How Businesses Can Use Short, Sweet & Visual Social Media Content

With so many forms of social media these days, it seems like businesses are having a tough time keeping up. It can be difficult for companies to find new and creative ways to connect with their customers. What if instead of spending money on expensive advertising and marketing campaigns, companies spent their time developing innovative strategies of staying connected with their customers by following the latest social media trends?

What even are the latest social media trends these days? Well, the Snapchat smartphone application sends a picture for 10 seconds to another follower before the photo self-destructs. The Vine app allows users to create and make a six second video clip. So how can these businesses really use social media marketing to their advantage?

First, these companies need to know their audience. If business have teenagers as their main demographic, they should know that certain media platforms (like Snapchat, Vine and Instagram) are becoming more popular among this age group. A Forbes article "Snapchat, Instagram and Vine For Social Media Marketing?" mentions several case studies about how a frozen yogurt shop, 16 Handles, became one of the first entities to use Snapchat as a form of marketing to reach out to teenagers who are a majority of their Facebook and Twitter fans.  Anyone who sends a picture via Snapchat of their frozen yogurt purchase were sent a 10 second coupon in return from 16 Handles. This disappearing content allows 16 Handles customers to become impulsive when it comes to redeeming a coupon on Snapchat. This demonstrates how loyal the customers are to the brand.

Second, these businesses need to find ways to make any images or videos they post personal to their consumers. Whether it be a discount incentive on Snapchat or a funny Vine video, there needs to be some sort of connection with their clients. Businesses can devise creative marketing strategies like a social media scavenger hunt and providing a winning discount prize for the best participating customer. These types of incentives will leave buyers wanting to engage with the company more often on different social media apps because they know the business always stays up to date on the latest trends. Social media apps like, Snapchat and Vine, are bridging a gap between corporations and their customers to get to know their clients' likes and dislikes about the brand on a more personal level. 


Creating short, sweet and visual social media content allows companies to really tap into their main demographics and connect with their customers on a much more individual level. This will build a brand loyalty from the customers that actively engage with them on social media. It would be easy for a  campaign to use an existing television commercial or magazine ad and incorporate an extra video clip, pictures or discounts on their Vine or Snapchat accounts. Fans would respond well to seeing behind the scenes footage from their favorite products or businesses.

Disappearing content seems to be a future trend for smartphone applications. I would not be surprised if the next latest and greatest social media app disappears information even faster or creates even shorter video clips. No matter what the next trend of the future is, I'm sure businesses will continue to utilize and try various social media apps to ensure they can build a closer connection with their customers.