Thanks for your input, Chad! I agree that business owners should make sure they are spending the majority of time and resources where the target audience is, but I think it’s advantageous to get to know new networks who have proven business acumen for the future. We don’t want to wait too long because then the market is saturated and it’s tougher to reach folks (what new FB users are dealing with now). Snapchat created an excellent and easy way to humanize ANY brand and the user demographics are changing so quickly that unless you’re marketing to seniors, the target audience is already there. Also, here’s a great writeup on the analytics, which are young, but still valid http://delmondo.co/primer-snapchat-analytics/. It’s kind of humorous to me that this obsession with analytics is what gives klout to certain social networks, but Facebook and Twitter didn’t have much to share for a few years. There’s a level of patience that has to be in play, and the ability to see where a social network could go in the future. I definitely believe Snapchat is worth the time and resources to start today getting one’s feet wet. No time like the present!

As you know, I am a huge fan of Snapchat. I spend a lot of
time using the app. You make a lot of great points in this post. As with all
social media sites, I would only recommend using Snapchat for marketing if your
customers and prospects are there. Therefore, if you are targeting younger
consumers, Snapchat might be great for the business. Also, it needs to be
pointed out that one of the biggest concerns that I have heard so far about
Snapchat is the inability to measure results. That is, you can’t measure the
usual social media stats that you can in other sites (e.g., likes, shares,
comments, conversions, etc.) Although if you give customers a unique code to
use when redeeming an offer, conversions can be measured in some cases. The
other concern is the reputation that Snapchat has received for being an app for
sexting. Some brands might want to stay away for that reason. However, as more
businesses start using it, that stigma should be eliminated.

That said, one of the things that I have been thinking about
a lot lately is the effect that using the app could have on increasing employee
satisfaction levels. Some of my favorite businesses that I follow interview employees
that I would guess would not usually receive recognition or the spotlight. This
behind the scenes view seems to work well. And, the employees seem to like the
spotlight. I don’t have stats to measure this, but I would think that it would
help increase employee satisfaction levels. And, as you know, happy employees
often are the best brand advocates.

I just wanted to put it out there because I haven’t heard
too many people talking about this other possible benefit of using Snapchat.
And, the best part, it is definitely measurable.

Great post. I look forward to future posts here, and on
Snapchat and Periscope.

Chad Thiele

@chadjthiele on Snapchat and just about anywhere else.

Thanks so much, Tom!

I think Snapchat could be EXCELLENT for illustrators. Because it’s a visual industry there’s a lot you can utilize with creativity. It would be easy to build up brand awareness for your fans – sharing photos during/after your work process, letting people see what you do everyday, and being able to humanize your brand. In terms of sales or promotions – consider this. Let’s say you’ve got extra prints of an older illustration you want to get rid of. Take a Snap or Snap video, offer 25% for people who purchase it with a code or screenshot of the promotion. It’s like a flash sale! But you’ll have to do the ground work to build up an audience first. Let me know if you have any more questions – I’m glad you enjoyed the blog 🙂