Is Snapchat the Electrical Industry’s Next Big (Marketing) Thing?

October 28, 2016

Shoynear Morrison

Is the electrical industry ready to implement Snapchat? Is this app the next big social media marketing tool?

These are the types of questions we must ask ourselves in order for our industry to maintain an innovative advantage and stay relevant to a younger audience. Most companies within the electrical industry understand the importance of social media. They have jumped on the preverbal bandwagon and utilized social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. But does the use of social media end there?

Snapchat has been called the world’s hottest app by Forbes* and is one of the most popular apps among Millennials today. 

Snapchat is known for its ability to showcase the millennial signature (a selfie), send videos, instantly message, and add quirky filters for your followers to view live. Its instant delete feature adds a level of security that other social tools fail to provide. But this sounds like an app that only the public can use, right? A corporation can’t implement this technology? Wrong. 

Many companies such as General Electric, CNN, Acura and McDonald’s (to name a few) have been using Snapchat to extend their social media outreach. Increasing audience engagement, especially amongst the younger generation is always a priority for any company. Snapchat has allowed corporations to enhance their branding and bring their trademark to another level. It allows a company to market an exclusive look into their business through their live social presence. 

The plus side of Snapchat is that your posts are not subjected to a popularity contest. The relevance of your content is not determined by the amount of likes and shares your posts generate. On Snapchat, only the owner of the account can see who has viewed their story. This is helpful because it allows the user to still be aware of how engaging their post is while eliminating the public humiliation of a low “Like” count.

The main con regarding Snapchat is that it is inaccessible through desktop or laptop computers. Which means the usage of this social app is limited to mobile devices and tablets. 

Whether your company features their Olympic Games enthusiasm, advertises a contest or simply shares a company event, Snapchat allows its live presence to be dynamic and more intriguing than any other social media tool available.   

Social media is a very important tool to any industry. It’s how a company keeps their audience engaged. Whether snapchat is the next social media tool for the electrical industry is up to the discretion of a particular company. However, it is important that as an industry we adapt our social media tools to the evolution of technology. Simply using Facebook and Twitter because we know how will not suffice as branding our industry as innovative. 

* “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or A $3 Billion Disappearing Act,”http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3639b9ee55ec 

Shoynear Morrison is Communications Coordinator, Sonepar Canada; shoynear.morrison@sonepar.ca.