{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog","author_name":"Alexandra Gavril","author_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/author\/alexandra\/","title":"The beginner\u2019s guide to Snapchat for small businesses | 123 Reg Blog","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"LLBPm11Es0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/social-media\/beginners-guide-snapchat-small-businesses\/\">The beginner\u2019s guide to Snapchat for small businesses<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/social-media\/beginners-guide-snapchat-small-businesses\/embed\/#?secret=LLBPm11Es0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;The beginner\u2019s guide to Snapchat for small businesses&#8221; &#8212; 123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice\" data-secret=\"LLBPm11Es0\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/snapchat_guide.png","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"description":"Even if you\u2019ve invested lots of time and resources into building a reputation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you may be missing out on one of the fastest growing platforms available. If you\u2019re not familiar with Snapchat, perhaps it\u2019s time to get acquainted. A few years ago, Snapchat was simply a way to share short-lived content and to send the occasional questionable selfie which would \u201cself-destruct\u201d after a few seconds. But things have changed and four years later, Snapchat has got more than just a train a hype and buzz to back it up. Over 150 million people now use Snapchat to watch 10 billion videos every day. That\u2019s 10 billion daily opportunities to get your small business in front of your target audience. It\u2019s no wonder so many brands are now scrambling to join the cool crowd, considering this social channel is now more popular than Twitter by daily active users. But how can you make videos and photos that disappear within ten seconds to 24 hours a worthwhile investment? And how can you leverage this platform to create a lasting impression of your brand? In this guide we\u2019ll walk you through everything you need to know about Snapchat, whether or not it\u2019s right for you, and how you can use it to market your business, whatever your budget. What is Snapchat? Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to send pictures and videos \u2013 called \u201cSnaps\u201d \u2013 to other users. The media can only be viewed for ten seconds or less, and then it disappears forever. Users can also add a Snap (or series of Snaps) to create their own \u201cstory\u201d, which can be viewed for up to 24 hours by just their followers or everyone who has a Snapchat account. To get a better understanding of how this app works, here are some key terms to familiarise yourself with: Snaps\u00a0are picture or video messages taken and shared with friends on Snapchat in real-time. Snaps can be viewed for up to ten seconds, depending on the amount of time the user chooses. Chats\u00a0are text or video messages taken and shared with friends on Snapchat in real-time. Stories\u00a0string Snaps together to create a narrative that can be viewed for up 24 hours. To create a Story, a user chooses to add their Snaps to their Story. Depending on their privacy settings, the photos and videos added to a Story can be viewed by either all Snapchatters, just the user\u2019s friends, or a customised group. Why your business needs to be on Snapchat The numbers speak for themselves: Snapchat has more users than Twitter or Pinterest or Linkedin 76% of Snapchat users made a purchase online within the last month. 71% of users are under 35 years old, making it the ideal platform if your small business targets a millennial audience (although the app is becoming popular with older adults as well). 65% of its users contribute content every day. The percentage of marketers who actually take advantage of Snapchat is a tiny 1%\u00a0(meaning you can be an early adopter and\u00a0\u00a0gain a competitive advantage in your industry). Still not sure if you should try Snapchat for your small business? Here are a few more reasons why Snapchat could prove to be a valuable marketing tool for your business: It\u2019s easier to stand out early in the evolution of a new social channel. It humanises your brand. Instead of seeing carefully planned content from your brand, your audience can catch a candid, behind-the-scene look at your business. This allows people to see your business as it truly is, which can help build their trust, create a stronger connection and increase brand loyalty. It allows you to be real, genuine and entertaining. No one wants to see Snaps of professional product photos or team pictures that look like stock images. What your audience really wants is to be entertained by the unique content you share. Engagement on Snapchat is really high. The app is made for quick, on-the-fly picture and video updates, with minimal editing tools built in. The result is that users who have wanted to get to know brands and the real people behind them now have a platform built for exactly this type of genuine, airbrush-free content creation. That\u2019s what makes engagement so high. Sounds like a powerful way to market your small business, doesn\u2019t it? If you think it matches your business, here\u2019s how to get started with it. Setting up Snapchat The first step to using Snapchat for your business is to set up your account. To do this, you need to download the app from the iTunes store or Google Play. Once installed, you\u2019ll be able to sign up for a new Snapchat account. When you create your account, make sure your username is the same as on all of your other social profiles. Now, most businesses take advantage of the Stories feature when sharing content on Snapchat. To ensure your stories are public to all your followers you will need to edit your Settings so that your \u201cView My Story\u201d is set to \u201cEveryone\u201d. (Tap the little ghost icon at the top of the screen to go to Settings). Now that you\u2019ve set up your account, you should add some friends, otherwise no one will see the content you share. Same as with Twitter, your audience, bloggers and influencers in your industry won\u2019t be able to see your stories unless they also add you as a friend. But you can encourage them to do so by letting them know you\u2019re on Snapchat. Here\u2019s how you can do that: tap on the ghost icon at the top of your screen and you\u2019ll see various options for adding friends. The chances are you don\u2019t know people\u2019s usernames on Snapchat. A simple way to find users to follow is to run searches on your other social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. So, for example, you can do the following search on Facebook and then tap"}