Orangetheory Fitness in Athens: Social Media Analysis and Recommendations

What is Orangetheory Fitness?

Orangetheory Fitness offer 60-minute workout sessions split into intervals of cardiovascular and strength training with heart rate monitors to track intensity and maximize metabolic burn. The goal is to increase energy, get visible results and burn more calories, even after leaving the studio. Their motto is: Work for one hour, burn for 36.

They are a boutique fitness gym. Boutique fitness consists of a small gym, group exercises, focused workout and premium prices. Boutique fitness gyms have grown exponentially in the past few years. Participation has doubled in one year from 21% in 2013 to 42% in 2014. Boutique studios have been adding new studios at a rate of 450% per year since 2010. 

Target Market?

Their target market is men and women ages 18-55. They focus on attracting upper-middle class clients with a competitive drive.

Overall Marketing Strategy

Right now Orangetheory Fitness focuses on hyper-local targeting, their website and myallout.com, phone and text marketing, and having potential clients come in to "try them for free."

Current Social Media Strategy

Orangetheory Fitness mainly focuses on their Facebook and Instagram. Right now their Facebook has  1,881 likes, while their Instagram has 764 followers. 

I believe that their social media strategy can be stronger, and they can also leverage more platforms.

Platform Recommendations

Facebook: 

• Connect Spotify account to Facebook so that customers are aware and can utilize playlists played in the studio
• Feature coach biographies on Facebook, with a link to the website to drive traffic

Instagram:

• Create a #myallout campaign to drive user generated content
• participating in this campaign could be rewarded with surprise and delight
• they could use influencers to get it started
• reap a great ROI
• Have less wordy posts, while still being inspirational
• Showcase posts that appeal to all genders

Snapchat:

• Start a local Snapchat account for Athens
• Have a "Never Miss a Monday" Snapchat geofilter to increase engagement
• Post in-class videos on their Snapchat story to give customers or potential clients and up close and personal look
• Create consistent posts so users can stay updated in real-time

Twitter:

• Start a local Twitter account for Athens
• Tweet inspirational quotes and quick fitness tips to showcase brand culture, which will drive up engagement
• Tweet the latest workout songs that are played in class
• Use it to boost word-of-mouth 

Sources

• http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/spot-orangetheory-introduces-tv/307454/
• https://athens.orangetheoryfitness.com/
• https://www.orangetheoryfitness.com/the-workout
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2014/01/23/how-orangetheory-workouts-are-shaping-up-the-fitness-industry/2/#63c008e67732

Can Facebook Compete with Google?

Facebook vs Google

Will Facebook compete directly against Google as a search engine?

Many people find the claim that Facebook will compete directly against Google as a search engine as unfeasible. This is mainly because Google currently has 90.37% of the world market share of search engines. It seems unlikely that Facebook would ever be able to compete with a number like that...but before you form your own opinion, continue reading to understand the logistics.

To start, I will provide a short overview of the two companies:

Facebook:

• Found in 2004
• CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
• Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
• Revenue: 27.64 Billion USD
• A social network
• 1.86 billion monthly active users

Google:

• Found in 1998
• CEO: Sundar Pichai
• Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
• Revenue: 86.46 Billion USD
• Consumers gravitated toward Google's simple design and user-friendly interface
• Rapid ascent to the top spot of search engines, which the company has yet to relinquish
• Previous competitors, Yahoo, MSN, and Bing, were able to cling to small market shares, yet Google continued to grow unabated

So what does this mean?

Zuckerberg believes that in ten years Facebook will be capable of providing a research and question-and-answer service that will be better than any other search engine. He believes Facebook's in-app experience provides something more personal, where as Google search is confined to internet browsing. People willingly share their personal information with Facebook, therefore this personal component of Facebook challenges the overall web.

When will Facebook do this?

Zuckerberg has created a three, five, and ten year plan. We are currently in the process of the three year plan, which is building new kinds of experiences for sharing. An example of this would be the new Marketplace feature on Facebook, where users are able to share and sell their items. Another example is how Facebook allows you to now directly tag a place when making a recommendation on someones status.

• 3 Year Plan: Building new kinds of experiences for sharing
• Ex: the new Marketplace feature, or allowing people to tag a place when making a recommendation
• 5 Year Plan: Helping people use the network to answer interesting questions or solve problems they have
• 10 Year Plan: Completion of the entire project

3 reasons why Facebook will be successful are...

1. Biggest index of data on hand compare to any other search engine
2. Graph Search: Artificial intelligence unit is working towards making more data available through Facebook's search engine
3. Mobile devices: What the final product will be rolled out on
• allows users to ask Facebook for advice
• problems are solved using voice recognition through phones

Power of friends and family

This is one of the greatest reasons why Facebook will be successful with their goal to compete with Google as a search engine. The power of friends and family is HUGE in today's world. 

Nielson reported that people trust friends and family in the 90% range, pure strangers in the 70% range (ratings, recommendations, etc), and brands in the 40-50% range.

Also, according to Forrester, 25% of all digital impressions come from social connections...and this number is predicted to increase

• To put this 25% into perspective, that is 500 billion of the 2 trillion online impressions
• Ex: If you are looking for a moving company, you are more likely to create a Facebook status asking people in the area rather than just Googling "moving company." You don't just want a list of moving companies, you want to know who does the best job.
• Also if a consumer is looking to make a high involvement purchase, such as a GoPro, they may create a status saying, "I want to buy the latest GoPro, any thoughts?" This way they know their responses are from people that they trust, and that may have similar characteristics as them.

What is this Graph Search?

I mentioned Graph Search above in the "3 reasons why Facebook will be successful are" section, but wanted to go into a little more detail. Graph Search is Facebook's search engine. It is intended to help you find answers to questions where the answer isn't fixed, such as, "What are my friends' favorite restaurants?" It is a beta product that Facebook is rolling out slowly to help people find content on Facebook. As of now, it is only available as a limited preview to people using Facebook that own a desktop and speak English. If you are interested in learning more about Graph Search, I have provided the link to a great video featuring Mark Zuckerberg explaining the product more in depth.

Linke to Graph Search video: https://youtu.be/U94DTrjAvuA

Summary

Personally, I think Facebook will be able to compete directly with Google as a search engine. Consumers are wanting more personal information and recommendations, and Facebook will allow these results, as well as concrete results, to all be on one platform. Google does not have nearly the same personal data that Facebook does. Also, Facebook was created later than Google, but I believe that with time they will be able to be a competitor to Google.

I did ask a few people their thoughts on this topic, and many people do not think that anyone will ever be able to surpass Google. They believe that Facebook is already on the down-slope, and in ten years will not be as relevant. Many people also said they'd rather have their friends opinions and concrete information on separate search engines. It was interesting hearing everyones' thoughts and opinions, because we seem to be a culture that loves having everything integrated into one platform!

Only time will tell, but you heard it here first!!

Sources

•http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-will-challenge-google-for-dominance-of-search-2014-1

•http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/060315/why-facebook-biggest-threat-googles-adrevenue-throne.asp

•http://www.smartceo.com/alton-5-ways-facebook-is-competing-with-google-and-how-it-affects-your-business/

•https://www.quora.com/How-will-Facebook-compete-with-Google-on-Search

•https://www.google.com/#q=google+revenue&*

•http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/30/business/google-fast-facts/

•https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

It's MADNESS I tell you, MADNESS!!

What is March Madness and why should you care?

March Madness is when the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament takes place. It is a several week long event that is very popular in the United States. Throughout this tournament, if brands are able to tap into loyal fans' feelings it can create a full range of benefits. These benefits include:

1. Increased participation in promotion and sales
2. Deeper brand loyalty with current customers
3. Smaller, but still significant long-term increase of followers
4. Dramatic short-term increase of visitors

The overarching goal of any March Madness activity is to try and tie consumers' enthusiasm about college basketball finals to your brand. Below I will list some of the objectives of the emotional appeals a brand would want to touch on. This will demonstrate the importance of connecting a brand with March Madness.

• Fans are consumers that feel strongly about a certain event, object, or person. In this case fans are feeling strongly about basketball, and more specifically March Madness.
• A company should position themselves to appear deeply connected with March Madness. This will get loyal basketball fans to eagerly share brands' March Madness themed content, which will result in short-term gains.
• The positive associations between March Madness and a brand will still subconciously exist, even after the event ends. Any future thoughts of March Madness may have the chance of triggering a consumer's memory about a brand, as well as feelings of happiness.

So how should a brand associate themselves with March Madness?

• Sports Pools
• Brands can use an NCAA sports pool to draw attention to itself. For example, brands can have consumers fill out a bracket for their pool, and the winner of the pool could win a prize! Another way to go about it would be to create a NCAA pool to raise money for a cause. Then participants can bet on their teams, and donate to a good cause.
• Contests
• Vote Contests: A brand simply creates a poll asking which team that their consumers want to win. This allows consumers to have an outlet to show their enthusiasm. Competitive results in the pool could even encourage followers to share the post to gain the most votes for their team.
• Photos
• Creative Photos: A creative photo post is a great way to get people talking about your brand. A creative photo can help followers make the association between a brand and March Madness. Also this is a very inexpensive form of advertisement. 

• Cover Photos: A brand changing their cover photo can show their dedication to March Madness, and demonstrate the fact that they are up-to-date on current events. The cover photo can also help emphasize any March Madness related promotions. A brand can also make a more subtle change to their cover photo just by tying in their brand with basketball in some way.

• Tying a brand to a local team
• Brands can also show their involvement with the tournament by supporting local teams. By creating sharable content, followers will want to show their love for their team and their brand. Nike did a great job with this, and actually created a photograph (like the one shown below) for all of the teams in the tournament.

March Madness begins March 14th and ends on April 3rd. Leading up to the tournament, during, and a bit after, companies can be creative with promotional campaigns to associate their brand with March Madness. The key is making the content rewarding and easy for viewers to share!

Sources

http://corp.wishpond.com/thank-you-march-madness/wp-content/uploads/Ebook_MARCH.pdf

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d7/e9/2d/d7e92d124865ac1dc28e13a8c9301f2c.jpg

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/3/19/10/enhanced-buzz-31996-1363702264-8.jpg

https://g.foolcdn.com/editorial/images/161822/buffalo-wild-wings-march-madness_large.png

Snapchat vs Facebook for Millennials

Snapchat and Facebook are two very popular social platforms. Snapchat is a photo-sharing app that allows you to take a picture, send that picture to another Snapchat user, and after a certain amount of time that is chosen by the sender, the photo is deleted and the receiver can no longer see the photo. Facebook allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, and send messages to keep in touch with people. Snapchat has become increasingly popular amongst the Millennial generation, but why?

Snapchat

Founded: 2011

CEO: Evan Spiegel

Headquarters: Venice, California

Revenue: $404 million

Net Income/ Loss: -$515 million

Daily Active Users: 158 Million

Millennial Users: 32.9%

Advantages:
-Allows users to broadcast their life authentically
-Can get an inside look on friends, celebrities, sports teams or even brands' lives
-Privacy: you can pick and choose who sees each post, without having to constantly edit your privacy settings
-Invisible Friends: you don't add just any random person to your Snapchat, and if you do then you never have to send them a snap. This reduces the amount of creepy stalkers you have to constantly deny a friend request from.
-Replies: when someone replies to your Snap, only you can see that. Unlike on Facebook, where all of your friends can see your Grandma's embarrassing comments about your ripped jeans.

Disadvantages:
-Exposes children to opportunities to share sexual photos
-Makes it easier to blackmail or bully, since the photo disappears
-The screenshot function: users feel free to send whatever they want because of the time limit, but may forget that receivers can screen shot any picture they send

Facebook

Founded: 2004
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Revenue: $4,037 million
Net Income/ Loss: $974 million
Daily Active Users: 526 Million
Millennial Users: 75.6%

Advantages:
-Easily connects people from all over the world
-Can find like-minded people because you can see their interests
-It is common to meet new people on Facebook
-You can find dates for events that you may be interested in
-Video chat feature
-Breaking news goes viral here quicker than it may on Snapchat
-Brands can use it to announce important things about products and services

Disadvantages: 
-Presence of parents, teachers, and future employers means that millennials actions have greater social consequence (this could be an advantage as well, just depends how you look at it)
-Fake profiles

-It is difficult to keep your profile completely private

-Since everyone can see who "likes" something of yours, it creates a competitive environment and false sense on self-worth 

All-in-all both Snapchat and Facebook are extremely popular amongst Millennials. The use of Snapchat is growing due to the sense of freedom and privacy that millennials have on the platform. They still use Facebook, but it is not where they express their true selves anymore. Facebook is the profile that shows how they want to be perceived by others. Snapchat allows Millennials to show their true colors because they know exactly who sees their content, and have complete control over it. 

Sources

http://tech.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Snapchat-Facebook_640-640x320.jpg
http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-vs-facebook-twitter-ipo-chart-2017-2
http://www.chicagonow.com/arkielad/2016/02/7-reasons-snapchat-is-better-than-facebook/#image/6
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/why-snapchat-is-better-than-facebook-commentary.html
http://mwpartners.com/snapchat-is-now-the-third-most-popular-social-network-among-millennials/
https://www.shoutmeloud.com/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-facebook.html

Super Bowl LI

Still wallowing over the loss of the Atlanta Falcons, the Super Bowl is still very prevelant in my mind. I have analyzed the game, the commercials, and now I wanted to take the time to evaluate the digital media used during the largest sports game of the year. An average of 111.3 million Americans tuned into this year's game, so it is no doubt that brands want a piece of this action. With a 30 second traditional television ad costing about $5 million, brands are looking to leverage digital and live ads on Snapchat, and other forms of social media, to connect with consumers.

If you recorded yourself being doused by Gatorade on Snapchat (like I did), then Gatorade was successful in their campaign to connect with their audience. Snapchat charges around $750,000 for a custom Snapchat lens on peak days such as the Super Bowl. This is much cheaper than the traditional television ad, and occasionally more successful. For those who may be unaware, a Snapchat lens  allows users to add special effects to selfies. Users' open the app, frame their face, touch the screen, and below appears a menu of lens options. There are many standard lenses, but the first few slots are reserved for the daily sponsored lenses. Snapchat's lenses are to digital advertising what commercials are to television advertising. Just like television ads in the Superbowl, Snapchat users expect the lenses to be entertaining on event days. Users' are eager to open the app and see what marketers have created for them. An average Snapchat consumer spends 20 seconds playing with a sponsored lens; that's 20 seconds of a consumer actively being involved with a brand. Snapchat's daily audience reaches 150 million, which is greater than the Superbowl's viewing audience. Therefore, Snapchat allows brands to reach those consumers that may not be a fan of football, but still want to be apart of the hype on social media. On Sunday morning Gatorade tweeted a GIF of the lens to build momentum, and by the end of the almost every Snapchat user had been soaked with the orange sports drink.

The statistics from Gatorade's Super Bowl lens has proven it to be a successful advertising campaign, and I have no doubt that many other brands will follow suit in the upcoming years.

Sources

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/02/05/brands-capitalize-live-video-snapchat-instagram-super-bowl-li

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/snapchat-best-brands#sm.00001e35dn1pq1dciugdr5zo3bcif

http://www.tubefilter.com/2017/02/02/snapchat-lens-super-bowl-ad/

http://www.ibtimes.com/super-bowl-ratings-2017-how-many-people-watched-patriots-vs-falcons-nfl-game-sets-2487347

http://www.ibtimes.com/snapchats-super-bowl-sponsored-lens-gatorade-had-more-100-million-views-2298865

#foodie

Millennials are the largest generational group in the United States, and hold about $200 billion in annual buying power. The understand that fast-food is unhealthy, although they enjoy the quick and convenient aspect of it. Therefore millennials have become dominant buyers in the fast-casual restaurant industry. Millennials are the main consumer of fast-casual and Snapchat, so why not combine the two? 

If a restaurant is interested in using Snapchat as a way of social marketing, they should begin by spreading the word on their other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Adding their Snapchat name to any promotions or campaigns will help them gain a strong follower base. Once an account has a follower base the restaurant can begin enticing customers to follow them on Snapchat by sending promo codes and coupons through the app. For example, is someone adds a restaurant on Snapchat, the restaurant can respond with a reward that they can redeem for 5% off or free delivery. This makes the promotions seem more personalized and exclusive. It also will encourage word-of-mouth promotions.

Snapchat use can also be promoted while in the restaurant. The restaurant can create Geofilters for their locations so customers do the advertising themselves. When they are presented with a beautiful dish they may Snap a photo and swipe to the right to add the Geofilter before they even take a bite! Restaurants can also encourage on-premise Snaps to help engage customers even further while they are in the restaurant. For example, if they Snap a photo at the restaurant and post it, they could receive 10% of their meal.

Another important aspect of using Snapchat in restaurants is to be able to go behind the scenes. Customers enjoy seeing how their food is made, how fresh the ingredients are, and where the shipments are coming in from. Show them that! Restaurants should show their followers how clean their kitchen is and how colorful their fruits and veggies are! It is also just as important to show case the personality of the chef and staff, and show that your restaurant is friendly and knows how to have a good time!

Sources

https://www.foodabletv.com/blog/2016/7/26/snapchat-an-unexpected-restaurant-marketing-tool

http://get.grubhub.com/blog/snapchat-101-a-guide-for-restaurants.html

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/52/9e/43/529e430e27d1c5194a0da13e0ac78aed.jpg

http://www.themplsegotist.com/sites/www.themplsegotist.com/files/images/Greetings%20from%20BDubs%20Snapchat%20Filter.img_assist_custom-480x854.JPG

Something's missing

Has anyone realized something different about Snapchat? Something missing? Remember the local collaborative stories that allowed you to view what people were doing in other cities? Well, they are gone now. Snapchat has decided to end these local stories because they were one of their least popular features. There will still be live stories, but they will be focused around bigger events such as award shows or holidays.

It seems that Snapchat is now seeking more exclusive content, and opting for official deals with companies desiring to be part of their "Discover" section. So instead of the National Football League (NFL) just being involved in live stories, they are going to build a Discover channel. With these partnerships the ad revenue is split.

Sadly, Snapchat had to lay off about fifteen employees that were in charge of curating the live story submissions cities would receive. Curators would sift through around 20,000 submissions a day, and only chose 50-60 to showcase. With the elimination of local stories, Snapchat is expected to raise their revenue by 150% in 2017. It is expected to rise from $360 million to $935.5 million.

Although this was one of my shorter blog posts, I felt it was necessary to address. Check back next week to see how Snapchat is being integrated into many restaurants' marketing plans.

Sources

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12830618/snapchat-ends-local-stories-for-cities
http://mashable.com/2016/09/07/snapchat-local-stories/#K._2Q2.d28qH

You miss 100% of the snaps you don't take

A common quote used widely throughout the sports realm is, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." It other words, you can't succeed unless you try; and you can't try without taking action. This quote doesn't only apply to action on the court, it applies to the "behind the scenes" action that drives consumer engagement.

Snapchat is being used by teams and athletes to build their brand. It can help teams drive more revenue from digital media and also accrue more fans in their stadiums. There are many ways Snapchat can be used as a form of advertisement, but there are five main tactics that have been found to be a successful driving force of fan engagement.

Tactic 1: Take fans behind the scenes!
-Due to Snapchat's video sharing capability, users can catch a glimpse of things that they would otherwise be unable to see. Fans want to see what goes on behind closed doors. If they are invested and want to spend money to come see a team play, then they would probably enjoy seeing the team prepare for them too. It makes the entire experience more personal. For example, the Atlanta Braves posted their commercial shoot on Snapchat recently. It was cool to see what went in to the final product that we will soon be seeing on our televisions (or on our social media sites). The Braves also showcased their new stadium on Snapchat. By doing this they are creating hype for SunTrust Park Stadium, in hopes of filling their stands on opening night.

 

Tactic 2: Promote the attitude of a champion

-Fans want their team to win just as much as the players want to win themselves. Viewers want to see their favorite team preparing for the big game. They want to see the players making great plays during practices or scrimmages, and they want to see them overcoming challenges in order to win. Loyal fans will support their team every step of the way. The fans want to know that if they are going to spend money and time viewing a game, then their team will take the time to invest in them by working hard. When teams have Snaps of a great kick, or record an awesome block, it hypes up their fan base.

                           

Tactic 3: Be silly, have fun with it!

-No Snap is permanent so the whole platform is very relaxed and fun! Teams should Snap a pic of a favorite player with a funny lens over their face; or maybe have them speak with a voice changer. Anything that is funny will most likely catch the viewers attention! Who doesn't want to see their favorite athletic team having loads of fun?

Tactic 4: Special team-based Geofilters

-It is crucial that a team has created, and is utilizing, their team-based Geofilters. By providing unique and creative Geofilters teams are getting free advertising every time a fan swipes to add it to their Snap. For example, the specialized scoreboard Geofilter allows fans who aren't even watching the game to still be tuned in to what is going on. I know I have personally used these many times. Especially after the Braves played 13 innings and Freddie Freeman hits for cycle against the Reds. Yeah, you better bet all of my followers knew that I was a loyal fan who stayed at the game until the early hours of the morning.

 

Tactic 5: Engage partners!
-I'm sure many team sponsors would love the extra advertising. Teams could find a sponsor and co-host an event with them. The Atlanta Hawks did a great job engaging partners by pairing with Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation to do vision screenings. The Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation "provides vision and hearing services through education, detection, prevention and treatment for Georgians in financial need." The Hawks had Mike "Moose" Muscala do the vision screenings which made the experience fun and entertaining for all!

Snapchat doesn't just offer teams the opportunity to brand themselves, they also offer the same opportunity to athletes. Athletes can build their personal brand by providing fans with an inside look on and off the field. By having a Snapchat, athletes can show their fans an unfiltered and honest glimpse of their lives. Athletes are also sometimes dehumanized due to their superhero-like abilities, so Snapchat allows fans to see that athletes can live a normal life too. Snapchat brings them back to Earth and makes them relatable to their viewers.

If you can't tell, I am from Atlanta and love baseball, basketball and football. Naturally, I chose to showcase my favorite teams. Go ahead and add them on Snapchat!

National Football League- @nfl
Atlanta Falcons- @falcons
Atlanta Hawks- @hawkssnaps
Atlanta Braves- @braves

Sources

http://www.sportsdigita.com/five-ways-teams-must-use-snapchat-drive-fan-engagement/
http://sportsgeekhq.com/social-media/sports-snapchat-every-usa-professional-team-snapchat/
http://mediakix.com/2016/06/best-snapchat-accounts-to-add-sports-stars-pro-athletes/#gs.rDjix5M
https://lionslighthouse.org
http://www.forbes.com/sites/actiontrumpseverything/2014/01/12/you-miss-100-of-the-shots-you-dont-take-so-start-shooting-at-your-goal/#6d8a56145e42

Travel. Snap. Share.

Being a young and aspiring traveler I turn to Snapchat to help brainstorm my next trip. I am currently following promoted Snapchat travelers such as "The Blonde Abroad," as well as my friends who are studying abroad. I have a profound interest in traveling, so I make note in watching these Snaps every day to see what my fellow friends are up to. Millennials love nothing more than documenting their cool adventures such as cliff jumping in Costa Rica, clubbing in Spain or studying at a local university in Sweden. They never fail to swipe over and add a Geotag so their viewers know exactly where they are at that moment.

The tourism and travel industry has a highly visual selling point. Snapchat has allowed viewers to see the raw content of a city. Posts are never edited by a travel agency to present a fake sense of what a city looks like. Millennials are able to see other millennials having fun in their own cities located different corners of the world. The "Snapchat Live" feature has promoted tourism around the globe. As you may know, "Snapchat Live" allows individuals within a certain showcased geographic area to post snaps using Geofilters. These "Snapchat Live" events are usually hosted during large celebrations throughout the world.

Millennials are one generation that are very hesitant with traditional advertising methods. They do not believe every thing they read or hear, and often turn to their friends, or yelp reviews,  for a true evaluation of a good or service. I know from a personal aspect I would not even considering traveling somewhere without speaking to someone that has experienced the area first hand. How else would I know where to get the best food in the city, or see the best view in town?

Travel agencies have been slow to move towards Snapchat as a way to spend their marketing dollars. This is due to the fact 45% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 18 and 24, and this audience won't necessarily turn around and book a trip right away. Although this is the case, there really is a value in building a loyal Snapchat audience. Snapchat allows a story to be told, unlike Instagram- which could just be an iconic snapshot. It has actually proven to be successful when companies integrate the two social media platforms. Let's say you are scrolling through your Instagram feed with Spring Break in the back of your mind. You see a sponsored ad from a hotel chain in Mexico with a beautiful photo. The sunset is fading in the background, while the water rushes up between the toes of this tanned woman holding a fruity drink, which is of course, accessorized with a tiny umbrella. Although this picture may look beautiful, we all know it is cliche. Well what if in the company's Instagram bio they had a link to their Snapchat? And from there you were able to see that tan-legged girl check into the hotel. You were able to see the chocolates left on her pillow and her large room with a great view. You got to see her drink being made by Enrique, the funny beach bartender that kept cracking jokes. Snapchat allows the story behind the Instagram picture to be told, and this intimacy is key for consumers. This process I just described can also be used in the opposite manner. Companies can post shots on Snapchat, see which one is screen-shotted the most, and then take that same exact shot with a professional camera to post on Instagram, Facebook or their company website. This saves the company money because they already know which shot is a fan favorite, and don't have to waste a bunch of time and money shooting a bunch of different professional photos- they just shoot the one.

Since Snapchat is raw data, and not production ready video, it is not very expensive for a company to have their own Snapchat. Although it is not a heavy money investment, it is a time investment because you are expected to post content daily. Brands should consider hiring someone to take over their social media channels, and help build a following. They should designate someone to handle the account and be able to respond to their viewers quickly. Maybe they posted an awesome Snap of the grand suite at the hotel, and someone saw it but wanted to see the other room types they offered. Have that person show them! Brands could also have vacationers take over their Snapchat channel for a certain amount of time, or for a certain event, and in return the vacationer would get a reward! The opportunities with Snapchat are endless, especially in the travel and tourism industry. Brands should become aware of this and take advantage of this low-cost and low-risk social media platform!

Sources:

https://skift.com/2016/02/05/travel-brands-are-missing-out-on-snapchat-right-now/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-snapchats-impact-is-felt-in-three-different-industries/