SNAPCHAT FOR BUSINESS: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE SCREENSHOT CTA
June 4, 2016
The clunky Wild Wild West of Snapchat is slowly but surely laying down stakes in the ground. The foundation for business consumption is forming and forming fast. It truly appears that smart and innovative companies and brands are, on their own, forming the lines here and creating new companion tools to extend e-commerce through new streams and capture revenue. In fact, Snapchat seems to be just the base model and we are customizing, shaping and deciding tactics, maneuvers and options for utilizing eyeballs.
Because there are a hell of a lot of eyeballs here...
to the tune of 150 million active users daily.
WHAT IS THE SCREENSHOT CTA?
The latest lightbulb idea for an organic e-commerce function inside Snapchat's platform (separate of the Discover channels and partners that now play targeted ads) is, what we are dubbing, the SCREENSHOT CTA.
This when a brand or company asks you to take a screenshot inside one of their actual Snapchat Stories. (A "screenshot" is when you take a picture of what is on your phone by pressing the Power and Main Circle buttons at the same time. It gets saved to your photo gallery) The brand or company then asks you to upload that screenshot image you just took to an app. (more to come on that below).
The screenshot is typically of one or more of their items that they also are showing inside of that Snapchat Story. Once you do this, you then have to download the companion app (Currently there are 2 apps that link Snaps to products - ShopStyle and the very new, Emoticode. Popsugar owns BOTH apps. They are literally creating and owning this experience with their apps) You then have to upload your screenshots. These 2 apps will scan the screenshot (essentially a picture of the item along with the name) and then provide you a link to that brand's site for you to buy. Wow, that seems like a lot of work.
But.....it's working.
MAKING 150 MILLION PEOPLE HAPPY TO WORK FOR YOU
MAKING 150 MILLION PEOPLE HAPPY TO WORK FOR YOU
In the heart of "user-generated" content, people, (we, us, the community, the masses) are creating content. We are adding sponsored filters to our Stories, we are snapping cool events, we are using brand filters when we check into a Marriott and sharing with our friends (and in more places than just Snapchat). Basically, WE are used to working on social. To crafting. To expressing. To curating. To designing our Story to share with our community. So it's not a big step or ask to have a brand ASK us to screenshot. We (the masses) seem to love it.
Here's an example of Sephora's June 2nd Snapchat Story. They are asking their followers to "screenshot" these 4 makeup items and then they give the following directions (all inside their Story) They ask you to download the app, ShopStyle. Then they ask you to upload any of the 4 screenshots your took to this app. The app captures the info and then give you the opp to buy the product. Again, whoa, that seems like a lot of work. But it also feels very personal. Like Sephora has been my own personal shopper, selecting and suggesting some cool items that I may love. Oh, yes!
Here's an example of Sephora's June 2nd Snapchat Story. They are asking their followers to "screenshot" these 4 makeup items and then they give the following directions (all inside their Story) They ask you to download the app, ShopStyle. Then they ask you to upload any of the 4 screenshots your took to this app. The app captures the info and then give you the opp to buy the product. Again, whoa, that seems like a lot of work. But it also feels very personal. Like Sephora has been my own personal shopper, selecting and suggesting some cool items that I may love. Oh, yes!
Another popular and pioneering brand on Snapchat is the cool clothing co, EVERLANE. The press says that they use Snapchat in "non-traditional" ways but I think they are pioneering ways for how to use Snapchat in creatively - they have appointed Snapchat leaders (Red Gaskell and Isadora Sells) who host every Story, they have interactive Q&As w the community, they live and breathe the company's core values of transparency and they look fun and cool. They also are jumping in early on the Screenshot CTA train. Here's a look at their June 2nd Snapchat Story. This one is asking you to go to the new Emoticode to upload your screenshots.
THE WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE
At this point, it's too early to analyze any metrics but I can bet that this will be very successful and will become a standard in a company's e-commerce strategy. It's a win-win for everyone.
- Users win because they not only feel like they are getting "personal shopping experiences from their fave or new-to-them brands" but they are actively engaging with these brands and then getting what they want - the cool product.
- Companies win because they are offering fresh content and experiences for their community while pushing their products, capturing valuable metrics and gathering e-comm sales. #YES
As I shared above, Popsugar is literally forming this function inside Snapchat. I am curious to see how other brands will craft their Snapchat e-comm experiences, whether along the same lines or an evolution. Either way, they have a very captive audience who are just waiting to snap snap snap away.