SOCIAL MEDIA

BEST PRACTICES
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat
 SOCIAL MEDIA
BEST PRACTICES

CONTENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA GENERAL.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS .................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

BRAND VOICE & COMMUNITY GUIDELINES ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

MOBILE ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

DEFINING OBJECTIVES, GOALS, & TRACKING ROI .......................................................................................................................................... 4

FACEBOOK ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

FACEBOOK’S OVERALL AUDIENCE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7

PROFILE ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 7

PRODUCTS & FEATURES ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8

WHEN TO POST ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

TARGETING ABILITY - ADS................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

INSTAGRAM....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

INSTAGRAM’S OVERALL AUDIENCE .................................................................................................................................................................. 11

PROFILE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

PRODUCTS & FEATURES ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12

WHEN TO POST ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

TARGETING ABILITY – ADS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

TWITTER............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

TWITTER’S OVERALL AUDIENCE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14

PROFILE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

PRODUCTS & FEATURES ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16

WHEN TO POST ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

TARGETING ABILITY – ADS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

SNAPCHAT ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

SNAPCHAT’S OVERALL AUDIENCE .................................................................................................................................................................... 17

PROFILE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

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BUILDING AN AUDIENCE ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

PRODUCTS & FEATURES ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19

WHEN TO POST ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

TARGETING ABILITY – ADS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

RESOURCES....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23

FACEBOOK ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23

INSTAGRAM ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 23

TWITTER .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23

SNAPCHAT .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23

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SOCIAL MEDIA GENERAL

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

Roughly one third of consumers say social media influences their purchasing decision with nearly a
quarter of respondents having made purchase through social media sites. (UPS 2016, Pulse of the Online
Shopper) Facebook remains the most popular and furthest reaching of today’s major social digital media
channels.

(eMarketer June 23, 2016)

BRAND VOICE & COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

Brand Voice
When posting, use the personality of the brand. Pinning down your values acts as a kind of background
work – before you can think about how you write, you must decide on what you write. What is it you want
to tell the world? It is only once you define the core purpose of your communication that you can start to
build your tone of voice. (Distilled.net)

Community Guidelines
Community Guidelines help marketing team members understand what should and should not be shared
on social media. These guidelines are unique for every business and are a great reference for when
questions come up and to keep focus on the organization’s goals, culture, and risk tolerance.
(http://davefleet.com/blog/2010/07/26/57-social-media-policy-examples-resources/)

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BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Audiences aren’t formed overnight…it’s a long term investment. Since social community interaction is
different for all platforms and growing audiences takes a different approach for each. Also pay close
attention to the audiences on each platform. As your audience grows, you may learn your target audience
isn’t exactly what you thought. What works on one channel may not work on another. Expect to spend
some time each day hanging out and exploring the channels so you can engage (like, comment, and
follow) to be included as part of the conversation. Many of the social platforms have “explore” algorithms
where they make recommendations to users of content they feel might be relevant to them, so post high-
quality content to get that extra mileage. Also note, visuals and original content get shared the most.
(SEMRush)

MOBILE
Be sure you optimize your business social page profiles for mobile. (Test the pages from a mobile device
for readability and also the user experience of your website from mobile.) For example, if putting text on a
background image, be sure it fits nicely on a mobile screen.

2016 UPS, Pulse of the Online Shopper

DEFINING OBJECTIVES, GOALS, & TRACKING ROI

Business Goals
In order to have effective tracking mechanisms in place, business goals must be clearly understood. Within
the business goals, there are probably key performance indicators (KPI’s) in place. It might be sales
revenue, growth of a specific product, or increased brand awareness (which is more difficult to measure,
but an important aspect of marketing strategy). These goals need to be shared with the social marketing
team so everyone is working toward the same goal (and know what they are being measured on).

Benchmarks
If you don’t have benchmarks in mind for reaching the business goal KPI’s, create them from scratch.
There needs to be a starting point to work toward.

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Tracking & ROI

For goals involving online product sales, Google Analytics and ecommerce settings must be set up in
advance so the marketing team can see conversions/sales. Campaigns can be tagged in various ways (by
creative, promotion, etc.) for clear performance metrics. The campaigns set up in the social platforms
would be cost-per-click (vs cost-per-impression) and optimized toward conversions (tracked through
Google Analytics).
Facebook Metrics: Impressions, clicks views, cost-per-click, cost-per-thousand impression, paid reach,
organic reach.
Instagram Metrics: Impressions, reach, web clicks, follower activity.
Twitter Metrics: Twitter Analytics – Built into your Twitter page, you can view a summary of the
performance of tweets (impressions, visits, mentions, followers, engagement, and audience). Audience
insights, Twitter Cards, Video Activity, and Events.
Snapchat Metrics (need to be tracked within 24 hours of post): Story Title, Number of Snaps, Length of
Story, Views on the First Snap, Views on the Last Snap, Retention Rate, Engagement (how many
screenshots of Snap or direct messages sent).

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(UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper, 2016)

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FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK’S OVERALL AUDIENCE

Statistics
 1.13 billion daily active users on average for June 2016
 1.03 billion mobile daily active users on average for June 2016
 Approximately 84.5% of daily active users are outside of the US & Canada
Age
 82 percent of online adults ages 18 to 29 use Facebook
 56 percent of online users ages 65 and up use Facebook
 79 percent of those ages 30 to 49 use Facebook
Pew Research Center August 19, 2016

PROFILE
 Provide your complete company information to come off as professional, authoritative, and
trustworthy.
 Ensure all images on the profile are optimized for mobile (test them) and in high-resolution for
viewing on desktop.
 Use a background image that is more lifestyle focused than product-based.
 Rotate your cover photo to match your latest campaign or promotion.
 Think of your description as your elevator pitch.
 In the company overview, summarize and include related links to other social channels and pages
on your website.
 If offer a variety of products or services, list them under Products. Again, consider adding links in
the Long Descriptions section if applicable.
 Be sure the images are sized correctly. https://www.facebook.com/PagesSizesDimensions

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Facebook
 Post a sign your business reminding customers to “Like us on Facebook”
 Put a link in your email signature.
 Put links on your website that are easy to see.
 Have friends, family, and any other advocates ask people to like your page through Facebook’s
“Invite friends to like this page” feature.
 Promote your page through paid campaign.
 See more in Facebook content section below.

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PRODUCTS & FEATURES

 Search: Users can search for people, posts, photos, places, Pages, Groups, apps and events by
using keywords. User’s friends, connections and interests affect the order of results. “Public” posts
can be seen by anyone, including people outside of Facebook.
 Groups: These are great for discussion with specific people, clubs, planning for events, or
collaboration with teams. More info here.
 Events: Events can be created through your page. 650 million people us FB events each month.
41% of FB users engage with public events each month. You can include photos, links, keywords,
assign a co-host and the event info (location, time, details). You can duplicate events if you have
recurring or regular events.
 Business Pages: Business pages make it easier for customers to learn about your business and
start using your products and services. Showcase products and services with call-to-action
buttons. Here you can provide customer service and build relationships. Posts can be schedules in
advance and they can also be boosted if they meet Facebook ad policies. See the Ads Guide for
more info.
 Company Milestones: Milestones are spotlights of notable achievements and events from the
past. It’s a great way to share the history of the company. (Shows title, location, date, story.)
 Page Tabs: Every FB page has basic tabs (4 are displayed by default), but you can prioritize them
and event create custom ones with a developer’s support.
 Call-to-Action Buttons – Add a CTA button (Book Now, Call Now, Contact Us, Shop Now, etc.)
 Facebook Live: Use your phone to share moments live. Used by parents, trainers, hosts of events,
chefs, etc. To view current public live broadcasts, go to Facebook Live Map on desktop.
 Insights: Learn how people found your page, number of likes, reach, engagement, visitor
demographics (age, gender, location) and more. There is a video on the Facebook Business page
that shares more about insights here.
 Ads: Set goals in advance (get more foot traffic, app installs, page likes, newsletter sign-ups,
transactions, awareness/reach) in order to assess the performance.
 Marketplace: A new feature that allows consumers to buy and sell with their local community.
More than 450 million people visit buy and sell groups each month. It’s available in US, UK, AU, and
New Zealand. You can search for products and filter by location, category, or price. You can also
browse categories using a built-in location tool to adjust the region you’re looking in. Read more
here.

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST

Content
 Ask questions.
 Do fill-in-the-blank posts.
 Use contests once in awhile

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 Check the insights tab to see who your followers are…then speak their language. Be real. Be
Relaxed. And be relevant.
 Use tools to schedule posts and keep the cadence regular—don’t be sporatic.
 Posts with images--they get 39% more engagement on average per Moz.
 Avoid posting heavy promotional content.
 Provide content that is valuable to fans.
 Include clear calls to action.
 Be strategic about content and the goals—For example, if trying to generate awareness, craft
some type of contest to get people to share, if trying to drive traffic to the website, be sure content
is posted there first and then linked from the social post.
 Use teaser posts to generate interest about upcoming events, new products, and promotions.
 Experiment with videos, images, and offers to see which ones drive the most engagement.
 Make sure the landing page and website are optimized for conversions before driving traffic back
to the site.
Posting Features
 Pin posts to the top of your FB Page
 Embed posts on your website (FB will give you a snippet of code). When they click the post on your
site, they will go right to your Facebook Page.
 Post offers, events, and milestones in your business
 Show posts by location or language (click the Public button and choose Location/Language and
select the areas and languages for the intended audience).
 Use the Pages Manager App (iOS and Android) to create posts, manage your page, reply to
messages, and view insights.

WHEN TO POST
Regular Post Cadence
Review the history of your posts to learn what time of day works best for your posts. Note, many people
check Facebook when they are on their lunch break and after dinner. Weekend posting patterns would not
be the same ad posts during the week.

Response to Comments
Response to comments are important from a customer service standpoint. It is important to address
comments instead of deleting them. Customer complaints and criticism are a part of the open public
space. Facebook is scoring businesses on their response time—these stats show at the top of the page.

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TARGETING ABILITY - ADS

Standard Targeting
With Facebook Ads, you can target by location, demographics, interests, on and offline purchases,
language, level of education, job title, and more. You can choose where you want your ads to run, such as
in the News Feed, on desktop and mobile or on the right-hand column on desktop. Facebook recommends
your audience be targeting a few thousand people at a minimum, otherwise your campaign may not
perform as well. On the other hand, if your audience is too big and your budget is too low, the frequency
may not be as effective in delivering results. See the Ads Guide here for design recommendations,
technical requirements, and guidelines.
Custom Audiences
If you have phone numbers or email addresses of customer you want to reach, create a list and upload it to
Facebook. If you use MailChimp, you can import your customer list directly. Then when you go to run your
campaign, you have that custom audience as an option to choose from.
Lookalike Audiences
Lookalike Audiences are based on existing audiences, Custom Audiences from above, and also from
people who like your page, or visited your website (using pixel placed on site). You can only include people
from one country at a time and your audience must have at least 100 users.
FAN (Facebook Audience Network)
FAN was created as a way for advertisers to expand their campaigns beyond Facebook’s native platforms
and onto mobile apps, websites, instant articles, and videos. Placements now include wider mobile web via
select global publishing partners and on desktop through a network of partner websites. Advertisers can
reach users of Facebook, Instagram and Non-users of Facebook and Instagram.
Ad Types
 Links – Leads users to external site/page
 Carousels – group of photos and/or videos that link to their own page/site promoting more than
one product
 Canvas – Mobile-only ad unit that combines multiple components to tell a larger story
 Photo – single image post
 Video – 120 minutes max on Facebook (60 seconds max on Instagram)

Ad Objectives (required in campaign set-up)

 Web clicks or conversions  Event responses
 Page post engagement  Offer claims
 Page likes  Lead generation
 App installs or engagement  Brand awareness
 Local awareness

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INSTAGRAM

INSTAGRAM’S OVERALL AUDIENCE

Statistics
 Network was bought by Facebook April 2012
 400 Million active users
 75% live outside the US
 30% of internet users are now on Instagram
 Over 60% log in daily, making it the second most engaged network after Facebook
 Over 33% of users have used their mobile to purchase a product online.
 The most followed brand is National Geographic
https://www.brandwatch.com/2016/05/37-instagram-stats-2016/

Age
 90% of Instagram users are younger than 35
 55% are 18-29
 28% are 30-49
 11% are 50-64
 4% are 65+

PROFILE
 Use company logo for profile image
 Don’t use hashtags in the bio section because they are not clickable. (source)
 By adding contact information, a Contact button will appear. When people click it, they will see
options like Get Directions, Call, and Email (depending on what you provided).

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Instagram
 Post often and ask users to use your hashtag (not tag themselves) for discovery
 Share user generated content
 Use hashtags that are highly followed and relevant. (Instagram allows for a max of 30 hashtags
per post. You can use an ellipsis “…” to get them down below the message).
 Create your own custom hashtags for consistent types of posts, train your audience to use them
 Ask users to “tag a friend”
 Host a photo contest
 Use the right filters – research has been done that shows warmth had the biggest correlation with
comments and two filters had negative correlations (saturation and age effects)
https://blog.bufferapp.com/instagram-growth

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PRODUCTS & FEATURES

 Brands with Instagram accounts share an average of 98% of the photos they post to the site to
Facebook and 59% to Twitter. (https://blog.bufferapp.com/instagram-growth)
 Explore tab – uses an algorithm to surface interesting content
 News tab – where people see the users they follow have liked your posts
 Verified badge – proves you are the official page of the brand (no need to say “official)
 Locations – when publishing, you have option to put location—instead put a call to action here.

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST

Content
 Instagram offers limited options when it comes to driving web traffic. To help gain traffic back to
your website, post a website link in your bio and change it when you are promoting specific
products to be sure people are being sent to the most relevant page.
 Overlay your web url in your videos and also have someone say your website in the video.
 Use influencers and partners to garner reach and to help drive traffic to your website.

Posting Features
 Photos will filters
 Videos
 Stories – text and photo overlay tools are available to enhance the posts. Stories will disappear
after 24 hours.

WHEN TO POST
Post Cadence
 A firm looked at the activity of 55 brands over a period of several months, during which time the
average brand posted 1.5 times per day. That’s a good rate for most brands, especially the ones
that have conditioned their followers to expect that rate of output…” (Forbes)
 Accounts that abruptly decrease their post frequency lose followers quickly.

TARGETING ABILITY – ADS

Instagram’s first ad was launched November 2013.

Standard Targeting
The same targeting options available for the ads you create on Facebook are available for Instagram ads.
Targeting options include location, demographics, interests, actions and more. Keep in mind you don't
have to use all of the targeting options. The only targeting option that's required is country, age and gender
targeting.

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Ad Types
 Photo
 Video
 Carousel

Ad Objectives
 Clicks to Website
 Website Conversions
 Mobile App Installs
 Mobile App Engagement
 Video Views
 Reach & Frequency
 Page Post Engagement
 Mass Awareness

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TWITTER
Twitter’s mission: “To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without
barriers.” Twitter is an accessible source of customer conversations. It gives businesses access to
converse directly with customers in real time. It’s a place where businesses can really learn about their
brand in an unfiltered way.

TWITTER’S OVERALL AUDIENCE

Statistics
 313 Million users
 79% of users living outside the US
 82% Active users on mobile
 Supported by 35 languages
About.twitter.com/company
Age
 37% are 18-29
 25% are 30-49
 12% are 50-64
 10% are 65+
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/#twitter

PROFILE
 Choose a profile photo that visually represents your business or brand and fits well in a small
space. This image isn’t just on your profile page; it will be shown as the icon in every Tweet you
post.
 Header images could be your products or behind the scenes look. Update your header image
periodically to highlight promotions, product news or seasonal events
 Bio: You have 160 characters to tell your story. Let people know what makes your business special
and why they should follow you. You can also include useful information such as your location or
your business hours, and you can share a link to your website.
 Remember to keep the information in your bio updated so that it always reflects the current state
of your business or offering.

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Twitter
 Use hashtags & tweet consistently
 Add buttons on your site and in email signature.
 Follow thought leaders within your category.

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 Add people to Twitter lists—it signals to them their tweets are valuable and they are more likely to
follow your account.
 Research trending topics related to your field *using hashtags and topics on the left-hand side of
your page) and post/engage on these.
 Respond to tweets from large accounts.
 Thank people who engage with you. This helps you keep them as a follower.
 Tweet quotes and @mention the author.
 Embed tweets in blog posts. This gives viewers an idea of content they will get if they follow you.
 Do a “follower giveaway”
 See more in Twitter content section below.

PRODUCTS & FEATURES

 Hashtags - Using hashtags to categorize Tweets by keyword: People use the hashtag symbol (#)
before a relevant keyword or phrase in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets and help them show
more easily in Twitter search. Clicking or tapping on a hashtagged word in any message shows
you other Tweets that include that hashtag. Twitter hashtags help create communities of people
interested in the same topic.
 Favorites – These show in a prominent place in the main navigation. One idea is to use them as
social proof for your brand. Favorite the recommendations, testimonies, and positive blurbs from
your customers and fans, and transform your favorites tab into a board of brand high fives.
 Twitter Analytics – Built into your Twitter page, you can view a summary of the performance of
tweets (impressions, visits, mentions, followers, engagement, and audience).
 Audience Insights – View the gender, age, interests, country, and region of those who have
engaged with your posts.
 Events – Browse events on Twitter to see audience insights about them. For example, you can
view the American Music Awards event to see the total reach, impressions, gender, age, location,
and device used during the event.
 Tweet Highlights – Highlights are currently available on Twitter for Android (version 5.55 or higher)
 Moments – Moments are curated stories showcasing the best of what’s happening on
Twitter. They are categorized by News, Sports, Entertainment, and Fun. You can follow and review
the Tweets. You can also reply, Retweet, and like the Tweets. Learn how to create a Moment here.
 Lists: A curated group of Twitter accounts created in order to view a stream of Tweets from only
the accounts on that particular list.
 Embed a Timeline: Embedded timelines will only show content from users that have public
Tweets. (Content from protected Tweets are not compatible with embedded timeline widgets.)
Choose to embed a timeline on your website. It can be the user timeline, favorites only, list, or
search.

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ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST

Content
 Tweet emotion by using images that make people laugh, feel good, or get excited.
 Research shows tweets with photos get 150% more retweets (Buffer)
 If you have a tweet that you want the world to see, you should not start the tweet with an @
symbol. (Twitter recognizes this as a reply, part of a larger conversation. As such, these tweets are
hidden by default in a number of places around the network, including the redesigned profiles.)
And if you do start your tweet an @, be sure to place a period as the first character. (so looks like
“.@clutchofficial)
 Event Announcements
 Promotions
 Customer Feedback
 Teasers - Twitter is a great platform for teasing, giving a little bit of info to garner interest that
drives traffic back to your website.

Posting Features
 Pin tweet to the top of your Twitter profile (could be an upcoming event, announcement, brand
summary, or drives emotion)

WHEN TO POST
Post Cadence
Snaps work differently than other social networks as they stay unopened until your followers have time to
view them. After they are opened, they are available only for 1 to 10 seconds. Additionally, because they
vanish after one viewing, users pay attention.

TARGETING ABILITY – ADS

General Targeting
 Keywords  TV Targeting
 Followers  Behaviors
 Interests  Events
 Tailored Audiences
Campaign Objectives
 Tweet engagements  App installs or re-engagements
 Video views  Followers
 Website visits  Leads on Twitter
 Website conversion  Tweet activity

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SNAPCHAT
Snapchat is now claiming they are a “camera” company that believes reinventing the camera represents
the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. “And we encourage creativity,
which is why there are so many creative tools on our platform—doodles, geofilters, stickers and lenses.”-
Bryan Kim, manager of Snapchat’s strategy group. They have made a lot of changes over the past few
years, and more changes are coming. They are offering new targeting ability and a new product. The
following shows a timeline of key developments.

eMarketer Aug 23, 2016

SNAPCHAT’S OVERALL AUDIENCE

Statistics
 Snapchat Inc. has 150 million people using the service daily (up from 110 million daily users in Dec
2015)
 On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18-34-year-olds in the US. (Snapchat)
 More than half of new users are over age 25.
 Variety reported almost 33% of users they surveyed aged 13-24 use the app because their parents
do not.
 eMarketer
Age
 37% of users are 18-34
 26% of users are 25-34
 12% of users are 35-54

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 2% of users are 55+

eMarketer predicts millennials will make up 56% of all US Snapchat users by the end of 2020. eMarketer
projects two more years of double-digit growth in the number of monthly active users—a 27.2% year-over-
year increase this year, followed by a 13.6% increase next year. In 2018 and beyond, when the Snapchat
audience is expected to be substantially larger than it is today, year-over-year increases will be in the
single-digit range.

PROFILE
 Profile urls are now easily sharable. By swiping down from the Snapchat camera to the profile
screen, hitting ‘Add Friends’, and then selecting ‘Share Username’, you can copy your unique URL
or instantly share it through other apps like Twitter. When tapped on mobile, it opens a preview of
your profile on Snapchat with an “Add” button.
 Brands aren’t set apart from other users. Users can find brands and click on the username to view
the brand’s story. Examples of top brands (according to Hubspot) are @sourpatchnsnaps,
@everlane, @generalelectric, @warbyparker, @grubhub, @thenytimes, @djkhaled305,
@dominos_uk, @hubspotinc

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE
Snapchat
 Snapchat doesn’t use hashtags, so be creative in letting people know you are on Snapchat by
using other channels.
 Try sharing your Snapcode on other social networks to make it easy for fans to add you.
 Put your Snapcode in your product shipments.

PRODUCTS & FEATURES

 Spectacles: Snapchat's first hardware product--a set of connected sunglasses that record 10-
second snippets of video, for $130 sometime this fall. (Wall Street Journal Sept, 24, 2016) The
cameras employ a 115-degree lens, which the company says more closely approximates a
person's field of vision. And the cameras record circular video, according to Journal — and effort to
create a playback experience that simulates your natural point of view. (The Verge)
 Snapstreak: When you and your friend have Snapped each other (not Chat) within 24 hours for
more than one consecutive day, an emoji shows up with a number next to it. It is tracking “snaps”,
not “chats”. To keep up a Snapstreak, both people must send a Snap back and forth. If it’s about to
end, an hourglass icon will appear next to someone’s name.
 Geofilters: These are special overlays that communicate the “where and when” of a Snap in a fun
way, whether you're sending it to a friend or adding it to your Story. These filters only show up for
users within a certain range, roughly 20,000 square feet or more. Once built, Snapchat creates a
“geofence”. On-Demand Geofilters are for both people and businesses, purchased for one-day or

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one-month periods. They can be used for weddings, birthdays, festivals, baby showers, corporate
events and conferences. To find Geofilters, the Filters box must be checked in the settings Manage
icon. You have to be 18 years old to buy a Geofilter or parent’s express permission.
 Lenses: These work like filters on photos. They are animated and a way for users to engage with
the platform.
 Friend Emoji’s: There are friend emoji’s that appear, based on how users interact with their friends.
For example, a Gold Heart = Best Friends, Red Heart = best friends for at least two weeks, etc.
These can be customized. More here.
 Snaps: You can also tap the timer icon to choose how long friends can view your Snap — but
remember, they can always save your Snap by taking a screenshot!
 Chat: Swipe right on a friend’s name, enter text and tap “send”.
 Stories: Stories are compilations of Snaps that create a narrative 📖. Stories honor the true nature
of storytelling — Snaps appear in chronological order with a beginning, middle and end. Each Story
is a compilation of Snaps that a friend has posted to their Story over the last 24 hours. Each Snap
is a part of your Story for 24 hours (unless you delete it).
 Video Chat: Tap the video icon and friends can choose to “Join” you – you can then see and hear
each other.
 Bitmoji: Bitmoji is your own personal emoji that can be sent to other Snapchatters as a sticker in
Chat and on Snaps. The bitmojis available in Snapchat are updated regularly, so you'll never get
bored! Learn how to link Bitmoji to Snapchat here.
 Stickers: You can add a playful sticker to a Snap or send ‘em in a Chat to other Snapchatters.
Please Note: Geostickers are available now in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco,
Washington DC, Honolulu, London, Sydney, São Paulo, Paris, and Riyadh.
 Add Nearby: When you have a group of friends sitting near you, open up the Add Nearby and
Snapchat will find them and allow you to add them as friends on Snapchat.

ENGAGEMENT / WHAT TO POST

Content
 It’s important to understand Snapchat is not a platform build for perfection—use it to show off
your business personality, be creative, and humorous.
 Glimpse of behind the scenes at your company. Show the inspiration behind the company—chat
with artists.
 Show product in action—this could be someone wearing or using the products.
 Ask users to share pictures of your product. This is beneficial for the whole audience as it gives
them more information about your products and a place for them to share their ideas.
 Increase business and product knowledge through day to day Snaps. This keeps your brand top of
mind with followers.
 Engagement: Brands have seen the most impact through use of the Story feature

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 Share cool tips and/or opinions on recent events.

 Repurpose content from other social networks, making sure it’s tailored for Snapchat.
 Integrated campaigns have shown success. They have used other marketing channels in
conjunction with strategic timing to drive traffic to their presence on Snapchat.
o Some companies have seen success by launching sponsored lens campaigns by
announcing them on Twitter. (Gatorade tweeted a GIF of the Snapchat and had reportedly
been viewed over 100 million times.
o Amazon paid for video ads inside of Snapchat Live Story that tied in with its TV
ad…encouraging people to stay tuned into Snapchat. More here.
 Consider having multiple people take over your account at specific times during the week, keeping
your account fresh and exciting with custom behind the scenes content.
 Snapchat contests are a good way to grow following. Promote the contest on other platforms and
ask entrants to send you a Snap fulfilling some sort of conditions. (It might be answering a
question you ask or taking a specific photo.)

Posting Features
 Draw or write on pictures to add humor or emphasis
 Consider posting a series of images to grab people’s attention. (It could be stages, something
similar to a time lapse, before and after, or telling a story.)
 Easily add a call-to-action.
 Snapcodes: These are the easiest way for users to add you. To add a user by scanning their
Snapcode, simply take a picture or screenshot of a user's Snapcode with your mobile device. Then,
find the "Add by Snapcode" option and choose the photo you took of the Snapcode. The app will
recognize the Snapcode and add the person automatically.

WHEN TO POST
Post Cadence
Plan posts in advance. Since Snapchat has disappearing content, be deliberate about the sequence of
posts. For example, send a snap about an upcoming exclusive discount code that they may want to take a
picture of. You can also start a story on Snap and then drive followers to your website for the rest of the
story.

Response to Comments
Replying to every snap isn’t practical, but be sure to do so occasionally. It gives your followers a sense that
they are important. You can ask people to reply to your snaps.

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TARGETING ABILITY – ADS

Snapchat only started selling ads in late 2014. They are able to target by:
 Age  Device/operating system
 Gender  Mobile carrier
 Location  Content Affinity
Snap Audience Match: Snapchat allows advertisers to show ads based on information they've collected
outside of Snapchat. This can be changed by users in the Manage Preferences…but turning it off does not
mean they do not get served ads, it just means Snapchat will no longer be matching them to user
interests.

Standard Targeting
Snapchat is rolling out new ad targeting (behavioral) options that challenge its anti-creepy advertising
stance and could be used to execute the type of retargeting. (Marketing Land, Sept 13, 2016)

Ad Types
 Snap Ads (videos): Ads begin with 10-second vertical, full screen video ad that appears in the
context of other Snaps. Snapchatters have the choice to swipe up and see more, similar to like
they do elsewhere—swiping up reveals extended content like long form video, article, app install ad,
or mobile website. The swipe-up rate is 5x higher than the average click-through-rate on
comparable platforms. (Snapchat.com/ads)
 Sponsored Geofilters: a single National Sponsored Geofilter typically reaches 40% to 60% of daily
Snapchatters. (snapchat.com/ads)
 Sponsored Lenses / Filters: On average, Snapchatters play with a Sponsored Lens for 20 seconds.
(snapchat.com/ads) Snapchatters spend playing with the interactive ad created, when finished
playing, they are sent to friends or posted to a story. Lens Examples: Gatorade, Spotify & EllenTube
video.
 Sponsored Posts: Reach out to key Snapchat influencers related to your business with followers
who are part of your target market. Partner up in creating a sponsored post (this could be in
exchange for money or product) and give them their own discount code (this helps you track
performance). Make sure the influencer is in the photo.
 Snapchat Takeover: Once you have a decent following, you can allow an influencer to take over
your Snapchat account for a few hours. (It could be someone high-profile that can provide behind
the scenes look and it will draw people toward your account.)

Ad Objectives
It’s important to be sure “everyone” can see your stories. Snapchat campaigns are difficult to measure; you
can only gather data on the number of people that opened your snap, took a screenshot of it, or sent a
direct message. It requires manual tallying of responses and the numbers disappear when the content

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does (24 hours). You can calculate total unique views by monitoring the number of people who have
opened up the first frame of the Snapchat story. You can view completion rates by looking at the views
each Snap in your Story gets…if you divide the views on the last Snap of your Story by the views on the first
Snap, you’ll be able to calculate your completion rate.

http://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/marketing/what-how-and-when-to-measure-3-key-areas-of-
your-snapchat-marketing/

Here are some possible objectives for campaigns:

 Snapchat exclusive promotions to increase ecommerce sales.
 Follower Growth: This can be tracked through the “Added Me” section of the interface.

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RESOURCES

The following are resources used in creation of this document and expand upon the various topics above.

FACEBOOK
FB Profile Sizes & Dimensions: https://www.facebook.com/PagesSizesDimensions
FB Newsroom: http://newsroom.fb.com/
FB Business Learn: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn
FB Blueprint Certification & Training Program: https://www.facebook.com/blueprint/?ref=footer
FB IQ: Research FB Insights: https://insights.fb.com/
FB Choosing Ad Audience: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-ads-choose-audience
FB Free Online Training: https://www.facebook.com/blueprint
FB Business page to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/marketing
FB Ads Guide: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide?tab0=Mobile%20News%20Feed
FB Ad Billing: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-ads-billing
FB Custom Tabs Developer Support: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/pages/tabs

INSTAGRAM
Instagram Stories: https://help.instagram.com/1660923094227526
Instagram Business Tools: http://blog.business.instagram.com/post/145212269021/new-business-tools

TWITTER
Twitter Milestones: https://about.twitter.com/company/press/milestones
Twitter Moments: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20174961
Twitter Lists: https://support.twitter.com/articles/76460

SNAPCHAT
Snapchat Community Guidelines: https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/a/guidelines
Snapchat Advertising Policies: https://www.snapchat.com/ads/policies
Snapchat News: https://www.snap.com/news/
Snapchat Geofilters Terms & Conditions: https://geofilters.snapchat.com/terms-and-conditions
Snapchat Stickers: https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/article/sending-stickers

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