Using Snapchat For Less Than $20 To Attract Customers And Generate Business

By now, you are familiar with Snapchat, the photo-taking and photo-sharing app. It permits people to take and share photos that expire. Of all the digital social networks that we all know and love, Snapchat is the country’s second favorite as of this year, despite it being around since September 2011. Reportedly, 57 million Americans use Snapchat and 60% of Americans between 13 and 38 years old are Snapchat users. It is no longer ‘just’ for millennials, more people in general are using it every day.

The Magic of Snapchat Filters

Alan Belniak of Alignable Main Street Insights, encourages small business owners take advantage of Snapchat filters. When a Snapchat user takes a photo–and before sending, sharing, and posting it–they have an option to add a filter. These filters are sometimes just color corrections, silly faces, or graphical overlays to the image.

But Belniak points to the popular geofilter. Snapchat’s website describes geofilters as special overlays that communicate the “where and when” of a Snap in a fun way. Companies or individuals can purchase on demand geofilters for an event, business, or location.

This gives you an opportunity to brand a filter in a certain geographic region and to engage with consumers in the moment from an event. For example, “you can pair the mention of a Snapchat filter for an in-store or on-site discount if a user mentions the filter,” suggests Belniak.

You can’t use hashtags or URLs in your filter but you can use your brand or company name. Snapchat  sells these filters at $5 per 20,000 square feet, per hour–say for example, about $20 for a live filter for 12 hours covering around 6,500 sq. ft. You can’t go over 5 million square feet, and the max amount of time a filter can run for is 30 days. Once the geofilter concludes its run, you’re given access to data and analytics, including the number of views of the filter.

Expanding Your Social Footprint

One viable marketing strategy is to go behind the scenes, suggests Black Enterprise Social Media Manager Sirita Wright. “Share some of the personal or intricate details of your brand or business, and let your audience be a part of the story. If you’re hosting an event, be sure to take your followers on the journey,” she explains. “Say you’re a makeup artist working a wedding; share your expertise with your followers using some before-and-after shots. Do you use a special method to clean your makeup brushes? It might be worth snapping.”

Also, cross-promote your snaps on other social media platforms to extend their life, adds Wright. “For example, edit your snaps and add them to your YouTube channel, or download them and create a blog series. The possibilities are endless.”

[Related: 5 Women On Snapchat Promoting Healthy Living]