You may have heard of Snapchat, if you are under 25 or have teenagers in the house, you probably have. Snapchat is an image and video sharing app for smart phones. The idea behind it is that images only last for a predetermined amount of time, and then close permanently. Receivers are unable to save or reopen any Snapchats they were sent, and the sender is notified if the receiver took a screenshot of their image. 

Alternatively, the user can add their image to their Snapchat Story, in which the image will be available for unlimited views by all their followers for 24 hours. Snapchat Story is simply a user's board which they can fill up with as many images or videos as they would like for all of their followers to see in a 24 hour period. 

Untill now, the app has only been used between friends, but businesses are now tapping into the marketing possibilities Snapchat provides.

How Snapchat has worked for some businesses

The nature of the snap only lasting a small amount of time creates urgency that demands full attention. This is a great motivator for any follower to find out more about your products and services.

Check out these businesses that are using Snapchat in their campaigns:

• Taco Bell
• The TV show 'Girls'
• Karmaloop, online clothing retailer.
• GrubHub, online food ordering company.

How to use Snapchat in your marketing campaigns

1. Promotions

   • Send followers an in store or online promotion. Build the hype by making the offer exclusive by sharing a promotion code. Your followers will grow fast if they think your Snapchat is an account they MUST follow to get the best deals.

2. Contests

   • Want feedback from your followers now? Send out a snap of your latest competition. For example, ask your followers to snap their ugliest shoes, worst shoes win a brand new pair for the following weekend! Post the competition on other social media platforms to grow your Snapchat follower base.

3. Create buzz

   • Got a new product or service you want everyone talking about? Send a 10 second image to all of your followers. This would work especially well for a retail shop that just got the latest winter fashion must-haves in store.

4. Reminders

   • Is the most hyped movie of the year set to come out this week? Remind people! Send out a Snapchat of the movie poster and the date of the first session. 

What businesses would Snapchat work for?

If your target market is 15-25 you should definitely consider Snapchat.

Using Snapchat in your marketing strategy is a great way to show customers you’re ‘cool’ without explicitly saying it. So if you’re having trouble connecting with your young clientele, Snapchat could be your way forward. 

A must do for the following business types:

• Restaurants, cafes and bars
• Retail outlets
• Theme parks or entertainment providers incl. Cinemas, mini golf, swimming pools
• Automotive (WOF’s, car maintenance)
• Higher education providers
• Pet shops or Zoo’s (people love a good animal pic!)

What to keep in mind before using Snapchat 

Snapchat is instant, so if you choose the wrong image or text, you cannot take it back once it is sent. You should also choose your Snapchat administrator carefully, as there is limited accountability if it all goes wrong.

It pays to keep in mind that Snapchat followers may reply, and the images they send back might not always be positive. In this case, block the user or ignore it. As with all social media, make sure you don't take negative feedback too personally.

How to use Snapchat

Part one: Download the free app from your Play Store or Itunes. 
Part two:Take the image. 

Part three: Tap the image to add words, decide how long you want to set the image for, then send it to your followers.

VideoBite makes it easy to create short movies on your smartphone—no experience necessary!

This app is great if you like to take video using your iPhone. Let me just say upfront, sorry this app is currently only for iOS. If you are an Android user you’ll find some alternatives, such as Kinemaster Pro, but video editing seems to be an area of weakness within Android.

Adobe are the crowd behind VideoBite. The app is really easy to use, and lets you create a video masterpiece, which you can upload to Facebook or Youtube, save on your phone, or send privately via SMS or email.

How it works is:

• Shoot your video as normal using your iPhone camera.
• Open VideoBite to edit.
• Mix and match clips from your camera roll.
• If you like, insert photos you’ve taken, add titles and transitions.
• You can add music directly from iTunes or use the pre-loaded soundtracks
• Trim long clips, add effects and filters, add text, preview and share.

This is a great little app that can really compete with iMovie, with an added bonus that it only takes up 28 MG of space, compared to iMovie’s 635MB.

Edit and create movies for your presentation while you are on your way in the taxi! Upload demos of your product in a jiffy. Also great app to have on hand for weddings, parties, or showcasing your trip.

Download your VideoBite app today for free from iTunes.

Google Adwords are a great way to appear in Google searches, and direct more traffic to your website. In fact, Adwords campaigns can work so well you might be overwhelmed with new customers. They can also be a money pit for those who don't know what they are doing.

An Adwords campaign is very easy and quick to set up, and get your ads running in no time. However, ongoing management of Adwords is a little trickier if you don't know what you are doing, or have a novice "jack-of-all-trades" developer running your Adwords for you.

How does it work?

Google Adwords, or other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, put simply is an advert that directs those who click on the ad to your website. Each time someone clicks on the advert, you get charged a cost-per-click. You set a budget for how much you are willing to pay per-click for a certain keyword; different keywords will cost more than others to say, appear on the first page. When someone searches in Google by typing in your specified keyword, your ad will display. Because you are only being charged when people click, PPC means you are only paying for people who were interested by your ad.

Alternatively, you can pay per impressions; the amount of people who have viewed the ad, regardless of whether they clicked the link.

Common DIY mistakes

• Your location is incorrect. Being found online in your local area is often really important, especially if you provide a service. If someone is searching with their location specified, and your ad incorrectly pops up or doesn't pop up at all, you've wasted your time and are missing out on business.
• Your keyword is too broad. You don't want to appear everywhere for everything associated with that keyword. It's not helping your business if you are a builder and your ad appears for searches like 'house rentals'.
• Your ad appears for negative searches. You select a keyword for your ad to appear in search, but that keyword also has some negative associations. It's not a good look if you appear where you shouldn't. For example, if you sell luxury handbags, you wouldn't want your ad to pop up when someone searches 'counterfeit handbags', or 'leather manufacturer hurts animals'.

Doing your own Google Adwords can take a lot of time and resources, especially when you are new to it. You can spend time not only researching keywords, but also then implementing the ads. You may end up wasting money and time by not having the most effective keywords for your business. If you have one dedicated employee working on your Adwords, what happens if they are sick, or leaves?
 

A qualified expert can save you money

An expert in Google Adwords has passed Google exams to become a certified Google Partner. They have a complete understanding and extensive experience in PPC. These professionals are passionate about PPC. They live and breathe it on a daily basis, so are constantly up-to-date with any changes Google may have made. They regularly participate in keyword research , so you will not waste money by using ineffective keywords. Plus in a large enough company, a whole team is trained, so one can simply take over if someone is sick or leaves.

Zeald have a team of Adwords professionals. Some of our clients who were previously managing their own Adwords campaigns, have had some great success when switching over to Zeald. One such company increased their traffic by 700% and their conversions by 160% within 5 months. Their campaign was so successful they had to turn off their ads to keep up with the demand. Adwords helped their business grow, and they can turn this campaign on again when they need to.

Regardless of whether you go it alone, or hire a professional, PPC campaigns are a great tool for any SME. At Zeald, we have fantastic resources for any company who wants to give PPC a try on their own, and we also have a dedicated team who deals with PPC on a daily basis.

If you would like to know more, please click the image below and fill out the form, one of our team will get in touch with you.