Brands in the 21st century have been forced to constantly re-work their marketing strategy, as new technologies emerge and traditional platforms disappear. The problem that brands continue to face is that traditional advertising tools don’t carry the weight that they once did, as the messages will often fall on deaf ears. This is where sponsored Snapchat Geofilters have a leg up on the competition, they generate meaningful advertising by not outwardly advertising. Let me explain.
Consider what environment millennials were raised in. They were born into an emerging digital world with opportunities for companies to advertise directly to them in a way that no previous generation could relate to. Millennials are used to seeing ads integrated into almost every facet of their lives, and overall, this has lessened the effectiveness of these ads over time. As the millennial generation ages and increases its buying power, it has become increasingly important for brands to find ways to engage this unique audience. So how do you advertise to an audience where many have stopped listening? The answer is simple and complicated at the same time: Let your customers do the talking for you.
Powerful Digital Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Businesses have known for a long time that word-of-mouth marketing is some of the best advertising that a brand can experience. The value of a recommendation of a peer is clearly more powerful than the biased opinion of a business telling you how great they are. Outside of having an amazing service or product, businesses need to find a way to insert themselves into these conversations in order to stay relevant. Enter Snapchat Geofilters. By providing something of value to their customers – the ability to add a creative and fun graphic to their photo/video – brands give these customers an easy and non-intrusive way to share their experience with the brand to their close friends. These sponsored filters naturally integrate into the platform, as the entire Snapchat community was built around the idea of sharing the moment in time and place that you’re experiencing.
Give Customers the Opportunity to Become Brand Ambassadors
Reap the Benefits of Snapchat by Overcoming the Fear of Putting your Brand in the Hands of Others
It is understandably more nerve-wracking for a business to provide their customers this increased opportunity to be their brand ambassadors. Why should you take on the risk of allowing a customer to say something negative about your business, when you can control the message being delivered through other means of advertising? Firstly, as noted above, there is a huge difference in the power of the messaging in these types of brand endorsements. Secondly, in today’s digital world, it is impossible to completely avoid the ability for negative experiences to be shared. With Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Yelp, etc., there are endless ways for customers to share their dissatisfaction. This is not something that can be avoided, plain and simple. Therefore, it makes no sense for a business to miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on the upside of these platforms. In the case of Snapchat, these sponsored filters provide this upside while maintaining the same level of risk as any other platform. When an individual sends a Geofilter, they may not necessarily be endorsing your brand. They may simply be sharing their location with close friends. Regardless of the intent of the message being sent, however, the recipient will have a different experience. An individual receiving a sponsored filter does not necessarily know the context of why a Geofilter was sent, and therefore, can interpret this as a personal endorsement of the brand. By capitalizing on the sharing nature of Snapchat, businesses can benefit from these apparent personal brand endorsements by increasing the power they provide to their customers.
Only by embracing these new branding opportunities can businesses ensure that they are staying relevant with their customers’ preferred communication channels. While providing the tools for customers to do your marketing for you is an intimidating undertaking, Snapchat Geofilters provide a safe opportunity given how pictures/videos are shared and perceived in their app. It’s important to continue to innovate your marketing strategy so that people will listen, and by empowering customer conversation in a way that they enjoy, your brand will continue to thrive in the digital age.
Tom, Manager of Corporate Relations
[email protected]
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2015/04/28/research-shows-millennials-dont-respond-to-ads/#20bac3dc5dcb
