Snapchat For Social Good

For anyone who works in tech and media, the new year starts with the annual Consumers Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas during the first week in January. That’s where advancements in technology are introduced and predictions are made for the year. This year, Snapchat was everywhere, literally.

As Director of National Media Accounts for the Ad Council, I work with Snapchat to build social impact partnerships that raise awareness of critical issues in America. In October, we launched a partnership with Snapchat, running two custom filters nationwide for our cyber bullying prevention campaign, called “I Am a Witness.”

Thanks to our partners at Delmondo, we had several Snapchat influencers developing unique content with our filters and encouraging their fans to use it. In just one day, we had more than 10 million people using our filters! One influencer, Wysamx, collected fan videos on his Snapchat story featuring people from all over the world.

While PSAs serve an important purpose, Snapchat engaged our users in a way that watching a 30-second video simply does not. AIDS-fighting organization RED recently launched a partnership with Snapchat, as well, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donating $3 for every branded filter used.

For any social impact campaign today, building awareness on social media is critical. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat have unique benefits and purposes.

With Snapchat’s growing audience, it’s time for marketers to join the service and start pushing out content. Here’s why:

Snapchat Is Not Just For Teens

Most marketers aren’t on Snapchat because they assume it’s just for teens. While teenagers make up a large part of the audience (45 percent), the number of older users is growing quickly.

Over the last year in the US, Snapchat added 25- to 34-year-old users (103 percent) and 35+ users (84 percent) faster than 18- to 24-year-old users (56 percent), according to a comScore study as reported in The Los Angeles Times.

Snapchat’s own data claims 12 percent of its nearly 50 million daily users in the US are ages 35 to 54. Snapchat has recently started an advertising campaign targeting this older segment, and The Wall Street Journal is now available as a Snapchat Discover Channel.

These are signs that Snapchat is aiming to go mainstream, which means now is the time to join and grow your audience.

Snapchat Is An Active Audience.

In a recent Huffington Post blog, Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and the founder of Vayner Media, states that 90 percent of your Snapchat followers are consuming your content. That’s an incredible stat, considering email open rates are around 25 percent.

Users are engaged because delivery is quick on Snapchat (videos can be no longer than 15 seconds), and it’s happening in real time. A user’s story lasts only 24 hours, creating a sense of urgency to open the app and watch the content before it’s gone.

Snapchat also complements TV viewing and is winning the attention graph. MTV announced that its VMA Snapchat story attracted more users than the actual TV broadcast!

Cross-Promotion

All that great content you capture doesn’t have to disappear in 24 hours. Snapchat allows users to save their content to their camera roll and upload to other platforms.

I’m using my Snapchat, lauriekeith11, to raise awareness on all the cool things happening in media, and I recently interviewed Ari Levine, Business Development lead at Vayner Media. While it’s no longer on my Snapchat story, it lives forever on Twitter.

Great catch up session with @VaynerMedia's BD lead @arilevine! Hear his thoughts on #snapchat (via #lauriekeith11) pic.twitter.com/FWdzITUcmh

— Laurie Keith (@lauriekeith) January 13, 2016

Authentic Storytelling

Because Snapchat stories disappear after 24 hours, the content is raw and unscripted, allowing your brand message to stand out and have an authentic voice.

It’s also a way to demonstrate creativity. With special filters, writing tools and emojis, Snapchat allows users to deliver content and connect with their audiences in a unique way.

Uncluttered By Marketers

The only ad space available on Snapchat is within the Discover and LiveStory content (which you can skip) or through a custom branded filter. Snapchat is still in the process of building its advertising model, and while there are rumors an API platform is being developed this year, the only way to advertise on Snapchat right now is by working directly with its sales team.

This is a great time to join because the content you distribute will be consumed without any interruptions, allowing users to really understand the issue and connect with your cause.

1-to-1 Chat Function

Snapchat has a one-to-one chat function allowing you to speak directly to your consumers and provide them with important updates and information.

Now is the time — join Snapchat, grow your reach and tell the stories that need to be heard.