Snapchat Memories: What Does it Mean for Marketers?
Snapchat recently introduced its Memories feature – a new way to share content on social media. This update allows users to save photos and videos to a searchable camera roll, post previously saved Snaps to a new Story, and build an archive of curated content. As a result, Snapchat Memories creates advanced marketing opportunities for brands.
A Snapshot
Over 100 million people use Snapchat every day. Since its initial release in 2011, Snapchat has grown exponentially to become the preferred platform for instant image messaging, particularly among millennials. Users send Snaps directly to friends, or build an ephemeral Story comprising of images and short video clips. Up until now, Snapchat Stories could only be updated with content created and edited natively within the app. The introduction of Memories promises to overhaul the sharing experience for people and businesses. You can now share photos and videos captured outside of Snapchat to your story.
How Does Snapchat Memories Work?
Memories can be accessed via a small circular icon immediately below Snapchat’s camera button. From there, you can start backing up existing snaps, import older snaps, or access content from your phone’s camera roll. Now when you capture a photo or video, you have the option to save it to your Memories before publishing to your Story or sending to a friend.
What Does Snapchat Memories Mean for Brands?
Following this update, there are several features which will greatly improve how brands can engage with their audience on Snapchat.
Import previously saved Snaps
Memories allows you to import any previously saved Snaps. This lets you re-upload any older content which has long disappeared from your Story. Until now, content was extremely short-lived. Marketers may have been reluctant to invest effort in a platform which was so fleeting and temporary. Thanks to Memories, Snapchat content now has greater longevity.
Utilise pre-recorded content
Memories can access any images or videos which are saved to your phone’s camera roll. Brands now have an opportunity to record content on alternative devices and publish to Snapchat at a later time. This feature facilitates enhanced content production.
Produce more professional content
Previously, Snapchat Stories could only be created and edited within the app. This was very limiting for brands. The new in-app camera roll allows marketers to incorporate existing marketing assets with improved graphic design. This helps businesses to communicate a consistent brand message across all platforms.
Searchable camera roll
Memories incorporates a searchable in-app camera roll with object recognition. This makes it easy to find the Snap you are looking for by typing in a keyword. This feature is very helpful if you have a large number of files to search through.
Greater control over what gets published
Snapchat is renowned for being instant and spontaneous, where users can share exciting content as it happens. However, this presented a problem for marketing managers, as content could be captured and shared on impulse without time for approval. Memories provides greater flexibility and power to plan, curate and review content ahead of publishing.
Multiple collaborators
Brands don’t need to be in 2 places at once to share great content. Memories helps marketers build a bank of user-generated content from multiple sources before publishing a Story.
Snapchat Storytelling
Prior to this rollout, users were unable to edit the sequence of content in a Story because Snaps were captured and posted chronologically. Now users can upload images and videos from Memories in any order they choose, therefore improving their storytelling potential.
The Future of Snapchat Content Marketing
There is no doubt that this update has created powerful new marketing opportunities for businesses. Memories is sure to take Snapchat content marketing to the next level. However, brands should not forget why Snapchat has become so popular – users love the app for its spontaneity, authenticity and exclusive, candid content. While Memories has many benefits, it is important not to rely too heavily on re-uploading old or duplicate content. Snapchat is a great way for brands to engage with younger consumers. The challenge for marketers is to create unique, branded content that doesn’t feel like advertising.
If you’d like to find out more about how social media marketing can work for your business, get in touch with our Digital Marketing team today – we’d love to hear from you!
