Snapchat has been reserved for the millennial audience, and for a long time, it has made many businesses who's demo falls out of the 18-24-year-old range very skeptical about approaching one of the most popular social media channels known to man. 

However, instead of shying away from Snapchat because you don't know where to start, or because you don't have a large following on there, you should be proactive in creating out-of-the-box content that not only will get your brand more followers but also get those followers to engage with you more. 

If you don't know where to start or are looking to step up your Snapchat game, below are the three ways you can start using the platform to your advantage. 

BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS

If you create content for your blog or website, and your followers wait to see everything when you put your posts live, chances are they are interested in seeing what a day in the life is when you're creating content, especially if you are an influencer. Snapchat is made to give your audience a more candid and personable view of you and your brand, so when creating content, feel free to bring them along with you when at photo shoots, fun meetings, or events. Make sure to cross promote on your socials to let your followers know that they can have a behind-the-scenes view on your Snapchat as well. Not only will you see that your following will grow, but becoming much more personable brand will also grow followers' brand loyalty towards you.

GIVE FOLLOWERS ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE DEALS

Now that you have your followers on Instagram, reward them! If you are selling product or tickets for a special event, drop special discounts that can last as long as the Snapchat is live (24 hours). These can be exclusive to only your Snapchat followers, so always make sure to cross-promote from your other channels and drive them to follow you for access to those deals. 

DROP SURPRISE GEOFILTERS

Snapchat now encourages you to create on-demand geofilters for any occasion, be it a birthday party, a concert, or any other special event. However, as a brand, you don't have to be limited to event geofilters. If you know the top cities and areas that you are most popular (be it a workplace, college campus, or shopping centers, etc.), feel free to drop geofilters that your audience can use as an option. They already use tons of filters to make their own content more dynamic, so why not give them a filter that is much more dedicated to them that they can use?
 

CREATE INTERACTIVE GEOFILTERS

Another element that you can add to surprise filters is making them interactive. Make sure to design your filters in a way that can engage people to use them, by adding a fill-in-the-blank element to it, or also creating graphics in the filter that the audience can interact with when creating a Snapchat. 

Another great way to generate more engagement from your interactive geofilters is by holding scavenger hunts that will encourage your followers to travel to destinations close just to find those filters. They can win a prize by using the filter and screenshotting it to ensure that traveled to the location to win a prize. Not only is it fun, but it's a great way to tie in an IRL element to a digital activation.

How have you used Snapchat for your brand? Do you like these ideas, or do you think that your brand will start moving towards the popular app? If you like these or have any other ideas, please let us know below!

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