Consumer engagement and timeliness go hand-in-hand, and when the makers of mobile applications Vine and Snapchat were designing, they may have taken that premise quite literally.
What started as a fun way to shoot quick videos and photos has become a global phenomenon, with each application serving more than 30 million strong, and 400 million pieces of content being shared daily. Not surprisingly, brands are jumping on board and taking advantage of these instant gratification channels, designing campaigns specifically for these mobile apps and utilizing influencer marketing, snappy how-to’s, and video contests, among others.
When Lowe’s launched their “Never Stop Improving” campaign in 2013, for example, Resolution Media was tasked with utilizing social media in a big way. The introduction of looping video app, Vine, jump-started #FixinSix, a series of 6-second clips that provide household tips and tricks to consumers looking to Lowe’s for support in their home improvement projects. The reaction was immediate, with the campaign achieving more than 15 million earned impressions and many thousands of social mentions on both Vine and Twitter. The “Fix in Six” campaign continues to drive high engagement for the Lowe’s brand.
The “burn-after-reading” photo and video app, Snapchat, presents a whole new way of engagement, and it's quickly becoming a focus of brands targeting millennials, as recent studies show that 73 percent of college students would open a Snapchat message from a brand they knew. Pioneer users like Taco Bell and the New Orleans Saints regularly release behind-the-scenes footage and sneak peeks of upcoming products, with others like GrubHub and 16 Handles using the app to send exclusive offers in return for consumer engagement.
Brands are quickly realizing the advantages of using these platforms vs. traditional media, as they offer branded content in a compact and compelling way while addressing the consumer’s mobile-first mindset, but getting the most out of each isn’t as simple as hitting record for 6 seconds. Here’s how some of the most successful brands are doing it:
Promote Interaction – Encourage conversation through contests and sweepstakes that require positive promotion of the brand. When 16 Handles used Snapchat, they drove consumers to their locations to snap pictures in exchange for discounts.
Use Influencers –Vine “celebrities” have emerged, and brands are hiring them to create and promote to their millions of followers. The five-figure sums these influencers are cashing in on are a bargain for brands compared to the impressions being generated.
#Hashtags – Hashtags promote content and make brands searchable to consumers. The more relevant hashtags used, the more likely your brand is to build a community that can regularly interact though the hashtag.
Time will tell how marketers will further use these apps, but as more thought leaders jump on board (McDonalds, GE), so will brands looking to make a bigger splash in an increasingly mobile atmosphere.