The use of snapchat at trade shows is not yet very popular. However, the new trend offers many opportunities to enrich a company’s marketing concept. The instant messaging app represents a new way of interacting directly with your followers that other social media channels don’t have in this particular form.
What is Snapchat?
Hardly anyone can ignore the modern phenomenon. Many young people use the free instant messaging service as a different alternative to other social networks.
It differs from conventional social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in that there are no profiles that users can personalize. Instead, Snapchat offers the ability to constantly share new content with your followers. The “snaps” sent in the form of photos or videos are displayed for a maximum of 10 seconds. To share more impressions of your life, you publish your own “story”. This exists for 24 hours until it is automatically deleted.
Snapchat’s corporate philosophy, according to CEO Evan Spiegel, “…is to convey the full range of human emotions – not just what seems pretty or perfect.”
So you can share your life and moments with Snapchat anytime, anywhere. Stars and other celebrities also use the messaging service to share their life with their fans.
Snapchat lives from its authenticity. The users appreciate the possibility to get very private and personal insights into the life and everyday life of others. The spontaneous and direct connection between the respective account and its followers is unique.
In spring 2016, approximately 100 million active users saw 10 billion snaps daily. This puts Snapchat even ahead of Facebook, which has 8 billion daily video views.
How do you use Snapchat as a business?
Social media has also become an integral part of the business world. In addition to the usual Internet presence, every company should also be represented in the social networks. In certain industries, the instant messenger service with the ghost is also suitable as a supplement to the marketing concept.
There are many ways to use Snapchat. Companies can always keep their customers up to date on new products and offers.
Another aspect is the entertainment of the community. Company accounts organize contests and lotteries, which represent a certain added value for the customers.
It also allows users to create their own geo-filters. These can be freely designed with the brand logo and serve to draw attention to specific events.
Even simple insights into everyday company life or “Behind the Scenes” impressions during a production or photo shoot are very well suited to arouse the interest of potential customers. Or you can use it to let your customers actively participate in your internal processes. Ask direct questions to your Snapchat community. Which product should appear first…?
Snapchat at trade fairs
Snapchat is particularly suitable to be used at trade fairs. Here are a few examples: Even before the presentation of the finished exhibition stand, a snap of the preparations can be uploaded into the story on the set-up day. With a text line such as “before” and “after” you can demonstrate the progress and how much work is involved in setting up a stand.
When the fair begins, the aim is now to draw the attention of the “snapchatters” to their own snapchat story. With the appropriate filters provided and the selected tuning, such as slowmotion or fast-forward, the exhibition stand, the employees can be presented to the followers.
Tips and tricks
But also here there are certain rules you better follow to make your app appearance a success: In order to get the undivided attention of a follower, the story should be varied and interesting.
It’s advantageous if the same person can always be seen during the selfie setting. So the user has a, not changing, reference person to whom he builds up a sympathetic connection.
The change of perspective can therefore also be used as a design tool. The employees who are represented at the trade fair stand should therefore be introduced in the camera setting.
You might think that settings like exposure and focus wouldn’t play a big role in a 10 second video, but that’s a wrong conclusion. Even with a 10 second video, the photographic circumstances make a big difference. For example, backlighting should only be used as an effect.
The choice of filter is an important stylistic tool. If you choose a black and white filter, you take the effect of the colors from the snap. Depending on the concept of the exhibition stand and the company logo, it is very suitable. Since the lighting in exhibition halls is often very cold, the “sunny” filter is ideal. It makes everything that is bright a little warmer.
The quality of the snaps has a direct effect on the resonance of the followers. Finally, in the 10 seconds that a snap lasts, they pay full attention to it.
Networking with social media
Another possibility Snapchat offers is that users can refer to the remaining social media appearances in his story. In the text field you can directly link Instagram accounts with an “@” or your own homepage with a simple web link.
The other way around, of course: many brands publish their account names on their numerous social media profiles. It is also a good idea to publish the code generated by Snapchat as an image. This makes it easy for new followers to add the account to Snapchat. As a result, complete networking is possible.
Practical examples
One of the first companies to use Snapchat in Germany is car rental company Sixt. At “dmexco”, the world’s largest digital trade fair, they offered their followers an innovative insight into the trade fair. A professional graphic designer created humorous and creative photomontages of trade fair visitors.
The electronics group SONY also uses the advantages of the trendy instant messenger with its PlayStation game console. They enable their followers to gain “exclusive insights into the world of PlayStation”. The users would have VIP seats at interesting events.
Snapchat for Start Ups
A very good example of how Snapchat can be used to increase reach is the start-up company Einhorn Products GmbH.
The vegan condom manufacturer from Berlin is in much more direct contact with its followers than with other social media platforms through Snapchat. Philip Siefer, the company’s founder, also notices this close contact: “Our snaphorns know us and are very close to the brand,” he says in an interview with the online marketing rock stars.
Who uses Snapchat and how?
The koelnkomm kommunikationswerstatt blog has a good example of how not to use Snapchat. Abuse as another source of “pure advertising” need to be prevented. Snapchat stands for spontaneous, direct and therefore authentic customer contact.
An excerpt of the brands already represented on Snapchat can also be found on Franz-Josef Baldus‘ blog.
Have fun snapping!
Picture: © davis – fotolia.com
