If you don't have Snapchat, what are you doing with your life? Snapchat is my favorite app for not only personal use to stay in touch with friends but to use it as a marketing tool for my business. Not many people think of this as a business marketing tool, but I can tell you it is well worth your time.

Reasons you should be using Snapchat:

FREE MARKETING: First of all, it's free so why not? Free marketing for my business? Sign me up! Snapchat is the quickest way to engage with your audience and friends, even more so then Twitter in my opinion. Pictures are shared immediately, you can create your own "Story" sharing behind the scenes and a day in the life of your business and you can directly send pictures to anyone on your list privately.

ENGAGEMENT: Since I started using Snapchat to market my business I have seen an increase in engagement. By sending new designs, updating my readers about posts and giving them an inside look into my business helped to get newsletter followers, group members and traffic to my blog.

BUILDING COMMUNITY AROUND YOUR BRAND: With any small business, building a community within your brand is key in growing a following. By using Snapchat, you are able to share what is going on with your business and providing brand awareness and recognition. Whenever I add text I always personalize it changing the colors and adding a streamlined look to it so people recognize that with my brand. Word to the wise, if you can market your brand and create brand recognition through a free fun app do it please.

BEING PERSONABLE: No one is going to follow or buy from a business that doesn't resonate with them. Customers buy from brands that make them feel good and that they enjoy. Including your customers in the process will make them feel special and by being personable you are building that relationship. Building relationships and trust is one of the many building blocks of running a successful business. Be personable, be genuine, be respectful and provide value. Don't forget to have a little fun with Snapchat to show your audience your personality. Be your unique self, people will love it and will attract the right people!

BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK: This is one of my favorite aspects of using Snapchat for business. Especially with online businesses, everyone is seeing the final blog post, the final design, the final website look. With Snapchat, you are able to share the process of your work; where you are working, what programs you are using, how you work, etc. Think of it as VIP access into your brand (almost like going backstage to your favorite concert).

Do you use Snapchat for business? If so, how? Leave your usernames below, let's be friends!

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