Why you shouldn’t write off Snapchat

The future of gardening inspiration online may lie within images that disappear. At least that’s what more than 100 million active daily users on Snapchat are telling us.

Snapchat, an app that “lets users see the world from their friend’s perspectives,” is taking every industry by storm. This latest social media platform works when a user “snaps” and sends a video or photo to a friend. But unlike traditional social media, the user dictates how long the message — from one to 10 seconds — lasts on screen before it disappears.

There are also Live Stories, which are “a curated stream of user-submitted snaps from various locations and events. Users who have their location services on at the same event location will be given the option to contribute Snaps to the Live Story. The end result is a Story told from a community perspective with lots of different points of view,” according to Snapchat.

It’s been just over a year since the first Live Story appeared, and now more than 60 percent of smartphone users ages 13 to 34 in the U.S. are on the app, according to Snapchat. Also, Millennials account for 63 percent of the app’s monthly users.

Millennials are known to be loyal to familiar brands, and while they might not be shopping within the garden industry now, they will be in the coming years. Reaching Millennials early is one of the best ways to win their trust when they start establishing homes and gardens.

The most successful brands on Snapchat offer something followers can’t find anywhere else. Exclusive contests and behind-the-scenes footage appeals to audiences of all genres for free.

Garden Media (gardenmedia), Phipps Conservatory (phippsnews) and Longwood Gardens (longwoodgardens) have embraced Snapchat as the new normal social media platform. Both Phipps Conservatory and Longwood Gardens use Snapchat to promote events, showcase temporary displays and reveal behind-the-scenes footage from attractions, like Longwood’s Nightscape, an after dark garden event featuring a light show and music.

Garden Media uses Snapchat as a tool to drive traffic to its Grow! Blog, update followers on the latest garden trends and client news and show an inside look at the office.

Brands with the most successful Snapchat accounts gain followers by producing original content often and use the platform to tell an interesting story. Garden brands that make an effort to market to Millennials though Snapchat now are investing in their brand’s future success.

Garden Media Group, a boutique public relations and marketing firm, specializes in PR campaigns, partnerships and media placements for the home, garden, horticulture, outdoor living, and lawn and landscape industries.