Snapchat’s tremendous growth is powered by its unique combination of storytelling, creativity, and communication. People and brands can freely express themselves through Snapchat stories, photos, and various fun filter options. Snapchat has more than 150 million daily active users worldwide and there are 10+ billion video views every day.
Snapchat continues to take lead among social apps with Millennials, reaching 41% of all 18-34 year-olds in the US.
Snapchat successfully mirrors how we organically communicate with each other and other social media sites like Facebook are trying to replicate this capability. Instead of students agonizing over posting the perfect picture, Snapchat allows for a natural conversation free of public judgment that they can share amongst close friends.
Facebook users are also shifting towards more private messages instead of public wall posts; because of this, they now seeing more advertisements, news, and viral videos in their feeds instead of actual friend updates. Students want to discuss and share between groups of people they know more intimately. This slowdown of public posting creates increased engagement for Snapchat and ultimately we will see other social media sites adopting these features as well.
Introducing Snapchat Spectacles
The new Snapchat Spectacles will shape influencer marketing in 2017. Snapchat Spectacles are colorful sunglasses with an on-board video camera that records 10-second clips that post directly to Snapchat. Right now Spectacles are only available at pop-up bright yellow vending machines called Snapbots, which appear by surprise and disappear as quickly as they surfaced.
Source: forbes.com
Spectacles offer an affordable and engaging alternative to show unboxing and demo videos which have become so popular. Allowing for limited-time first-looks to be posted to a 24 hour Snapchat Story could drive more views and engagements. Snapchat stories give students a first person perspective which engages them on an emotional level.
Snapchat is about instant expression and who you are right now. So don’t be afraid to get on Snapchat and get personal to create that connection with your students that you can’t get through other social media platforms. Snapchat is going to continue to innovate during 2017 with plenty of new updates already in the works. It looks like Snapchat isn’t going anywhere anytime soon so it may be time to start thinking about how you can use Snapchat for your store.
Sources: brandchannel.com, adweek.com, thedrum.com
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