Shoptalk’s eCommerce conference last week mentioned Snapchat* in nearly every presentation, yet only 22% of brands use it today. This is an untapped opportunity for brands to engage customers in the future of online — video.
The video app of choice is Snapchat. With data on its $1.8bn fundraising, over 400m Snaps sent a day, over 10bn Snaps being viewed a day and growing 10–20% month on month the numbers speak for themselves.
Why young people love video
The fastest growing demographic for Snapchat is the over 35s but 60% of users are 13–24 years old and these are the prolific users who really spread the word. These Gen Z / young Millennials have certain traits:
→ they want to get where they are going faster and have an increasingly shorter attention span. In fact, humans only have an 8 second attention span which caters perfectly to the 10 second Snapchat maximum length
→ they’re optimistic and want to see progress in communications
→ they prioritize communicating with each other and having fun
→ they care about things but want to see the lighter side
→ they want to see the raw, authentic version and a true story
→ they want to be heard and have an interactive video experience so they feel that they are part of the conversion (thoughts from Mic*)
Instead of reading it, here is my Snap from Shoptalk on Millennials…
Why consumer startups should use Snapchat?
- To reach your core customer
Let’s be honest. Gen Z and young Millennials don’t want to use products such as Twitter. These are not bad products — they just fundamentally fail to deliver on what young people want today. If your audience is Millennials or Gen Z then chances are they are already on Snapchat, creating an opportunity for you to tap into them. - To have the personal touch
There is an opportunity for brands to connect with people more personally….. Snapchat is for you to share pictures and videos with your close friends. What if we could treat all our customers as close friends? Snapchat allows that to be done. Sour Patch Kids used Vine celebrity, Logan Paul, in this way where he published a Story on the brand and then reached out to fans directly on Snapchat. - To be ahead of the curve and differentiated from your competitors
Times are changing. 22% of brands are on Snapchat now and within a couple of years, it will be the majority. Innovative companies are leading the way — Mic have seen a 97% increase in their Snapchats this year alone. It is still a differentiated, unique customer acquisition channel. Get on, ahead of your competitors and win. - To get real time, interactive feedback from your customers
The addition of chat on Snapchat now allows you to get text and videos back from customers. Ask your customers what they like/ don’t like. Analyse that data. This interactive feedback is hugely valuable. - It can be free
Discovery aside, you can build a meaningful following for you and your brand at a fraction of the cost of other channels. I have also been using Snapchat for work (see Snaps below) and would love your thoughts. - To generate excitement and anticipation (especially with exclusives)
The NBA generated significant excitement for Kevin Durant’s MVP announcement and NARS had high anticipation for their new makeup line, both communicated via Snapchat. It is a valuable channel to spread the word and build the excitement about exclusives and new products. - To hire
Snapchat may reach a different audience that your core recruitment channels may not. GrubHub* used Snapchat as an effective hiring channel to recruit young employees and others are now doing the same.
I decided to give this a go myself and below are my first Snapchat videos while at Shoptalk’s conference:
Lightspeed are invested in video startups from Snapchat to Mic and from Cheddar to Giphy. We believe the future of the internet is video and if you are building a company in this space, we would love to hear from you.
Do follow me on Snapchat Story and please share your thoughts.
Snapchat ID: niksquinn
* denotes Lightspeed portfolio companies
Sources: syndacast.com, mwpdigitalmedia.com, mediaklx.com, fastcocreate.com, TechCrunch, forbes, theverge.com
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