In a world where we’re exposed to up to 5,000 marketing messages a day, no longer is it enough to be in the right place at the right time. Instead, a content-led approach which delivers interesting and valuable information, is crucial to cutting through the digital noise and truly engaging audiences.
Brands are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a platform on which to share content. A recent trend in content sharing is to do so using Snapchat. Snapchat is a mobile messaging app that enables its users to share photos, videos and text, all of which last for only a brief amount of time before disappearing forever. It has an estimated 100 million daily active users globally, receives approximately eight billion video views per day, and is the third most-popular social media network today.
Yes, these figures are impressive, and perhaps I’ve just opened your eyes to a pool of potential consumers you knew nothing about but don’t worry, you won’t be the only one. The most important thing to know about Snapchat is that, it’s where you’ll find two of today’s largest target markets; millennials and Gen Z. With 71% of Snapchat users being under the age of 34, it’s an ideal platform to engage a younger demographic of consumers.
This blog details the fundamental elements of effective content marketing as identified by us here at Acceleris, and considers Snapchat’s ability to capitalise on these by looking at examples of its use by a couple of British brands.
Timing
Timing, pro-active and re-active, can significantly impact the effectiveness of content marketing. There is a great amount of added value to content campaigns that are timed to perfection. Snapchat enables both planned and real-time marketing with which audiences can engage and interact.
Cadbury for example, used the mobile app to promote its ever-favourite Cadbury’s Creme Egg during Easter. The company is the first confectionery brand to use Snapchat’s Sponsored Lenses function, which allowed users to decorate their snaps with a specially-designed overlay as part of its award-winning ‘Have a fling with a Creme Egg’ campaign.

Source: Cadbury’s Creme Egg
The seasonality of the Snapchat lens gave the campaign immediate context and relevancy. It received an overwhelming reaction and saw great levels of interaction receiving over 11 million views from Snapchat users, including famous blogger and YouTube star Zoella, who shared pictures of herself enjoying the Cadbury filter to her millions of followers.
Exclusivity
We live in an age of excessive personal sharing; sharing of information, experiences, opinions and purchases. This is what’s known throughout marketing as social currency. Social currency is a concept built around the idea that individuals share information that benefits them to do so. Social psychologists identify the main driver of sharing information as a need to feel a sense of personal value. Put simply – we like to show off! Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the value of playing on social currency to promote themselves.
Snapchat as a mobile app excels in utilising FOMO – that’s ‘fear of missing out’ by the way – and making user’s feel like they are part of an inner circle. The ‘Burberry Snapchat Show’ is the perfect example of the use of Snapchat as harnessing the power of FOMO.

Source: Mike Phillips – Eat, Sleep, Social
The luxury fashion house used Snapchat to stream a first look at its spring/summer 2016 collection the day before it hit the runway at London Fashion Week in October last year. The images were only viewable for a period of 24 hours before disappearing forever, creating a sense of urgency among fashionistas who clambered to Snapchat to authentically experience the fashion-first.
The brand’s chief financial officer Carol Fairweather previously revealed that its use of Snapchat to promote a show was the best the brand had had in terms of digital engagement producing approximately 100m impressions.

Source: Burberry’s Snapchat Show
At Acceleris we understand the value of content and work with all of our clients to produce and place content that will penetrate target audiences which are increasingly harder to reach. Our six-stage content marketing process is grounded in brand and consumer insight and is proven to increase brand awareness, foster brand advocates and reach new consumers and audiences.
Check out our online content marketing presentation that explains our process and the expertise that goes into its delivery: https://prezi.com/content-marketing/
By Mollie Robinson, a third year PR and Communications student from Leeds Beckett University, who joined Acceleris for a work placement in April 2016.