Snapchat is the new darling of social media. It is a platform that has been growing in popularity over the last few years and is now emerging as the new social platform for business.

For those of us in our mid 30's to 40's we know Snapchat as the platform that allowed teens to send racy pics to each other. It has now evolved beyond this and its time we got our heads around it, get on it and use it for our businesses.

1. Being a late adopter is never fun - don't make this mistake

The one lesson I have learned over the past 8 years of social media is that being late adopter is not fun. Coming to a platform late always makes it harder to get traction and build audience and it normally costs you more money. This is because by the time you get on the platform you can only access paid reach instead of organic reach. If you get on and start building your audience now - it will pay off, it will be easier and cheaper!

2. Growing user base and your customers ARE starting to use it

The one of most important questions to ask yourself. "Is my customer using Snapchat?". The answer is YES - some of them definitely are. Here are the latest stats from February 2016 - source Statistic.com

Here are some other interesting stats about this platform:

100 million active users - 25/5/15
10 billion video views a day - 26/5/16
60% of users post something every day - 25/3/16
9000 snaps per second - 26/1/16

The conclusions you can draw are that users of the platform are highly engage with it. They love using it.

3. Its so VERY fun to use and IT Makes you LOOK cool

Snapchat is so much fun to use. It takes only a few seconds to take a pic, add a graphic and text and off it goes. Its perfect for grab quick moments in time. People you are connected with will feel part of your world. The use of Snapchat at Fashion Week made consumers feel included in an exclusive world, and by doing so, they felt like they were part of the event. This is a great example.

You can share your pics two ways - via a direct message to a follower or via your story. If you share something directly with a follower they feel loved - because you thought enough about them to send them something.

The key is to have fun with. Show your personality - people like to connect with people. Don't go too crazy though and make sure you are still professional and PG!

If your brand uses snapshot it shows your customers that you are "cool". I know this sounds daggy but Snapchat is perceived to be a young, groovy persons platform. So if you are using it - you are too.

4. Naturally engaging

Snapchat is naturally engaging. Your story will automatically play when your follower checks out the latest updates of their friends. Snapchat automatically plays one story after the other. So there your brand will be - auto-playing without your follower even having to select your story to watch. This is really a cool feature.

5. It will bring you traffic

If you create great valuable content that is unique for Snapchat then it will bring you traffic just like the other platforms. Don't just copy content from the other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. You need to think of innovative ways to help your ideal customer in Snapchat.

Definitely use the video feature. We all know that video is the most engaging content so make sure you use it on Snapchat as well.

What are some ways you can use it for business?

Send a coupon code that they have to screenshot and use within 24 hours
Flash sale on a product - that can only be accessed within 25 hours
Quick tips and advice relating to your product
Behind the scenes photos and video
Giveaways
Daily happenings in your business
Motivational or daily pep talks
Give access to Live Events - snap videos through the event
Give your customer private content that they can't access on the other platforms
Team up with a snapchat influencers to get your brand greater awareness
Tease fans with new products - build momentum

Snapchat tips!

Just like on the other platforms - be authentic
Snaps don't need to be staged - keep it real and raw
Promote the fact that you are now on Snapchat to your existing audiences - on social platforms and email your list!

Follow me on Snapchat!

I would love you to follow me on Snapchat - here is my user name sah.drysdale. Please comment below with yours and I will add you!

The 5 most compelling reasons to get onto Snapchat now!