Whatever your opinion of the photo sharing service may be, the rapidly growing Snapchat will be a critical marketing weapon in your social media arsenal moving forward into 2016, and provides artists with a unique opportunity to connect with fans on a personal level.

Whether or not you like it, accept it, or have even figured out how to properly use Twitter and Facebook yet, Snapchat is a quickly evolving social app that is a growing marketing opportunity for the music industry in 2016. For those who don’t know, Snapchat is a social app that allows its users to share pictures and videos with a selected audience. However, unlike other social media sites, the messages, pictures, and videos sent self-destruct after up to 24 hours. Snapchat also offers a friendlier, more intimate, personal, and direct relationship with fans that is not possible on other platforms. Ultimately, due to its unique opportunities, it has the potential to generate more “word of mouth” and increase the number of people that develop into devoted and dedicated long-term fans. If you are a musician or involved in any side of the industry, it is a platform on which you MUST be a part of in order to effectively market in 2016… and here’s why:

1. It Adds to the Overall Experience

Snapchat is an additional way to create a closer and intimate relationship with fans through a more exclusive and fun platform. The app allows for the sharing of more personal posts, and creates a one-on-one opportunity to interact with people without disruptions. Since the content shared is generally more personal and “behind the scenes,” it creates the opportunity for fans to feel more included in the careers and lives of their favourite artists. Additionally, it is an opportunity to humanize artist brands and emphasize their overall beliefs, goals, and personality.

What do to: Artists can use this platform to enhance the overall fan experience by posting teasers of upcoming announcements and releases, exclusive content such as in recording studios, backstage, and every day events. Artists can also increase engagement by responding to fans’ snapchats. This form of interaction is unique from that on other social sites because Snapchat is thought of as being an app for close friends, which creates a feeling of friendship with the celebrity from whom they receive a Snapchat in return.

2. You have 100% of the Consumers Attention

Snapchat posts “self- destruct” after 24 hours, meaning that their content is more valuable, and consumers are more willing to pay attention to it. When a fan opens a Snapchat, they are 100% attentive to the images and videos that an artist or industry professional is sharing with them as there are no factors to distract them. This alone makes the app extremely valuable and unique, especially when comparing it to other social platforms including Twitter and Instagram where individuals spend the majority of their time scrolling past posts without completely absorbing their content. With hundreds of new posts on someone’s feed, its easy for fans to miss important posts.

What To Do: Increase the “value” of each post by taking advantage of how exclusive it is. Create a scavenger hunt or contest, post secrets about an upcoming release or tour, create unforgettable moments and see what resonates – then, use that information to improve the quality of your posts in other channels, too.It Hasn’t Been Ruined yet

3. It Hasn’t Been Ruined yet

When I say ruined, I am referring to two things. Firstly, by parents (sorry mom and dad). When Facebook began being used by parents, teenagers scrambled to find a new social platform to interact on, which then led to Twitter. Now, with even my grandmother having a Facebook account, it is safe to say that it is no longer my go-to platform, and Snapchat is already a preferred form on which the majority of target audiences spend most of their time.

Secondly, since Snapchat is still a fairly new app, the concept of using it as a marketing tool has only recently become popular among businesses, meaning that consumers are still willing to add artists and industry professionals on the app. In other words, you would get what’s referred to as first-mover advantage.

Unlike other social platforms, there is no external search option available, meaning that in order to interact with people, they must be added by username. Due to the exclusivity of contacts that people add on Snapchat, they are currently less likely to have promotional content being pushed at them, making them more likely to open posts which is an opportunity that will only diminish as the apps potential becomes more evident.

What to do: If you don’t already have one, make a Snapchat account. If you have an account, start promoting it to fans as soon as possible while its marketing opportunities are still in their prime.

Tip: Try and keep your banding consistent by using the same user name on Snapchat that you are using on other social platforms. Since there is no external search bar or opportunity to view someone’s profile before adding them, its important that fans are confidant that they are adding the right person, and not a creepy impersonator. Keep the username short and simple.

4. It is Where the Target Audience is Spending their Time

If you are a musician, the fans that Snapchat appeals most to are those that spend more time engaging with their favourite artists online, purchasing albums, attending concerts. With over one- hundred million daily active users, 71% of which are under the age of twenty-five, (DMR, By the Numbers: 60 Amazing Snapchat Statistics), it is clear that Snapchat is the platform on which the majority of target audiences are spending their time. However, people may soon move to another platform as they have with other channels, which makes it extremely important to take advantage of its incredible marketing opportunities as soon as possible.

Tip: In order to maximize its potential, use Snapchat daily, and post a collection of several images and pictures a day. However, do not make Snapchat marketing feel like a sales pitch; focus on posting 80% exclusive, behind the scenes, and valuable content that fans will enjoy, while only using 20% of posts to promote releases and announcements. Additionally, determine the length of posts that appeal post to fans before they stop watching your story. With the ability to see who has viewed your story, it also provides the opportunity to determine after how many seconds of content that people stop watching, and when you should probably stop posting. Typically, stories shouldn’t accumulate to being over a few minutes long, or else they will quickly lose their value and fans will be less willing to invest time to watch them.

Snapchat is an extremely valuable platform on which anyone involved in the music industry must be a part of in order to effectively reach target audiences, promote content, create a more exclusive and intimate relationship with fans, and contribute to the overall experience that is offered to them. Despite being categorized as an app exclusively for teenagers and one that most business people do not recognize the benefits of, it is the future of marketing, and those who “don’t get it” will be left behind. Whatever level of success that you are currently at, make an account, Google how to properly use it, and take advantage of its current potential.