October 6, 2016
by Carla Johnson
B2B marketers have tapped social media as a pillar approach to reaching audiences. In fact, 83{1fa3f09e2bb6719cc6653a34c4038b8f8c4ebd7a060bb979778d4383cd5dd806} of respondents in the 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends from Content Marketing Institute named social media content and their number one go-to tactic.
But social media for B2B usually means LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. A few brands that live on the edge take advantage of Instagram and Pinterest.
But Snapchat? Fergettaboutit.
Or is that a head-in-the-sand for B2B marketers?
It seems that may be the case.
In an effort to get online content seen and consumed by the right audience on the best channels, marketers are taking a deeper look at Snapchat. A post by Relevance points out that users between the age of 18 and 29 spend an average of 20 minutes a day on Snapchat, while 30-44 year-olds spend just nine minutes on average. We’re even seeing the rise of Snapchat producers as more people get their news from social media.
But only 1{1fa3f09e2bb6719cc6653a34c4038b8f8c4ebd7a060bb979778d4383cd5dd806} of marketers are using it. Why?
According to Social Media Today, they aren’t using it because they don’t understand it and it’s too risky. “Risky” as in many think of its beginnings when it was best-known as a facilitator for ‘sexting.’ But the platform has grown up since then, and it’s not one of the fastest growing social networks globally.
What does that mean for B2B marketers?
A recent article in Entrepreneur points out several things.
If your B2B brand isn’t on Snapchat yet, here’s are a few stats that should motivate you:
- 22 percent of ad execs plan to advertise on Snapchat in 2016.
- Snapchat ads are viewed up to a million times per day.
- 60 percent of all smartphone users are now on Snapchat.
- 60 percent of Snapchat users are between the ages of 18 and 34.
But success can’t come without a thoughtful strategy. And here’s three things to keep in mind:
1. Storytelling.
Users are loving Snapchat’s storytelling abilities. But it’s not for the novice storyteller. With a 10-second limit on videos we’re in the category of “constraints build creativity.” But with our audience’s attention spans becoming shorter and shorter, B2B marketers need to be brilliant in shorter bits of time. Snapchat lets you capture moments quicker and create more intimacy with your audience.
2. Incentives.
Snap don’t tweet. You can use existing social channels to promote your Snapchat account and make that platform the only way to redeem offers. And with snaps that disappear in 24 hours, it takes care of expiration for you.
3. Excitement.
Snapchat is associated with fun. And B2B marketing is…well..boring. But it doesn’t have to be. As GE Vice Chair Beth Comstock says, “B2B doesn’t have to mean boring-to-boring.” This is another, and a new, way to connect with your audiences. Especially a younger one who, like it or not, are becoming your B2B buyers.
In the end, the purpose behind using Snapchat is the same for every platform – to build relationships. With the lengthy process of B2B buyers, marketers need to tap every tool they can to capture and keep attention in order to deepen relationships.
Is Snapchat part of your storytelling strategy? Let me know in the comments below.
Read the full Entrepreneur article.
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Photo credit: Snapchat
