Is Snapchat About to Become Relevant?

by Lily Bradic

Fashion publication InStyle has announced plans to reveal their highly anticipated September cover using the social messaging app, Snapchat.

​With the 35-54 age bracket making up a strong 41.6% of the publication’s readership, Snapchat does seem an unlikely choice for a first-glimpse reveal like this. After all, most of their readers are highly unlikely to be Snapchat users. Popular among teens, tweens and twenty-somethings, the messaging app has not seen an ad campaign this size since Taco Bell used it to snare millennials. 

And that seems to be what InStyle is doing, too — and, if you’re looking to grow your audience and introduce teenagers and twenty-somethings to your brand, you could do the same. First, here’s what you need to know.

Millennials don’t appreciate interruption marketing (who does?) but they’re better at avoiding it than their parents. They know how to block ads, unfollow accounts, and can navigate a webpage without even so much as glimpsing at the banner ads. If you’d like their attention, you have to offer them something that they actually want.

And what do they want? Discounts. Coupons. Exclusive content. Things that they can’t find by doing a Google search. 

Use Snapchat successfully, and the lucrative under-25 demographic could be yours — and they’re loyal. They talk about brands they like. They want to interact. They value the opinions of their friends. There’s a good chance they’ll be your customers for a long time.

But, if your marketing strategy is too aggressive or too eager, you’ll lose them. Don’t be like the clingy teenage boyfriend/girlfriend they just broke up with. Be mysterious, intriguing — and approachable:

• Tease new products before release
• Keep it exclusive — don’t cross-post from other networks to Snapchat
• Run Snapchat-only contests and competitions
• Give fans an incentive to add you as a friend — spontaneous giveaways, for example 
• Never ask for shares unless you’re offering something in return
• Use Twitter and Tumblr to promote your Snapchat presence

Oh, and if you’d like to add InStyle on Snapchat, their username is instyle.

Have any experience using Snapchat for marketing? Share your tips in the comments!