Snap Studies: How Brands Can Connect with Snapchat Fervent User Base

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

When Snapchat first burst onto the scene in 2012, it attracted millennials and Gen Z-ers in droves. But brands (for the most part) stayed away - they were still trying to harness the power of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And millennials and Gen Z-ers loved having a network all to themselves, a space where they could communicate with their friends all day without any brand interruptions. This peaceful paradise didn’t last too long, however, as brands quickly took notice of Snapchat’s impressive user stats. Younger generations were living and breathing snaps, and brands wanted in. Now with a daily video view rate of 10 billion daily views, brands are experimenting with various storytelling and ad formats to serve always-on content to their growing audiences. 

Today, Snapchat is a publicly traded company with an IPO boosted by the network’s ability to secure consistent user engagement. And brands boast features tailor made for brands, including Discover Stories and custom filters and geotags to promote specific events. As of 2016, advertisers were coughing up a minimum of $100,000 to run ads on the platform; a cost well worth the advantage of connecting with two generations aging up and gaining spending power.

In addition to paid promotion, brands are also investing more in their organic content on the brand. Through regular behind-the-scenes stories and influencer takeovers, the platform is giving brands the opportunity to share more relaxed and playful content with audiences. However, some features and storytelling strategies are proving to be more valuable than others. Here are a few lessons you can learn from some of the most successful campaigns and brands on Snapchat. 

The Good

Real-Time Marketing: Netflix (Gilmore Girls)

To garner even more excitement for the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival ahead of its November 2016 release, the Netflix team enacted a massive offline-meets online Snapchat campaign. Netflix took over 200 cafes and effectively turned them into Luke’s Diner, the Gilmore Girls casts’ main hangout on the show. Each cafe distributed cups with a Snapchat QR code that gave customers access to a custom Luke’s Diner filter on the app. The one day stunt was a massive success as the branded filter was viewed over 880,00 times.

GE: Storytelling

Since 2014, General Electric (GE) has been a brand that has used Snapchat’s storytelling capabilities to the fullest extent. From launching geo-targeted travel filters over the holidays to all-star story appearances from Buzz Aldrin, GE uses Snapchat to educate and entertain their followers about the wonders of science. In 2016, the company even livestreamed a 1,200 foot descent into a volcano on the platform. The channel is not devoted to selling GE products, but rather, its primary intent is to teach audiences interesting lessons - lessons that often entice to audiences to visit GE’s social profiles for more explorations. GE continues to push the boundaries of creative education and video storytelling by utilizing all of Snapchat’s features. 

Taco Bell: Sponsored Filters

To celebrate Cinco De Mayo in 2016, Taco Bell launched a giant Taco filter. While the images of people’s heads as tacos were frightening, the filter’s stats were anything but scary. The viral filter racked up 224 million impressions for Snapchat throughout the one-day only marketing campaign. Taco Bell has always been on the cutting edge of Snapchat because it never took itself too seriously on the platform; their ongoing platform success stems from a willingness to get content creative and take risks. It’s content is filled with hand-drawn illustrations and playful copy. And as the Giant Taco filter proved, funny and playful content on Snapchat can generate big brand results.

The Bad

Discover 

Snapchat Discover has had a difficult time resonating with the platform’s primary demographics. Perhaps it’s because the intention of Snapchat Discover, to bring news, entertainment, and pop culture coverage to the platform, is so disconnected from why people use Snapchat in the first place: to connect with people through playful fleeting stories. But Snapchat Discover is enticing for brands, because it gives them an opportunity to slip more traditional ads between publishers’ content. Some argue that the wave of publishers is diluting the app, as the more publishers that get added, the less spontaneous Snapchat feels. Since Discover’s 2016 redesign, publishers have seen a 28% drop off after the first story. However, a decrease in engagement has stopped partners from signing up. 

While time will only tell if the Discover section becomes less disruptive for Snapchat users, one thing is for certain today: there are other, effective ways to engage with audiences on the network.

 What's the Conclusion?

In the coming years Snapchat will only become more valuable to brands. Snapchat is quickly attracting older audiences, which means that the platform’s diversity should attract brands across verticals. The brands that can constantly utilize Snapchat’s features to their fullest extent and experiment with ongoing storytelling angles will be the ones best positioned to transform on-platform engagement into off-platform results. 

WHAT'S NEXT: The Evolution of Social Platforms and Their Influence on Daily Life

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*by andreascy*

The Evolution of Social Platforms and Their Influence on Daily Life

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

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Over the last decade or so, the evolution of social platforms has both been hard to keep up with and understand. The turn of the century had seen the internet become a mainstream platform, with the creation of online chat messengers becoming commonplace across the web. Today, though, we have the power of social media – the websites that allow us to keep in contact with friends and family, and make new friends from all across the world. 

However, for many, social media is a monster – one that won’t be going back in its box anytime soon. This is a major issue; as social development is going to be majorly dictated to by the evolution of social platforms. So, how does the development of social platforms have an impact on our daily lives? Is it possible that Facebook and Twitter etc. now help to determine the day-to-day existence of many people?

We’ve moved long beyond that period. In fact, many people believe there might be a pretty strong correlation between the rise of social media and the total change in the political sphere across the world in the last decade.

A New Political Climate

One part of everyday life that has changed irrevocably due to social media is politics. Today, if you spend long enough on political debate from the United Kingdom or United States is social media, you can find a few typical terms and phrases.

- “If we had social media, Iraq and Afghanistan could have been avoided.”

- “We voted for Trump/Brexit because of social media lies.”

- “The mainstream media does not inform us anymore – social media does!”

This idea now that we are being lied to by all mainstream media sources, or that the current political climate could have been avoided if social media was faster, is an interesting one. Many people now happily accept that they were lied to by government, and that this has been a major factor in leading society to where it is today.

With so many government lies and scandals being uncovered since the development of social media, and the implication of the media in many scandals, it’s easy to see why people trust social media over mainstream media. This has helped to shape a new, post-truth political climate.

More people than ever, it would appear, are engaged and interested in politics. The only problem is that social media has created a ravenous location for half-truths and full-on fiction be pushed.

Now, people prefer to listen to trusted social media accounts or people who agree with their general view of things. This leads us to another everyday social problem. 

Filling the Echo Chamber

Now that many of us are happy to pigeonhole people into certain tags and themes, we can avoid talking to them. Social media, for all its positive function, has created massive divides in many parts of society. Whereas in the past we would be forced to be around people with differing and even uncomfortable points of view if we wished to be in public, social media changes that.

Now, we can be surrounded by thousands of people and have massive amounts of human interaction all day – with only the people we choose. This is a bad thing in many ways, as it creates the ability for people to deliver themselves to dangerous echo chambers.

These limit debate and stifle the truth of what is being said. When five people all meet on social media today, they are either in full agreement and wish to discuss how right they are, or they are polar opposites and are likely going to start abusing each other for being “deluded”.

This is the modern position of social media. We ignore and revile all those who sit on the other side of the fence of us. Unlike before, in reality, whereby we are forced to interact with people who have different or even opposite views, social media allows us to only speak to people that agree with us.

This is good for self-confidence, but bad for finding the truth. How can you be sure that what you are saying or thinking is going to be right when it’s come from a group of sources who completely ignore any opposing or alternate view?

It’s due to this kind of thinking that the rise of fake quotes, ‘memes’ and partisan social media groups has become a thing. If social media has eroded one thing besides from our privacy? It’s our ability to listen to opposing views.

The Raw Human Emotion

One positive aspect of social media, though, is that it allows those without the social stability or availability to be a major part of society. Many people now have large followings and have influence in their industry due to the awareness of social media. From campaigns to raise awareness for illness to a powerful story of overcoming fear and repression, social media allows those without a voice in person to have a megaphone to use online.

From there, people who had no social mobility or potential can use their sheer emotion and determination to make a critical difference. In the past, man people were not afforded this luxury and instead would spend huge chunks of their time hiding emotions and allowing them to fester inside.

Social media has opened a new age of expressionism. Whilst it can feel suffocating when on the wrong end of it, this kind of open-minded approach (especially for those without the capability to do so themselves) makes for an interesting new take on society as a whole.

If there is one thing that we can agree upon, it's that social media has changed the way that everyone lives. From how we consume media to the kinds of media we would even listen to or trust, social media has transformed how we think, how we feel and how we act.

Even if you aren’t on social media, its overall effect on society is so profound that you cannot help but feel changed by it.

INTERESTING ARTICLE: How The Internet Changed The World We Live In

So ask yourself - and please comment - how does social media impact your life and what does this mean to you?

*by andreascy*

Popular Mobile Apps In 2013

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Certain apps have been used by several thousands of people over this past year, but there are other apps that are few and far between that have millions of users using them on a daily basis. 

License: Creative Commons

Apps are a huge market with millions of Apple lovers that just enjoy how there are so many new things happening every single week in the App store. Discover below the four biggest mobile apps of 2013:

Snapchat

Snapchat is being considered the #1 app of 2013. Even Wall Street is considering it one of the best since they are becoming obsessed with this little online tool. It is a great thing to use on your iPhone when you are bored. The way it works is simple; it lets you capture photos in an instant, send them to certain friends, and let them view the snap. The trick is that the photo/snap disappears when you send it. For some people, they may want their friends to look at it for ten seconds and for others around several minutes. Snapchat showcases that your special moments should he shared instantly with others.

Vine

Vine is another cool app famous among teenagers. It allows for you to upload videos with cute designs to Vine. You can easily send them to your friends and family almost instantly. You can post them on your other famous social networks. It is a fun way to share short quick moments at a fast notice whenever you want without having to yank out your video camera. Vine works on your iPhone, and it is so easy to use once you get used to it. No doubt, this is one of the most popular apps on the market today.

Wanelo

Wanelo stands for Want Need Love. It is one beautiful online community to share the love for shopping. You can actually buy everything that is seen on this app that is being posted by users. This community, when you download the app, is sort of like a family, and if you want to buy quality items that may or may not ever be available in a regular store, Wanelo has everything you want. Being popular for their cute and stylish app, teens are downloading this app like crazy and shopping through this app by storm.

Flow

So let's shift gears and look at one popular game in the app world. Flow is a fun game that is simple and easy enough, and the concept is quite easy to grasp, but once you begin playing the harder levels, you will find this to be harder than it really looks. Your goal is to connect the green dot with the other green dot; blue dot with the blue; red with red; and so on.

SEE ALSO: Top Educational Apps For All Ages

These apps are all very famous and popular. They are all worth downloading for yourself if you want to be up to date on the latest trends in the Apple world. If you want a way to have fun, use the fun apps above to keep you occupied.

Til we meet again, my friends… I wish you peace, love and fine tequila.. if you can't find the first two, you can always find the last. Live in peace! ;)

*by andreascy*