Snapchat has not rested on its laurels as a popular social media site. Instead, the company has gone beyond the standard offerings and started to combine the portability of the platform with location-based information.
Geofilters allow users to set up backdrops in their favorite locations that others can access — provided they take a photo or a video in the same spot and post it on Snapchat or other social media sites that use this feature. Businesses can use the feature to promote their sites, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of what geofilters can offer in terms of marketing potential.
Eleven experts from Forbes Agency Council check out this latest social media craze and look into how businesses can leverage it to popularize their brand.
1. Highlight Special Events
Geofilters are a great way to highlight special events. Use them for a limited time to create more interest around the event and to generate buzz. Using geofilters to only highlight one’s location is a missed opportunity. Use them to highlight what unique features your service/business has to offer — not just the location! – Darian Kovacs, Jelly Digital Marketing & PR
2. Consider Geotargeting Conferences
Geofilters allow a precise, hyper-targeted approach to marketing and advertising. We increasingly use tools such as geofilters to ensure we are maximizing our ad and promotion spend with a particular audience. One success we have seen is targeted conference promotion — we have the ability to hit a focused audience without the cost of a program full-page ad or booth. – Megan Humphreys, Convé Communications
3. Use Geofilters For An Inside Look
One thing that is really neat about geofilters is the ability to use them anywhere and the ability to show someone an inside look at your business. That is spectacular because it ensures and allows for people to know that your staff is fun and more than capable of having it, as well. There are many fun options out there to ensure that it is possible for people to know your brand and you. – Jon James, Ignited Results
4. Highlight Company Culture
Business geofilters on Snapchat can be a fun way to promote company culture with employees. We’ve used geofilters on company-wide community service days or team outings to give our staff an interactive way to share their experience with followers. We focus on creating filters that are engaging and shareable, while still incorporating company branding. It’s had a positive impact on our recruiting. – Alex Membrillo, Cardinal Digital Marketing
5. Make Them Part Of An Integrated Campaign
Geofilters are best when used as part of an integrated campaign. We saw one client use them with great success as part of a highly-targeted luxury car campaign. When an ideal prospect finished a web session browsing vehicles, we tied geofilters to their proximity to a billboard promoting the luxury brand. The result was a subtle surrounding of the prospect with the brand, and increased sales. – Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative
6. Use Geofilters With Text And Messenger Marketing
Geofencing is an extremely powerful tool that has evolved across multiple marketing channels to allow us to deeper connect with our target audience and get our brand promise across. Communication platforms like text marketing software and messenger marketing platforms like ManyChat allow you to effectively get your message across to an existing community using geofilters for optimum results. – Alex Quin, UADV
7. Leverage Geofilters For Trade Show Contests
Most people are on their phones while walking up and down trade shows and posting to social media. A great promotion is to create an Instagram or Snapchat geofilter with your company name and the booth number. Then run a trade show social media contest using Snapchat or Instagram. Have attendees capture specific snaps at your booth and post them for other attendees to see. Use prizes as incentives. – Michael Fox, Corberry Digital
8. Enhance Interaction And Personalization
Geofilters are a great way for businesses to interact and co-create with their consumers. Real human-to-human interactions and personalization is possible, so therefore these geofilters make it possible to humanize the brand and interact with it, in a fun and easy way. – Maddie Raedts, IMA – Influencer Marketing Agency
9. Leverage Facebook Ads For Effective Geotargeting
Facebook ads can be very effective for targeting down to a one mile around a specific address or latitude/longitude. With an audience pool nearly eight times the size of Snapchat’s, there are likely to be more consumers to see your message on Facebook. If you want to refine your targeted location even further, consider dropping pins around your location and excluding their one-mile radius from your targeting. – Matthew Brown, ThumbStopper®
10. Use Strategic Locations To Influence Buying Decisions
Businesses can effectively use geofilters in their marketing by taking a targeted approach to implementation. By strategically placing geofilters in areas where their audience would be most receptive to their promotion efforts, they can increase the likelihood that consumers will make a purchase decision and choose their brand. For example, a beer company creating a filter at a baseball stadium. – Goran Paunovic, ArtVersion Interactive Agency
11. Build Brand Awareness
While Snapchat usage is growing steadily, Instagram is a more effective promotional social channel. Geofilters for Instagram can be found on stories and with each post. Utilizing Instagram geofilters is incredibly beneficial for marketers, whether they’re promoting a product or service. Another bonus: Snapchat stories are gone within 24 hours, and an Instagram post can last forever. – Charles Mazzini, Hyperlinks Media, LLC