If you want to reach an audience using a personal approach, Snapchat is a great application to use for your business. According to Snapchat’s SEC filing in 2017, an average of 158 million people use Snapchat every day and 2.5 billion Snaps are created daily. While Snapchat was originally intended to send photos to others, it has become well known for its video content. With this, businesses are starting to use Snapchat for brands in order to promote their products and services by producing original content for the platform. However, before venturing into a new social territory, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of using Snapchat for Business.

Pros of Snapchat for Business

Pro #1: One-on-One Engagement

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Snapchat allows you to engage with customers on a personal level. Celebrities often use Snapchat to show a “day-in-my-life” or “behind-the-scenes” and businesses can do the same. Messages are also more likely to be seen on Snapchat than other social media platforms or by email. The snaps are sent to the individual, which makes it more personal.

Pro #2: Reach a Younger Audience

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While people of all ages are on social media, Snapchat is one that the younger generation uses more than the others, with the majority of Snapchat users between the ages of 18-34. In the United States, 36% of their Daily Active Users spend more time on their mobile devices than watching television, so it is more likely they will see a branding video from a business, whether that be an advertisement or personal video, on their mobile device. Snapchat also has fun filters and stickers that can be used on videos and photos. Showing a personal and fun side of your business is a great way to promote and gain a loyal following.

Pro #3: Snapchat’s Discover Feature

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The Discover feature incorporates the Snapchat for brands feature by allowing users to explore premium video content and articles from outside publishers, as well as Snapchat’s team of journalists. One of the biggest draws of the Discover feature is that it allows users to post their content to increase brand awareness and reach. The Discover feature makes sense to take advantage of to increase brand exposure, seeing as Snapchat users access the app more than 18 times a day and spend 25 to 30 minutes on it every day.

Cons of Snapchat for Business

Con #1: Limited User Engagement

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There is no way to tell if your audience is really watching your Snap Ads videos. Even a view from users does not mean they watched your video. They could have just skipped right through it. To know if your audience is really watching and engaging is if they send a direct message.

Con #2: Time Constraints

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One video is 10 seconds so if your content is longer you will have to post multiple videos and have to provide a very clear point upfront. However, too many videos may lose your audience’s attention and become annoying. Snapchat videos and pictures also delete after 24 hours. There is no way to get that content back after those 24 hours are up. Thankfully, you can save your photo and video on your phone to come back to later or share on another social media platform.

Con #3: No Re-share option

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Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Snapchat does not offer a re-share option. The only way someone can re-share the content is by taking a screenshot and uploading it to other platforms.

In this day and age, our lives revolve around technology personally and in business. Snapchat is a great way to give your followers an inside look at your business and to connect with them on a personal level but limits ways to interact with them. Now that you know the pros and cons of using Snapchat for Business, you can decide if it’s worth being a part of your social media marketing strategy.

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