By Michelle Strydom

According to Kellen Beck, a Tech news reporter intern for Mashable, Snapchat has been established as the most popular social network among teens, due to its picture and video-based content.

However, according to experts, there are many reasons why Snapchat is perfect for marketing and branding, and why more brands should consider the platform as a tool and not just a toy.

For the love of video

For Conrad David, founder and CEO of Hashtag SA, Snapchat holds massive benefits for brands because of its picture- and video-based form of communication.

“Video is such a strong content right now. It’s progressing and what you can share in a few seconds compared to what you have in a 20 page document can be far more valuable to a consumer as well as to competitive brands in the marketplace,” he says.

Consumers and clients are constantly looking for new ways of communicating or gaining knowledge in the quickest and simplest way. Snapchat, with its visually appealing content can give the consumer access to the most important information without the inconvenience of having to scan through a big slab of text.

Capturing the essence of the brand

Furthermore, Snapchat allows the user to capture the essence of something, with all its beauty as well as its flaws. This 'realness' helps brands come to life and provides consumers with a look at the brand beyond the mission statement, states David.

“For brands it allows you to share the presence of your business environment with your audience. So, beyond the mission statement and the products you offer, it’s the whole atmosphere of the environment that you can share with businesses and consumers. There are no limitations [to] what you can use Snapchat for.”

With Snapchat, all marketing is done on the spot, so the brand is displayed as it really is. For viewers, a brand on Snapchat is exactly what you can expect, and not just a tweet or a photo on Instagram that has been prepared and perfected.

“Snapchat has a different value and brand exposure. What you capture on Facebook and what you share on Twitter compared to what you post on Instagram can be totally different to what you share on Snapchat. So think of it as a whole new way of expressing your business to clients. As well as for an individual. Make Snapchat a bit more personal for yourself if you want to share things more constructively out there.”

Part of capturing the essence is showcasing the brand in its most basic and raw form. In an article on Inc.com, Adam Fridman, founder of MeetAdvisors, writes that Snapchat is tailor made for brands who “prioritise softer attributes such as authenticity and humor over repetition”.

The brand becomes more appealing when they let go and show people that the brand is professional, but it’s still run by regular people who have emotions, humor and a sense of creativity.

Less really is more

As a social media platform, Snapchat embodies the phrase “less is more” because you can only share small amounts of information at once.  Sharing less forces the brand to share the most important information, and exclude any fluff that would’ve been included in a text-based post. This means consumers have the convenience of getting everything they need without wasting time.

And then there are the short attention spans of consumers to consider, says David.

“People are smashing up short videos into longer videos, and making actual movies about it or telling a story in a different way using split seconds. You have to keep in mind the human concentration span is not that far away from a goldfish so you have to learn how to adapt to your audience,” he says.

Do you think Snapchat has value for brands or is it just another social toy? Let us know in the comments below.