You should be on Snapchat

Snapchat is the leader in time-limited messaging.  First introduced as a photo messaging platform, it has been under scrutiny by many as a platform for sending sexual and otherwise inappropriate photos.  As a member of higher education, it is easy for an individual or office to dismiss this platform as part of the suite of digital communities.

I'm here to say, you should be on Snapchat.

One of many goals an office, department, institution should have is to tell the story.  It's no mistake that the leading tool you should be using in Snapchat is "My Story."  Put together photos live from your event, make mini-tours of campus, start the ball rolling with user submitted photos, the story can eventually tell itself.

High viewership is also a benefit.  Those connected to you will more than likely view your story as others will too.  Anecdotally, the office account I manage receives 60-70% viewership.  When is the last time an email campaign gathered those kind of numbers?

The element of surprise.  Have a new initiative starting in the office?  Running a campaign with promotional codes or coupons?   Have a huge announcement? Surprise your viewers by directly sending it to them.

Learn about your community.  Not meant as a means of spying on your community but rather learning about them, watch the stories of your audience.  This leads to content you can create to further interact and support the community.  Lastly, react to messages you receive.  A simple laugh or emoji sent from the text function can make your audience's day.

I could not be a bigger supporter of the use of Snapchat for an office or institution.  As with any social media site, a strategy needs to be developed for launch and use, but that comes with the territory any ways.  If you originally dismissed the thought of using Snapchat, I encourage you to reconsider.