Sweta Patel is an expert on Snapchat so it made sense to include a chapter from her in this book. You can find out more about her expertise at her website, www.globalmarketingtactics.com.

Thanks, Sweta, for guiding us through the baby of the social channels!

Key areas we will cover in chapter 8:

• ✓ why B2B businesses are using Snapchat
• ✓ growing your Snapchat audience
• ✓ Snapchat strategies for your B2B organisation
• ✓ Snapchat perks for B2B businesses
• ✓ measuring the effectiveness of your Snapchat channel.

Snapchat is the youngest of all the sites mentioned in this book. It was officially released in 2011 and by November 2012, users had sent over one billion photos, making Snapchat as mainstream as the others and just as powerful.

Quick facts on Snapchat

Here are some interesting Snapchat facts:

• Five hundred million Snapchat stories are produced per day. It would take 158 years to watch all the stories.
• Sixty per cent of all smartphone users are on Snapchat.
• Snapchat has more users than Twitter.
• Snapchat has a higher video view rate than Facebook (Facebook: eight million views per day; Snapchat: 10 million views per day).

Why are B2B businesses using Snapchat?

The line that separates casual online social interactions from professional outreach efforts is becoming increasingly blurry for B2B marketers. While you’ve probably warmed up to promoting creatively through channels such as Facebook, YouTube and maybe even Pinterest, surely you must draw the line before a millennial selfie app such as Snapchat, right?

Wrong.

Let’s take a step back and look at the current social media landscape. We have the top-five social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest. LinkedIn still holds the top rankings for B2B businesses. Yet, the unfortunate truth about these social networks is that, while they have millions of users, their organic reach is getting smaller by the day.

The reality is that to be seen on these social networks, you must advertise. Bids are getting more competitive and native ads are receiving fewer clicks. Long story short: social ad prices are rising while their results and effectiveness are falling.

Why Snapchat works

In the world of information overload, it’s becoming fairly obvious why some ad types work and others don’t. For example, webinar ads are not as effective as instant download ads. Why? Audiences are bombarded with information on a daily basis. The decision makers you are trying to reach barely have time to get lunch. What makes you think they have time to watch a webinar? On the other hand, instant downloads work well because prospects can download and apply them quickly.

So Snapchat is an attractive and viable channel for direct communication and relationship building. It’s new, it’s not overloaded and it happens to be a fantastic solution to the current challenges facing B2B marketers. It has over 150 million users and is constantly growing. That is why brands are increasingly considering Snapchat in their marketing mix. This chapter provides the metrics that matter for developing an effective strategy.

Using Snapchat for B2B

You can use Snapchat to easily communicate with people and receive a direct response without getting lost in their newsfeed. You may still be thinking, ‘Well, the logic makes sense, but how can I get connected with my audience on Snapchat?’

The easiest way to promote your Snapchat channel is through the ‘snapcode’. You can use your custom snapcode as an avatar on your social channels, which will allow your audience to quickly scan and add you. Snapchat has made QR codes cool again. You can also promote it on your email signature, through giveaways, at events and more.

Growing your audience on Snapchat

There are many tried and true strategies for building an audience on Snapchat. Let’s go through a few of them.

Snapchat directories

Snapchat directories are the easiest way to increase the discoverability of your channel. Simply add your channel to different directories and an interested audience can easily find you. You can easily find your audience this way as well.

Once you find your audience, start engaging with them and building a rapport with them.

Influencer marketing via Snapchat

Another prominent Snapchat audience growth strategy revolves around Snapchat influencers and partnering with them for cross-promotional activities. For example, if you are launching a new service or solution, contact a prominent Snapchat user and let them know that you’d like to promote your solution to their audience.

Make them an offer they can’t refuse; be generous in the way of what they will get out of it. They may be able to work out a bargain if your audiences align. Otherwise they may charge a set fee. It is up to the influencer, their time and the magnitude of the ask.

Secret Snapchat growth hack

Utilise every single channel you can to grow your number of followers:

• On your website. Create a mobile pop-up with the deep link to your Snapchat account. A deep link is a hyperlink that goes to a page beyond the home page of the linked site, accessing relevant material more directly. Snapchat deep links are always www.snapchat.com/add/YOURUSERNAME. For example, my Snapchat deep link is www.snapchat.com/add/swetaspeaks. You can find the deep link in Snapchat by selecting ‘settings’, ‘add friends’, ‘share username’.
• On your social channels. Post deep links regularly where it is permitted and periodically change profile pictures to QR codes.
• Offline materials. Post your Snapchat QR code on every piece of marketing material you can think of.

5 strategies to increase audience engagement

You can build loyalty through giveaways and promotions to your Snapchat audience. Use promo codes and discounts, and provide insider access to incentivise them. Here are five ideas to get you thinking about creative ways you can engage your Snapchat audience:

• Scavenger hunt in real time. One year I created a scavenger hunt using Snapchat. The participants had to send snaps of specialty items they found all over the city of San Francisco. Those who found all six specialty items were given two free tickets to the Warriors game (live at the time). When you reward your fans on Snapchat, you are giving them a reason to follow you.
• Utilising UGC (user-generated content). The second way to engage your fans is by involving them in your stories. Share their relevant stories and feature this UGC on your other channels, where you can conveniently link your audience right to your Snapchat.
• Content submission. Third, engage your super fans by giving them the ability to submit content that will be posted from your account. You are essentially allowing them to create stories on your behalf. (When using this method, make sure to include your logo and branding.)
• Exclusive content. Fourth, provide exclusive content. This is the type of content they can’t find anywhere except on your Snapchat channel. You can strengthen your channel’s effectiveness by creating content that builds. Use cliffhangers at the end of posts, and keep them waiting for the next snap in your exclusive ‘series’ of content!
• Referral codes. Last, use referral codes to generate buzz around your community. Referral codes allow your fans to spread the word about your channel in return for something worthwhile to them. For example, when they refer their friends over, they will be able to get $10 off your product.

Useful Snapchat perks for B2B businesses

The strategies above are great for engagement, but what about specific B2B uses? Well, once you build a following, you can reach them with information in a personal way that is not intrusive (versus a text message).

Most people do not like giving away their personal number to businesses. They are even more adamant about minimising junk texts and sales calls than they are about protecting their email inbox.

An easy, non-invasive way to sidestep this is by contacting them through their Snapchat handle. Here are several examples.

Webinar reminders

One of the most useful ways to use Snapchat is to send mobile webinar reminders. The current norm is for a business to send a notice via email, but these emails can get lost in space, or prospects just don’t open them.

A quick snap can work effectively because the recipients will receive a notification on their phone, and everything is optimised for mobiles.

Event updates

Most B2B companies host, attend and/or sponsor large events. When it is time to reach out to their audiences directly without asking for a phone number, Snapchat is an excellent solution.

Use snaps to send personal reminders, get feedback during and after the event and more.

Midway through the conference you can even send a simple snap that asks, ‘Hi! How are you enjoying the seminar?’ This frames the situation and builds a relationship with your customers at the same time!

Humanising your brand

A few short years ago, it was protocol to address a business as an entity and not a person. Times have changed and the online space has become so interconnected with human relationships that marketing has had to evolve to keep up. The online success of a company now lies in its ability to build powerful, human-like connections and develop very personal relationships with its customers.

Photography, videography and digital media are very successful forms of marketing because they have the power to communicate in an emotional and human way. Unfortunately, these are expensive and your ability to use them for every action is limited.

For day-to-day communications in real time, Snapchat provides an easy solution for you to connect with your customers and prospects. For example, you can easily invite a prospect to lunch or even send them a ‘special tip of the day’. When you do this, you become a part of their daily social world.

Customer service

One of the best business uses for Snapchat video is to answer questions in real time. With a quick response rate, video snaps are a major perk for your customers. Using this function will increase trust in your brand, foster an exclusive relationship and encourage overall loyalty.

How to measure the effectiveness of your B2B Snapchat channel

It’s important to understand where to find Snapchat analytics and how to use that data to make smart choices for your Snapchat marketing.

What are the five metrics that matter on Snapchat?

#1 Total opens

The total number, or aggregate, of views across all of your Snapchat stories is called total opens. This metric helps you gauge the success of a two-part strategy: content and growth. If you aren’t receiving as many views of your content as you’d like, it’s time to take a deeper look at these two facets of your Snapchat marketing plan.

Content strategy

If users don’t find any value in your snap, they’re unlikely to view the other snaps in your story. Are your snaps interesting, funny and/or useful? Be honest with yourself and get feedback from others. Every snap you post should deliver value or fulfil a need, whether it’s eliciting a human emotion or delivering information.

One way to boost views is to harness the power of anticipation. Snaps are short forms of content, but they should reflect the basic pillars of storytelling. Each video or series needs a beginning, middle and end … and your audience needs a reason to follow through to the end.

Similar principles apply to images, which should take viewers on a journey that encourages them to keep watching and ask, ‘What’s next?’ Unless you work somewhere inherently fun (such as Disneyland), snapping about your daily work life may not entice those who are viewing.

Businesses with successful view rates tend to keep their snaps brief and their stories one to two minutes long. Creating snap videos any longer than that can reduce viewer engagement.

Growth strategy

We have already gone through some of the strategies for finding your following on Snapchat. However, it takes dedicated time and constant learning to build a true and solid Snapchat family.

Is someone on your team a whiz at growing social networks? Are you allowing this person time dedicated to focusing on growth? You can’t afford to slack on this. No-one wants to spend hours creating fabulous, witty content that will never find an audience.

#2 Monitor average open rates

Your Snapchat open rate is the percentage of total estimated followers who have engaged with your story. It’s comparable to engagement rates on other social networks.

This metric is closely tied to the number of opens. Hence, your growth strategy takes a front seat when it comes to your success.

Of course, if you don’t have a viable audience on your other channels, this tactic won’t help you. This brings us back to your growth strategy: who is the main social growth strategist (aka growth hacker) on your marketing team? If you don’t have one, get one. If you can’t afford one, become one. If your goal is to see success with social metrics, you cannot afford to underestimate the importance of this role.

#3 Track average screenshots

‘Screenshots’ is the number of screenshots people have taken of your snaps. This metric tells you how relevant and useful your snaps are to your audience. When users take a screenshot of a snap, you can assume it had value to them.

If you want to generate more screenshots, it’s important to plan your content ahead of time. Create an editorial calendar with narratives you can use throughout the year. The goal is to purposefully create valuable content that is screenshot-worthy.

A few examples are checklists, inspirational quotes, audience spotlights, and discount coupons. If you’re B2B, provide snackable content and event updates that encourage your audience to screenshot the details.

Overall, the screenshots metric shows you how engaged your audience is. If people are simply viewing your snaps without taking screenshots, there’s room to grow engagement.

#4 Observe completion rate

Completion rate is the percentage of followers who viewed an entire story, from the first snap to the last. It’s comparable to retention rate on other social networks.

This metric measures the loyalty of your audience. Do they want to see the content you’re posting? Or are they watching the first snap and then opting out? You can increase the completion rate by providing content that’s series-driven. When you keep your story brief and provide cause for interaction, your audience is more likely to watch it all the way through.

Use text to add calls to action on your snaps and tell your audience what to do next.

One common mistake businesses make is creating stories that don’t connect. Their snaps are from random moments without context. If you plan to take a bunch of one-off snaps, use a longer frequency between each snap. One-off Snapchat campaigns are usually a day apart. But this tactic isn’t recommended, as frequency is another metric that affects overall performance.

To increase your completion rate, send a snap to your audience with the same snap included in the story. This way they’ll know you’ve added a story. Most users have story notifications turned off, so pinging your audience with an update can help increase the completion rate.

#5 Analyse follower growth

‘Follower growth by source’ is the key metric to determine where your Snapchat followers are coming from. From there, you can adjust your strategy.

Most Snapchat users are acquired by username. Once you find out how your followers are adding you, you can optimise the source to make it even better. For example, if most of your audience adds you through a snapcode, keep dishing that out and putting more effort in to receive even more results.

When you add friends, make sure they’re following you back. One way to check is through the snap score. To view a user’s snap score, tap on their username. Their snapcode will pop up with an avatar image, username and score (the number of snaps they’ve sent). If you don’t see their score, they haven’t added you back. In that case, contact them to follow up so you know they’re receiving your stories.

Conclusion of chapter 8

Snapchat has become more than a selfie app for millennials. Witty business-minded entrepreneurs have discovered how to use the app to reach their B2B audiences in a fresh and new fashion.

Get started with Snapchat and find out just how useful it is for connecting with your audience in a personal and impactful way.