages from small, medium and large businesses across the world, including high end retailers, that it is surprising Selfridge’s chose Google plus for their latest #BeautyProject.

Here are 4 reasons how Selfridges’s campaign proved Google plus is better than Facebook…

1.    Digital Media 

Selfridge’s #BeautyProject is a 6 week program that features talks, interactive debates and beauty experiences. The debates are hosted by a video blogger and aired via Google + hangouts.

Unlike standalone platform Facebook, Google plus has been developed to be visual and integrates all Google services together such as Gmail, Hangouts on air and YouTube. 

 A hangout in your Google + page can be with an unlimited amount of users, in real time and has the ability to be automatically uploaded and saved to your You Tube channel. 

Whereas, Facebook video calling can only be one-on-one and is not compatible with mobile devices, nor cannot it be instantly updated to your YouTube channel.

2.    Website Conversion

 

As part of the campaign, Selfridge's have a psychical photo booth in store where consumers can have their photos taken. The photos are then featured on the Selfridge's website.

This clever tactic enables in store consumers to interact with the project whilst directing them to  the website. 

When consumers visit the web page, they can also click through to the Google plus page. 

The incentive for users to visit the Google plus page is the competition whereby the most liked photo will win a £500.00 beauty experience.

The difference in posting this competition on Google plus, rather than Facebook is that a wider audience can see content Selfridge's post.

3.    New audience

On Facebook we accept requests from people we know, or we attract likes on our business page from people who have experienced our product or service, yet on Google plus anyone can add you to one of their circles, without you having to approve or adding them back. 

   

Facebook is a mutual agreement and you agree to be friends with someone from accepting their request. 

Whereas Google plus is a more tech savvy platform and opens the door to engaging with individuals outside your social circle. This explains why Selfridge's launched the event on Google plus.

 For example, if you have 200 friends on Facebook and post an event, it is likely only 20 friends would see. 

Google plus helps build your business, whereas Facebook networks with your existing client base.

4.    Social Annotations 

      The content that Selfridge's are posting have far more of a reach than Facebook, as they are instantly included in Google Search results.  

      Google plus is more than a social network, it is more like an identity and a channel to increase SEO.

      There are also more serious business capabilities on Google plus. The Google + page endorsement being one. The G+ button makes it easier for online users to share your content.

In comparison, the Like button on Facebook would only be shared to the network of friends and accrued to Bing Search results, whereas G+ works as a different social connotation allowing people who are not your friends to also see this content.

      The interface of Google plus is far more clean and uncluttered than Facebook, especially as there is no paid advertising or promoted posts, only Adwords which are featured in the search results of what you are looking for.
   
      
Why Google plus is better?

•        Better for digital media and integrated with Youtube.
•        Easier Web conversion from G+ button and SEO.
•        Anyone can see Google plus content.
•        G+ makes it easier for users to share your content.
•        Cleaner platform with no advertising or promoted posts, only content you have chosen to follow.

Why the #nomakeup selfie craze has worked...

In the past 24 hours social media has been flooded with hundreds posting no make-up selfies, including the young, the old and the male!

So grab a make-up wipe, join the craze and nominate your friends because the #Breastcancerawareness campaign is working and here is why...

The purpose of any campaign is to achieve a goal and raise brand awareness. Without awareness on a topic how can we react to the cause?

If the selfies had not gone viral would you have thought about breast cancer today? The answer is probably not. 

So the debate that the #nomakeupselfie has caused from being 'pointless' is beyond me, when just a couple of months ago the nation was participating in Dry-anuary. Another campaign that generates awareness on the organization 'Alcohol concern', which encourages us to stay off the booze throughout January in aid of the #Dryathon. We could debate that this campaign is also 'pointless' as it is not necessarily a fundraising exercise, it can just be for health whilst promoting 'Alcohol concern'.

Lets look at another campaign, #Movember. How many guys participate in this trend and grow a moustache? Do all of them donate to Prostate Cancer?

In an ideal world every brand, charity or organization that raised awareness would like a sale, a donation or end result but promoting the name comes first in any instance. Without awareness on who they are, how are they going to benefit?

It's easy for us to think a campaign targeted to women, to check their breasts would be more compelling, but the question is would it be trending and would it make BBC news? Now that #BreastCancer has our attention, it will be easier for them to get any message out. Especially as their social media following has increased since the selfie craze.

I think the campaign is a great idea and it's nice to see so many women participating (even if some have utilised Instagram for a 'natural' tint!).

Although, Cancer Research UK states they have no idea where the campaign from, few charities have jumped on board and you can text 'Beat it' to 70099 to donate.

One charity claims they have received unprecedented levels of donations since the trend, helping them raise over £15,000! Read more here 

5 reasons why brand awareness is crucial:

- Brand awareness is the process of building the brand and informs customers about the business
- Allows customers to recognize and remember the brand & logo
- Ad strategies result in increased sales and repeat business
- People like to give money to brands they trust
- Creates a long term position in the marketplace

Instagram for Marketing

It's been over a year since I signed up to Instagram and like every social media platform there has been some changes. From #Instapics, to #Instadaily and now #Instavideo, the limit is endless for marketeers on mobile app Instagram.

Instagram now has over 150 million users all pounding out hash tags to every photo they post. What easier way to find your market! They are hashtag'ing your business. All you need to do is explore the hash tag of the visual you want to post and discover the niche in the community. For example, when I started the Wonderworld nightclub Instagram profile, I would explore the hashtag '#MK', '#MiltonKeynes', '#MKClubbing' and follow the people within my target audience. This built my following immediately.

My Instapics consisted of cross platform promotion to Facebook and Twitter sites, flyers to different club nights, photos of the venue, the crowd, competitions, products and prices. Never forget the 4 P's: Price, product, place & promotion! Photos are a great way to engage consumers and the mobile app allows you to be creative with it, editing & enhancing pics or even creating collages. But when is the best time to post photos to Instagram?

Simplymeasured has a fantastic study into engagement with Instagram and finds the best time to post pictures. As you can see in the diagram 5pm -6pm is the best time for engagement where you will receive most comments.

When posting pictures to Instagram be sure to share them on Twitter and Facebook to reach new users, especially as Facebook photos have a 39% engagement rate. The ultimate recipe for higher engagement!

As spotted from socialbakers Fans significantly prefer pictures to anything else.

Amongst the growth in photo marketing, we have also seen the rise in video marketing. Have you tried Instavideo yet? I tried it for the first time the other day and received more likes and comments than I have done on any of my Instapics! There has definitely been a boom in Instagram videos, Vine & Youtube that there is more of an appetite for videos.

Video's have always been costly but the fact you can do it on your mobile is making it easier than ever to do a 15 minute shoot with editing facilities, as proven recently in some major brand campaigns. For example lets take a look at Red Bull's unremarkable Instavideo which achieved an astonishing 32,557 likes and 445 comments!

It is no surprise there are rumours to add advertising to Instagram. Do you think this will be a success? Would you pay to advertise? Leave your comments and let me know how you think this will work out....

MK College Guerilla Marketing

Busy at work I didn't have much time to read behind it, but I wondered why I kept seeing this one particular person around Milton Keynes. I went to get my lunch in Xscape and he would be there, shopping in The Centre MK and he would be there.

Friends on Facebook started to post about this mysterious person and within a week or so he went viral!

 

He was handing out cards with a date on and a link to a microsite. When you logged on it was a countdown timer.

The people of MK were so captivated by this Guerilla marketing tactic, that news quickly spread. 

All was revealed that the countdown was for MK College and this character was REKO TAO ZION, also known as the time Traveller.  The Time Traveller’s mission was put together by a team lead by the College’s Head of Marketing & Communications, Kate Raclawski.  “The Time Traveller is part of our wider campaign to reach people aged 16-19 and to encourage them to really think about their future,” she says.

MK Citizen reported the microsite had received 200,000 hits three days before his true identity was revealed. 

At a low budget, I'm surprised more companies are not turning to unexpected and unconventional marketing strategies like this one. We will see if any other local businesses take an unusual approach like this one...

FREE popcorn!

It is not often you get a flyer initiating FREE popcorn, so once I heard about it, I quickly paced over to the stand which surprisingly was a black tent with arrows saying 'this way'.

As soon as I got in the tent there was an Australian lady with 2 pots of popcorn. She asked me to choose one pot, in which I did and found it was empty! The lady asked me to think about poverty and how children must feel when they have no food. This definitely made me analyze what just happened.

 

I was given a stamp and a wrist band, which made me think about it for the rest of the day. I also told my friends and got the attention from locals when they asked why I have a stamp.  

This campaign was from World Vision in the fight to end world poverty, in association with Cineworld and MK Xscape.

Marketers are looking for the best price related promotions and as a consumer we look to buy products on offer and although this was a short term gain, I still wanted free popcorn! 

It was very creative of World Vision and I'll be thinking of a similar way to entice passers by and give them something to think about...

Influential Marketing by Network Rail

I was pleasantly surprised to see Professor Green urging us to ‘stop listening to his music’ today, but then I realised it was another great stunt by M&C Saatchi, to highlight National Rail’s new safety campaign.

History has proven railways are problematic and dangerous, even more so now with youngsters listening to music at level-crossings, that who else would have made this campaign as influential as Professor Green!  

It is thought that two youths have already died this year and in the past five years railway staff has reported 19 incidents. This '#LoseYourHeadphones' campaign for social media sites YouTube, Twitter and Spotify is to make youths realise the importance of removing their headphones. 

In my opinion, safety campaigns are often ineffective and ignored, however this one is definitely going to work with the enforcement of Professor Green. The music artist has over 100,000 followers on Twitter and is very credible to a youth which is likely to influence their behaviour.

This campaign is designed to create positive perceptions among influencers and National rail is also going to gain exposure and get attention from Professor Green.