The experts have been saying it for a couple of years now, and given some of the most current statistics, it seems like 2016 might actually be The Year of Snapchat:
- There are more than 100 million daily active users
- There are an average of 9,000 snaps every second
- 8 billion video snaps are sent every day
- The average user spends 30 minutes in the app every day
Probably the most telling news that points to Snapchat’s coming of age is the fact that Facebook is now developing its own Snapchat-esque camera app. The addition of features like Stories, geo-filters and face recognition lenses has made the app even more interactive (and dare we say, “fun?”) and more importantly for us, a bit more metrics-driven.
As marketers, if you don’t have a familiarity with the app, its time you spend some time exploring and understanding how brands and individuals are grabbing attention. Here are a few active and interesting accounts to help get you started:
- Taco Bell (username: tacobell) – one of the first brands to be active on the platform, they’re constantly experimenting, exploring and even using user-submitted snaps for their own story.
- The Huffington Post (username: huffpost) – If you’re over the age of 34 Huffpost’s Snapchat correspondents may seem young to you (speaking from experience here…). But the way the organization has embraced the channel for what it is and the creativity and user engagement they bring to the platform is worth a follow.
- Shaun McBride (username: Shonduras) – One of the original Snapchat professionals (yes, that’s a thing), he’s taken the platform beyond personal snaps and into the world of corporate sponsorships.
- Nordstrom (username: nordstrom) – Nordstrom continues to be at the forefront of early-adopting established brands on social platforms. The case study of their recent University Shoe Challenge is eye opening.
- The White House (username: whitehouse) – For ongoing, interesting behind-the-scenes snaps from President Obama’s staff.
- DJ Khalid (username: djkhaled305) – A hip-hop artist who also happens to be one of the most famous individuals on Snapchat. Follow him and you’ll get a sense of what snapping your day-to-day moments would be like if you’re extremely wealthy (which sometimes involves getting lost on your jet ski at night).
- The Colorado Rockies (username: rockies) – We’re playing a hometown card here. There are a lot of professional sports organizations on Snapchat, and some are better than others. The Rockies put out consistent stories that are mostly behind-the-scenes and give us different insights into the day-to-day workings of the team than their other social platforms.
This definitely isn’t a complete list, but it should give those of you who are new to Snapchat a wide variety of content examples. Happy exploration!
