Attention span has dropped over the past decade from 12 seconds down to 8. This means if your content doesn’t capture your audience's attention within the first 8 seconds you’re done for. There is no need to panic however, technology has adapted to our short attention span and offered its solutions.

Twitter only allows tweets with 140 characters, Vine (may it rest in peace) had 6 seconds videos, and then there is Snapchat.

If you aren’t yet familiar with Snapchat, here’s how it works. Users send videos and photos to each other with filters and other effects. The message is then set to delete after a set period of time, generally a few seconds, and then it is gone forever.

Snapchat is THE platform for reaching millennials. It has over 150 million active users, passing Twitter in active user count. Between the fun filters and drawings that can be added to photos, and the short video combination, Snapchat has grabbed the attention of the younger generation, and with it, small businesses.

Not only does Snapchat capture the millennial target market, with that it draws in many online shoppers, this being a great opportunity for ecommerce and online stores.

Alright, so how can you combine your marketing efforts with Snapchat? Good question, here are your options:

Snap Ads:

Like the title implies, these are advertisements that appear for 10 seconds in video format. The ads are placed in between Stories (a sequence of videos and pictures from a user- much like a story) and are displayed in full screen. According to Snapchat these ads have a higher click rate times 5 over other similar social media platforms.

Snapchat Geofilters:

There are two types of filters businesses can user, On-Demand and Sponsored. On-Demand filters are location based filters, if you have a physical store that people are visiting, this could be a good option for your event. Sponsored filters are more expensive than On-Demand but can work on a much larger scale, and won’t be restricted to one location. These filters should be a fun way for users to tell their friends that they are taking part in an event, and bring more users to your location.

Exclusive Coupons:

This method can be used on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or any other social platform, however what makes it more interesting on Snapchat, is that if posted as a story, users following you have 24 hours to view the coupon before it’s gone forever. Not only does this create a great sense of brand loyalty, it is also highly measurable.

Snapchat Influencers:

Do some research and find which users have a big fan base on Snapchat and would be a good fit for advertising your product. You want to make sure that the influencer you choose and your business share a message that goes well together, and won’t have any negative repercussions.

Brand Awareness:

If you aren’t looking to give away coupons or spend money on advertising, your business can share interesting content. Whatever your sharing doesn’t need to have a direct correlation to your product, but it should be fun and interesting. Over time if you post consistently great content, you can be sure word will spread about your business.

If you find yourself a bit confused with all the new terminology, take a look at this guide on Snapchat for the basics and how-to’s.

The bottom line: You have a few different options for marketing on Snapchat, either with paid advertising, paid filters, or simply raising brand awareness. Snapchat is a great platform for capturing the attention of the younger audience, however if this isn’t your target market, it might not be worth your time.