Kim Kardashian understands social media. Not only does she "get it" on a level that not many other celebrities/people/brands do, she executes flawless social media campaigns on a regular basis.
Whether it's releasing a new app (she has 3), promoting episodes of her reality TV show, or sharing blog posts multiples times a day, she is always managing a full content calendar. So when Kim Kardashian decided to to release the secret, highly-talked about video footage of Taylor Swift and Kanye West's phone call, she knew how to do it.
One of the biggest challenges for marketers on Snapchat is that it's very difficult to gain a following on Snapchat. Discovering new people to follow on Snapchat is hard, and for brands it's even harder to get your followers from Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook over to your Snapchat.
It's safe to assume that like many brands, Kim Kardashian faces the same challenges. Kim's following on Snapchat probably wasn't as large as the rest of her social media accounts, especially compared to her younger sister Kylie, who is rumoured to be the most popular Snapchat user. Kim could have focused on the short-term and aired the video footage on her TV show for a ratings increase, but instead she used it as an opportunity to quickly grow her Snapchat account. By releasing the footage exclusively on Snapchat, Kim was investing in the long-term future of Snapchat, which makes sense considering that Instagram engagement has decreased 33% this year.
Let's take a look at how this Snapchat release worked for Kim Kardashian. Kim teased the release earlier in the night, after a Taylor-Swift themed episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians aired, telling her followers (and the world) to make sure they were following her on Snapchat. Knowing that this footage would break the internet yet again, Kim started with a tweet.
This was the right move to make, and one that brands can learn from. As I note in my blog post How to Turn Instagram Followers into Snapchat Friends, simply posting your Snapchat ghost or asking people to add you isn't the right way to get more Snapchat followers. Instead of just asking your audience to add you on Snapchat, you should provide a reason for them to add you. Think about how you can use your product in a weird or interesting way that will get people’s attention, and then tease that content on your other social media channels. As we can learn from Kim Kardashian, if you entice your Instagram or Twitter followers with something unique and creative that’s exclusive to your Snapchat channel, they will come over to watch it.
Kim, fully understanding social media, posted one Snapchat story. Taylor's response was to post a screenshot of the "Notes" app to all social networks, which makes her appear out-of-touch with her audience and social media.
By ignoring the strengths of how each social network operates (Instagram is visual, Twitter is textual, etc) Taylor's message is actually getting lost in the medium. Instead of people focusing on the content of her post, they are commenting on the way she posted it. In fact, the whole "posting a screenshot of the notes app" (in landscope mode, no less) is so ridiculous and out-of-date that is has now become a meme.
Taylor Swift is also missing a huge opportunity, because Taylor Swift isn't even on Snapchat. A smart move would have been to use all this social media attention to launch her own Snapchat channel and quickly gain millions of followers, like Kim did. Imagine if Taylor had created her own Snapchat, and instead of posting a screenshot of the Notes app, she posted a video of her saying that exact statement. Not only would it humanize her rather cold response, she would have also gained thousands of Snapchat followers that normally wouldn't be interested in adding her. And with a rumoured album coming in September, that would have been a major win for her to market her album on Snapchat.
So what can brands learn from all this drama?
I should also mention that so far, there haven't been any reported instances of Snapchat take-down notices. If Kim had posted the video to Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, there could have been potential for those networks to remove the post. Also, apparently Taylor Swift's ex is the Snapchat CEO... #theplotthickens
Source: Taylor Loren Content Marketing Manager at Later
One of the biggest challenges for marketers on Snapchat is that it's very difficult to gain a following on Snapchat. Discovering new people to follow on Snapchat is hard, and for brands it's even harder to get your followers from Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook over to your Snapchat.
It's safe to assume that like many brands, Kim Kardashian faces the same challenges. Kim's following on Snapchat probably wasn't as large as the rest of her social media accounts, especially compared to her younger sister Kylie, who is rumoured to be the most popular Snapchat user. Kim could have focused on the short-term and aired the video footage on her TV show for a ratings increase, but instead she used it as an opportunity to quickly grow her Snapchat account. By releasing the footage exclusively on Snapchat, Kim was investing in the long-term future of Snapchat, which makes sense considering that Instagram engagement has decreased 33% this year.
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| Here's What Kim Kardashian Just Taught Taylor Swift About Social Media |
This was the right move to make, and one that brands can learn from. As I note in my blog post How to Turn Instagram Followers into Snapchat Friends, simply posting your Snapchat ghost or asking people to add you isn't the right way to get more Snapchat followers. Instead of just asking your audience to add you on Snapchat, you should provide a reason for them to add you. Think about how you can use your product in a weird or interesting way that will get people’s attention, and then tease that content on your other social media channels. As we can learn from Kim Kardashian, if you entice your Instagram or Twitter followers with something unique and creative that’s exclusive to your Snapchat channel, they will come over to watch it.
Kim, fully understanding social media, posted one Snapchat story. Taylor's response was to post a screenshot of the "Notes" app to all social networks, which makes her appear out-of-touch with her audience and social media.
By ignoring the strengths of how each social network operates (Instagram is visual, Twitter is textual, etc) Taylor's message is actually getting lost in the medium. Instead of people focusing on the content of her post, they are commenting on the way she posted it. In fact, the whole "posting a screenshot of the notes app" (in landscope mode, no less) is so ridiculous and out-of-date that is has now become a meme.
Taylor Swift is also missing a huge opportunity, because Taylor Swift isn't even on Snapchat. A smart move would have been to use all this social media attention to launch her own Snapchat channel and quickly gain millions of followers, like Kim did. Imagine if Taylor had created her own Snapchat, and instead of posting a screenshot of the Notes app, she posted a video of her saying that exact statement. Not only would it humanize her rather cold response, she would have also gained thousands of Snapchat followers that normally wouldn't be interested in adding her. And with a rumoured album coming in September, that would have been a major win for her to market her album on Snapchat.
So what can brands learn from all this drama?
- Mishandling the medium of a social network can draw more attention than your actual message.
- If you create content that people actually want, they will follow you to any social network.
- Snapchat is definitely the "next big thing" for social media. If your brand isn't on Snapchat already, now's the time to start thinking about when you're going to start. Avoid these 3 Mistakes Businesses Make on Snapchat!
I should also mention that so far, there haven't been any reported instances of Snapchat take-down notices. If Kim had posted the video to Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, there could have been potential for those networks to remove the post. Also, apparently Taylor Swift's ex is the Snapchat CEO... #theplotthickens
Source: Taylor Loren Content Marketing Manager at Later