Are you using the fastest growing social media app in your business? If not, you may want to get onboard, fast! Snapchat is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. According to Bloomberg, 150 million people use the service each day, and not just teenagers – that number has grown rapidly thanks to the number of businesses using the app in their social media strategy.

In fact, snapchat’s growth has surpassed that of Twitter in terms of daily active users and created so much buzz that Facebook offered to buy the popular video app for $3 billion. Clearly, this is an app you’ll want to add to your social media platform.

What is Snapchat

So, what exactly is snapchat and how does it work? Snapchat is a photo and video messaging app that allows you to send videos and pictures, both of which will self destruct after a few seconds of a person viewing them. You can however, quickly take a screenshot of snaps and save them as images. The app is primarily used for creating multimedia messages referred to as “snaps.” These snaps can consist of a photo or a short video, and can be edited to include filters and effects, text captions, and drawings. You can also add ‘snaps’ to your “story”, a 24-hour collection of your photos and videos, which can then be broadcast to the world or your followers – are you beginning to see the social media reach and possibilities here?

At its core, Snapchat is used to send photos and videos – called snaps – to friends and followers. But what’s so great if they snaps only last up to 10 seconds?  Read on, there’s much more to the power of Snapchat.

The hospitality industry is all about experiences, so why not give potential clients a sample of the experiences they’ll have in your destination.  You can use your phone to quickly and easily create a snapstory to share with others.  Here are a few ways you can tap into the power of snapchat.

Create Buzz

Use snapchat to send images and/or videos of the destination, property or even a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation for the event. Consider including portions of site inspection to build excitement and give attendees a glimpse of what they can expect. You can include the preplanning stages in a blog or create a small video or GIF and send it via Snapchat.

Product Launch

Have a new product launch? Give an ‘insiders’ look at the new product or just a few hidden ‘teasers’ to build buzz around the unveiling. You may want to create a hashtag followers can use when discussing the teasers.

Encourage Engagement
Contests are a great way to create engagement. Try building a contest around your snapstory. You could ask guests to identify the location of the story, like a scavenger hunt via snapchat. Or you could build excitement about your companies next meeting by sharing images for several days/weeks prior to the final reveal.

Our Story Feature

Snapchat has a feature called Our Story, which enables attendees to submit their own Snapchat photos or videos from an event. Encourage guests to participate and submit their own posts or short video snippets once the event is in progress. This is a fun feature which encourages attendee involvement.

Send Exclusive Information

Send out information to VIP attendees either before, during or after an event. The fact that snaps are automatically deleted ensures that the message isn’t spread to all attendees.

Millennial Attendees 

Trying to reach Millennials? Snapchat clearly has you covered when it comes to tapping this demographic, as Millennials utilize the app more than any other generation.

For those of you already using snapchat, congratulations, you’re savvy enough to see the value of this app. For those of you not yet on the snapchat bandwagon, hop on because this app is expanding rapidly.

Need help selecting the ideal location for your next west coast meeting? Connect with Visit Newport Beach, the local destination marketing organization in Newport Beach, CA. Visit Newport Beach has the knowledge that can help you secure the best fit for your group and offers resources to help extend the meeting budget.