South African marketers continue to debate whether to include Snapchat in their social media strategy.
US-based content marketing platform Newscred says it’s difficult for brands to ignore its audience of 150m daily users.
Snapchat is primarily used for creating multi-media messages referred to as “snaps” and can consist of a photo or a short video and be edited to include filters, effects and captions.
Though primarily seen as appealing to younger people, globally Snapchat has added users aged between 25 and 34 (up by 103%) and older-than-35 users (84%) faster than 18-24 users (56%) in the past year.
But, notes Newscred: “If you’re targeting millennials, ignoring their love of Snapchat is folly. On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18-34-year-olds in the US.”
Figures for the SA market are harder to come by. Some experts estimate penetration is not more than 2%-5% of smartphone owners but is growing.
Newscred says marketers should not regurgitate the same content on Snapchat that is posted on other channels.
“Snapchat is unique and content should be pithy and personal.”
The technology website Memeburn says for the SA market it makes more sense to use Snapchat influencers in campaigns as opposed to running brand accounts.