3 Snapchat myths debunked
Have you ever tried explaining Snapchat to NON Snapchat user?
It’s almost impossible.
Snapchat may be the 2nd most innovative platform of the decade (behind Facebook of course!). We’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s really really hard to prove its awesomeness to someone who doesn't use it.

But the numbers don’t lie.
Snapchat recently surpassed Twitter’s average daily usage with a staggering 150MILLION daily users. It’s also expanded its audience base past bratty teens with an estimated 14% of new users over the age of 35.
Despite its remarkable success, most companies don’t see the value. The short-term shelf life and lack of analytics is a huge turnoff for digital marketers who rely on data to survive.
On the other hand, social media enthusiast see the potential. We see the innovation. We see the opportunity. Now how do we convince everyone else?
There's no real ROI.
ROI is a pretty straightforward acronym. Right? Are we still limiting the definition of RETURN as a hard sale on social media? Let’s backtrack. It’s been proven that social media exposes your brand, heightens your relevance and offers unmatched community between you and your audience. Isn’t that a return?
While veteran networks like Facebook and Twitter have introduced high-level ad platforms, we must remember the old days. For quite some time, companies were lagging to create a presence on either network. The brands that saw past immediate monetary gain were able to build engaging social communities from the beginning. Now they’re reaping the benefits of millions of organic eyeballs falling on their content everyday.
Absolutely no analytics....
Snapchat does offer analytics. Sort of. As you ‘snap’ you can track your views in real-time. Is there a high-end insights dashboard? No. But tracking audience reach is feasible; it just takes a bit more manual effort.
E-commerce brands have also begun to share exclusive, Snapchat only promotions. MeUndies, a millennial focused underwear brand, has experimented with this approach by sharing secret URLs at the end of their Snapchat stories. This drives traffic to the site, and because the link is only shared via Snapchat, tracking is simple.
I have nothing to snap about.
Does your brand host or sponsor community events? If so, branded on-demand geofilters are a no-brainer. This is a great alternative for brands who haven't really figured out where Snapchat fits in their overall strategy but still want a piece of the pie!
Users within the designated area (geo-fence) will pick up access to custom community filters. They then can choose to adorn their snaps with the filter, exposing it to anyone who views their Snapchat story.

Check out the Bernie Sanders campaign team's attempt to rope in last minute voters with their NYC geo-fenced filter during the primaries in April. Geo-fences this large can become quite expensive, but it's a great representation of utilizing Snapchat to publicize a time-sensitive message / event.
The people who come to your event will snap. Why not capitalize on the opportunity for exposure? It’ll be seen by audiences you have yet to reach…and there’s analytics to pull after the geofilter has expired :).
Just like any other social network, it takes time to build a great community.
Your content won’t go viral overnight. But it’s safe to say, Snapchat isn’t going anywhere. Schedule a brainstorming session with your team and dive into the possibilities!