How to get involved with Snapchat, without actually being on Snapchat

Eight seconds. Not only is that the length of the average human attention span, but it’s also the average duration of a Snapchat post. By nature, Snapchat is ephemeral -- a social platform filled with images, text and videos lasting up to 10 seconds before quickly disappearing.

There are 158 million people who use the app every day, making Snapchat not only a popular way to connect with friends, but also an opportunity for brands to interact with consumers across the globe. Snapchat is a resource for enterprises to build an engaged following and boost brand visibility (take Taco Bell’s successful snap strategy), but is not necessarily for everyone.

Millennials make up more than half of Snapchat users. For companies with a product or service targeted toward that generation and not toward high-level decision makers, the platform seems like a perfect fit. However, it’s a big investment for a business to create and maintain an account. Why? The content has to be created live and posted on a consistent basis to stay relevant to the audience. Now that Instagram offers Stories, which has similar features and capabilities, it’s not always imperative for brands to create a Snapchat account, too.

There are other ways to be involved, without having to make a huge dent in available resources. Here are three of them:

1. Paid Influencers: Snapchat influencers are modern-day digital celebrities, who are skilled with the tools of the app and understand the importance of the channel’s features. Most importantly, he or she already has a substantial and diverse following. For example, brands at New York Fashion Week enlist influencers to cover their runway shows and collections. Companies can also hire influencers to provide tips, tricks, and tools to educate their followers on how different products work. And, since clips are limited to 10-second increments, the quick content keeps consumers intrigued.
2. Media Relations: Various media outlets have their own Snapchat channel, from CNN to PopSugar, with various ongoing segments. Pitching the reporter is a great way to get on his or her radar to include a mention or feature of your brand. For example, Sam Sheffer hosts a weekly snap series called “Tech Tuesday,” highlighting various technology products and services.
3. Geofilters: Geofilters are overlays on snaps that communicate the “where and when” of an event. The filters are totally customizable and only available to users within a particular location. If a company is hosting an event, or attending a conference, creating a geofilter is unique and fun way to increase brand awareness and interact with users.

Snapchat’s authentic platform allows businesses to strengthen their brand with real-time marketing and updates, in more ways than one. No need to make a snap decision, there are numerous approaches to get involved with the social platform.