Tips To Make Your Startup Standout On Snapchat Now is the time to bridge that gap and excite audiences in a fun, energetic and cost-effective manner.

Upon its launch in 2012, Snapchat managed to develop quite a stir among the younger audiences who loved the idea of sharing images and videos without it taking up unnecessary space on their phones.

These videos and images lasted for a span of not more that 10 seconds and saved them from the hassle of deleting images and videos sent by friends. Growing rapidly, the company confirmed a viewership of 6 billion on the platform in November 2015.

Recently valued at $16 billion, Snapchat worked its way up into the social media circuit that is dominated by platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Its visual format has managed to accumulate more than 100 million daily users who spend an average of half an hour on the app every day.

With the increasing number of social media platforms and growing dependency on advertising to be heard, it becomes extremely difficult for a startup to jump onto the bandwagon and stand out. While a great product story and the campaign will get its due recognition, adopting a new platform which brands haven't explored the full potential of can be an interesting strategy to take on.

If you're wondering how to make your startup stand out on Snapchat, I've put together a few routes that would be of help to you. Startups need to prove themselves, they need to communicate what they stand for through clear and transparent communication. 60 per cent of all 13 to 34 year old smartphone users are on Snapchat and although a majority of the users are from the millennial set, 14% of Snapchatters are over 35 years.

Snapchat for startups:

Build trust and transparency: For a startup, trust and transparency are the two key factors that need to resonate through all brand communication. Snapchat allows you to do just that. Many brands leverage the essential features of Snapchat which include the usage of filters and real life instances on the go. Behind the scene tours showcasing the product sourcing, manufacturing and distribution is as exciting as an interaction with the team.

A CEO and his core team can contribute towards an enriching insider-view towards a startup on it's way to success. Create the right buzz by offering exclusive sneak peeks of a product or service that your customers can't get anywhere else, or special behind the scenes footage, entry into closed door events and first looks at products or services.

Build a Brand Persona: For startups looking to establish a brand identity amongst their target audience, Snapchat works wonders. Whether you aspire to be cool, chic or uber-luxe; define it and create a strategy that will stand by it. Leveraging the trending filters is an excellent route towards connecting with your audiences and being seen as experimenting, a streak most audiences on Snapchat love. The short duration that each Snap lasts allows you to create, test and redefine an approach should it not work for you the first time.

Storytelling is key: Snapchat is all about the stories your click! Entertaining your followers on Snapchat is crucial. The story keeps people glued to your content and gives them something to come back to. Being a highly visual led platform, it is essential to wow your audience with amazing images, brilliant filters and fun or informative videos. Creating geo-filters and using 3D stickers, make it visually interesting and compelling, thus increasing engagement. Using their video editing tools makes it easier to create stories for the brand without the effort that goes into a video production.

Instant Consumer Feedback: Startups can now instantly get feedback on products, packaging, positioning, etc. Provide your Snapchat users with early access to your business and take relevant feedback, ensuring you acknowledge the feedback you implement too. Snapchat can enable you to improve your marketing strategies and well as make crucial managerial decisions related to the product or service. An international e-commerce startup decided to take user feedback on various looks of their website, asking followers to screenshot the one they loved best. The one that received the maximum votes made it as their final look.

Create Snapchat Sales: Snapchat is a great way to boost sales. It creates an intense curiosity and need to use a certain product, if its features are promoted correctly. Snapchat Sales are extremely popular wherein users can take a screenshot of a Snapchat exclusive deal or promotion and avail it at the store or website.

Campaigns: Along with an engaging and relevant content strategy that keeps new followers pouring in, it's important to create campaigns that promote your brand. Alongside, contests work wonders across social media and Snapchat is no exception. However, the way you run your contest on Snapchat can create a whole new wave. Popular forms of contests on Snapchat have been around doodling, product sampling, video selfies, filters but the adoption of each form into your brand ideology is key to its success.

Snapchat is the new wave and startups must look at it as a medium to not only interact with their consumers or prospective consumers, but also build trust and viability of their brands in the minds of consumers by being relevant. Now is the time to bridge that gap and excite audiences in a fun, energetic and cost-effective manner. Create engaging content with your products and services and create exclusivity on the platform to watch brand skyrocket. Remember to keep the content light, easy-to-create and worthy enough to keep those Snapchatters coming back for more every day!