As a Photographer or Small business owner you might be wondering what is all the whooohaaa with #snapchat at the moment and is Snapchat for Photographers?
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So… Is Snapchat for Photographers or just kids?
Isn’t that just an app for school kids to mess around on and waste time sending naughty pics of themselves to each other?
You might be thinking “I’m an adult, I don’t know any adults using Snapchat”, plus, “is this just another social network that I have to learn! ahhhh” really??? “why? why should I bother?” Is Snapchat for Photographers or is it just a gimmick?
**Before you go any further** (Add me on #Snapchat: inkfxprinting I’ll add you back!)
As many of you know I’ve been going hard on #snapchat for the past few weeks. I’m a big believer and convert. There’s a number of reasons why I’m sold that #snapchat is going huge and why you don’t want to miss out by being too slow to the party!
It’s a Great tool to connect and engage with your people on a more engaging level than email, SMS, youtube videos, etc etc.
If you’re not yet on there here’s a couple of stats I was reading this morning about it that might help you consider it as an opportunity for you and your business too…
18% of all social media users in the US are on Snapchat (source).
70% of Snapchat users are women, which makes this a great outreach tool for that demographic (source).
71% of Snapchat users are under 25 years of age, so that is the other main demographic that you can reach (source).
30% of millennials in the US use Snapchat regularly (source).
77% of college students use Snapchat every day (source).
58% of college students have stated they would likely buy a product from a brand that sent them a coupon via Snapchat (source).
Just to underscore Snapchat’s value, Facebook reportedly offered to purchase it for $3 billion.
Obviously these stats are US based but I think you’ll see the trend similar here in Australia. We’ll be sharing more Snapchat tips and ideas for using it over the coming weeks too.
Gary Vaynerchuk the leading Social Media expert in the world and CEO of Vayner Media said:
“If I was a photographer starting out, looking to build an audience on social media, Snapchat is the number one place I would start sharing and uploading my photos. Snapchat is one of the only platforms that guarantees consumption, so as a photographer using snapchat photos that’s incredibly interesting.” (source)
He also said:
“The #1 place for a photographer to build an audience is SnapChat! I know it sounds insane, but if you’re trying to sell your photography online, SnapChat can almost guarantee” (source)
What about Facebook?
As you’ve probably noticed we’re going ALL IN with SNAPCHAT in 2016 and there’s a good reason for it. As you would know after 10 years or so Facebook as major penetration in the market.
It wasn’t that long ago when chatting with my father and his utter frustration with computers he spoke of his solution to fix the worlds computer problems by digging a massive hole and putting all the computers in it and the world would be a better place.
Now, my own father is on Facebook!!!! LOL I had fun reminding him the other day of his old comments about ‘computers’. But, as you can see there has been a massive shift from the early adopters (uni/school students) on facebook to now the older generations and massive adoption by businesses and marketers.
So, how easy is it to get on Snapchat?
It’s super easy! Just download the app on your phone either iOS or Android. Register for an account and you’re away. Start snapping.
How to use it…Personal Messaging & Your Story (My Story)
In Snapchat you have 2 main areas of messaging / posting content.
- Private / personal messaging directly to individuals (can be an individual or a multiple people at once)
- ‘My Story’ which is your 24 hour ‘timeline’ that is your live, living, breathing story of what is going on with you and/your business behind the scenes.
You can post both short movies capped at 10 seconds OR photos with captions and some basic filters plus you can draw all over the photos freehand if you like! Show your creative genius. (See the Snapchat Art below)
What are we posting on our Snapchat?
At inkfxprinting we’re posting a stack of Behind the Scenes (BTS) Videos, Photos and Updates that would otherwise be difficult and much more delayed to show via other methods.
Here’s a quick video from one of our days on Snapchat. We’re evolving too 🙂 learning as we go!
Just a quick tip, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the stats above show that Snapchat is only for kids. You might remember that Facebook started off similar for college kids now my grandma has a Facebook account ??
If you’re a Snapchat user leave your username below in the comments section, we’ll add you and get connecting. Don’t forget to add us: inkfxprinting (you can actually take a photo of this graphic below and then add it via the ‘Add Friends’ option to ‘Add by Snapcode’ that is actually very cool. Kind of like a QR code.
We’d also, love to hear your thoughts and feedback on Snapchat below and any suggestions or tips for new users!
Snapchat Art (Get creative!)
Check out these dudes in Forbes magazine:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/07/23/snapchat-celebrity-advertising/#2715e4857a0b7368582a374d Professional Snapchatters! 🙂
Snapchat for ‘Engagement’
Snapchat is really just another means to ‘engage’ and connect with your clients and potential clients. To allow them to get a behind the scenes look at you and your business in a way that would not normally be possible.
It’s a social app. Be social. Engage with others. Don’t use it to hussle everyone on there to use your business services. No one likes the douche bag who goes in for the kill on the first interaction.
Be yourself and have some fun.
Use your voice – give it a go!
Don’t be shy or scared to use your own voice. Don’t just get stuck in the rut of posting pictures with a little message. It’s better than nothing and certainly has a purpose and great to mix it up with the videos BUT don’t avoid video because you aren’t yet comfortable infront of the camera or comfortable with your voice on camera.
Here’s a How to Use Snapchat Video
There are heaps of videos like this on Youtube. So if you’re wanting other tips & tricks for Snapchat it’s a great place to start.
Add me on #Snapchat: inkfxprinting I’ll add you back!
Leave your thoughts and any comments below. LOVE to hear your thoughts on the Snapchat for Photographers movement…
Follow us on:
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TWITTER: https://twitter.com/inkfxprinting
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/shanegoldberglive
Still Wondering if Snapchat is for you?