How Snapchat Memories changes everything for brands and digital agencies

Snapchat announced the launch of Memories, as a feature that would give Snapchat users an option to save selected images. This changes the core of Snapchat's ideology and changes how brands can market on the app.

Unless you are a hermit in the smartphone era, you would’ve heard of Snapchat and it is no longer limited to the smartphone screens of 18-24 year-olds either. Like many other older apps being used by older folks like us (yes, since we are still using Facebook and Twitter, I believe we are old now), Snapchat has made its way onto the smartphones of 25-34 year-olds. These two age groups make the bulk of the platform’s over 200 million active users at 52% (18-24) and 32% (25-34), sharing more than 9000 snaps every second making it hard for marketing to ignore it anymore.

Earlier in July, Snapchat announced its newest feature, ‘Memories’. While Facebook and Twitter are focusing on real-time sharing, Memories is all about sharing the past. That is a big deal and a huge, near seismic shift for Snapchat. Some believe that Memories takes away that uniqueness of sharing visual conversations in the “now” moment away from Snapchat. However, many like Marissa Breton of Hubspot believe that, “As many other social networks have done before, Snapchat is attempting to cement its status by widening its net. In this case, they’re trying to become the all-in-one destination for conversation.”

So what’s the big deal?

Well, the big deal is that while earlier, users did not have access to the camera roll, now they do. Snapchat Memories allows users to save old snaps in a private collection inside the app, edit and share them later. Users also have the option to add and share photos and videos from the phone’s camera. And all of this can have a potentially huge impact on the way brands and agencies use Snapchat.

How does Snapchat Memories impact brand marketing?

Brands have generally had a tough time to communicate with audiences effectively on Snapchat due to a lack of “fresh moments” to share with them via the platform. Since Memories allows editing and sharing moments captured outside of the app, brands can now use the collateral designed for other platforms on Snapchat. That’s a very big deal since not all brands have deep pockets to afford paid advertising on Snapchat to showcase themselves.

Create stories with other people using Memories

Memories allows you to include other people in your stories. On its blog, Snapchat revealed that user can now send Snaps from Memories to their friends, or post shared snaps to their Story. The snaps taken more than a day ago have a frame around them for differentiation, but that’s about it.

Include footage from different locations

With Memories, users can add snaps and videos shot at different locations, creating more vibrant stories. This can be a very handy feature for brands with a spread-out presence. Not only that, it is a great way to run a public relations and corporate branding campaign as well. For example, GE uses Snapchat to share fun science experiment videos. It is an excellent way for GE to run its public relations and enhance its image among the future employees as a great place to work. Memories will allow companies like GE to create better content without having to pause and reshoot in case of an error.

Add longer videos using memories

Memories will allow users to create a longer narrative with ease. Picking snaps from Memories and editing them into the story is like child’s play. Take a look at this Snapchat campaign by Domino’s UK -

Now, Domino’s has been at the forefront of using innovative methods to attract attention on social media. Their Tweet to Eat campaign was quite cool. And now this Snapchat campaign takes this cool factor to a whole new level. Pizza delivery guy thwarting an alien invasion - are you kidding me? But that’s the thing. With Memories, smaller brands can do something similar, perhaps not as grandiose, but on similar lines without having to shell out a fortune on advertising.

Run a campaign featuring your fans

Taco Bell used Snapchat to launch its new burrito in 2013. Fans were provided sneak peek of the new product and the release date. Obviously, these fans felt like Taco Bell royalty and took screenshots of the snap, sharing them on different channels across social media. With Memories, Taco Bell can use this kind of user generated content and still keep it fresh every time.

Run contests featuring fans and influencers

There’s a Super Bowl custom where the winning team drench their coach with the contents of the team’s cooler. Gatorade pushed the envelope at Super Bowl 2016 with a sponsored Snapchat lens that allows anyone to give themselves the customary “Gatorade bath” after a win.

Serena Williams featured in the ad that shows her getting “dumped on” with virtual Gatorade. At the end of the day, the lens was used by over 100 million users.

The funny thing is, Gatorade doesn’t even have its own Snapchat account.

Conclusion

One of the biggest hurdles with brands is that brand managers need prior approvals for all content going on their social media channels. Trust in the agency, therefore, plays a big role when it comes to platforms like Snapchat. At Mapplinks, we used to suggest Snapchat as a platform to clients after at least 3 months of working with them when that trust starts to build. But now, with Memories, things may change for good. Agencies and brand can now have the freedom to plan and get pre-approved content while keeping it within the context of the “now” moment that Snapchat is all about.