Why you need to keep an eye on Snapchat this year – part 2

After writing last week here about the rise to prominence of Snapchat, I came across Australian wine startup Vinomofo’s Snapchat campaign, which they launched on January 22, just in time for the Australia Day long weekend (for some).

It’s an interesting explanation of why an enterprising company going after a younger demographic might want to use the platform: “Fun, spontaneous and full of potential, this is why we’re getting our snap on.”

Vinomofo has a fun attitude to the sometimes serious world of wine, providing its subscribers with information and deals in a very Millennial manner. It’s going after the new generation of wine drinker rather than middle-aged drinkers who have been around the block once or twice and are likely already committed to the type of wine they drink.

As Vinomofo put it on their website: “No bowties and bs at the ‘Fo – we live by our credo to step up, care more, keep it real, do some good and have fun.” That sounds perfectly aligned to Snapchat as a platform. It will be interesting to see how Vinomofo go with their Snapchat account.

As I mentioned last week, there’s no point jumping into Snapchat if that’s not where your market is or if your main social media channels are calling out for more resources. Many small businesses already find it hard enough to keep their Facebook page engaging and current without then embarking on a campaign to woo customers on something like Pinterest, Instagram or Snapchat.

If you can see social media is becoming more and more important to your company’s place in the market, and you’re still keeping it all in-house, it might be time to think about talking to a reputable digital marketing firm, especially if you’re juggling platforms.

However, the ephemeral and fleeting nature of Snapchat – along with its 100 million plus daily active users – might appeal to you and there are certainly quite a few companies out there who feel the same.

Here are some other companies and brands who have recently taken up the Snapchat challenge and how they’re doing it.

1. Coca-Cola

The giant soft drink brand has always aimed its message to young audiences and it sees Snapchat as a potentially key platform in keeping its brand front of mind for that demographic.

As explained in this Fast Company story, Coca-Cola realised Snapchat was different to other social platforms: “We learned we needed to adjust the way we talk to Snapchat’s audience, because they detect when it’s advertising,” Coca-Cola North America content SVP Emmanuel Seuge said.

2. Taco Bell

US-based fast food chain Taco Bell has been one of the most successful companies in taking to Snapchat, primarily because it has handed over control of its campaign to the demographic that knows the platform best – Millennials. As detailed in this Digiday story:

“Taco Bell has created a dedicated in-house team of two twenty-somethings who craft content specifically for the “Stories” section of the platform three times a week. In a bid to keep its audience engaged, they talk to Taco Bell’s Millennial fans in the language they understand, offering them a mix of real-time and more thought-out content — and they speak fluent emoji.”

This is not an unusual strategy for agencies, which have been assigning specific brands and campaigns to creatives and strategists well-versed in a particular medium ever since the advent of TV.

3. Showpo

Along with Vinomofo, another young Australian brand utilising the youthful nature of Snapchat is Showpo.

Speaking to SmartCompany, Showpo founder and CEO Jane Lu said Snapchat was more about brand engagement and loyalty than sales. It was about making her “existing followers more sticky”.

“If they like the content, they will be more loyal,” Lu told SmartCompany. “It gives them a more candid look at the business; it shows it is more than just a website.”

 Fi Bendall is CEO of The Bendalls Group, a business that leads STRATEGY : ADVOCACY : MOBILE delivering the business acumen to drive effective positive results in a disruptive economy for the C-suite. Fi has recently won a Westpac/AFR 2015 100 Women of Influence award. See more at: https://www.bendalls.com.au/