If you’re a property manager, or your work involves marketing to students, you’ve probably heard the phrase FOMO thrown around a lot in recent years. FOMO is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out. FOMO began as just another phrase born on social media, but it has become so commonly used that even respected outlets like Psychology Today have addressed the issue.
No app has the ability to strike FOMO into the hearts of young people quite like Snapchat. Now boasting more than 300 million monthly active users, Snapchat offers an attractive opportunity for managers hoping to implement new leasing marketing ideas at their next property event.
Using Snapchat for Leasing Events
Event promotion is in Snapchat’s DNA. Some features of the app were originally created for use at music festivals. The goal was to allow festival-goers to share their experiences with friends in the form of disappearing pictures and videos. However, the app is perfectly suited for promoting all kinds of events, which is why more and more apartment communities are using the app to raise awareness about their brands.
The app’s ability to allow people to share pictures and videos of themselves having fun at events makes it an ideal tool for leasing events and housing fairs. It’s not just about the pictures and videos though, Snapchat also lets brands add customized geofilters to certain locations and time frames.
Wait, What’s a Geofilter?
About a year ago, Snapchat began allowing brands to pay for customized geo-filters.
Simply put, a geo-filter is a graphic overlay. Customized geofilters can be overlaid on any picture or video than a Snapchat user takes when they’re in a certain geographic location within a designated time frame. Most properties that use geo-filters at their events choose to spice up their logo by adding some fun text or colors to it.
Sounds like it could help raise awareness, right? Here are some statistics that will help illustrate just how much awareness Snapchat filters can raise for your property.
These eye-popping statistics were compiled from Snapchat data and — since Snapchat recently went public — facts from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
158 million daily active users
301 million monthly active users
2.5 billion Snaps sent per day
30% of Millennial internet users open the Snapchat app regularly
30% of Snapchat users say they use the app because their parents don’t use it.
25-30 minutes—average amount of time spent using the app each day per user.
18 times — Number of times Snapchat’s daily users visit the app per day on average
These stats speak to the popularity of the Snapchat app, but your custom geofilter can live on outside Snapchat as well. Snapchat users often download or screenshot pictures to post them later. Imagine the impact your geofilter can have when it starts appearing on people’s Instagram posts and Facebook pictures as well! A professionally designed geofilter has the potential to be seen by thousands of potential residents.
Not only do Geofilters raise brand awareness by getting your logo out there, they also help your property’s reputation. When somebody sends a snap of themselves showing off your geofilter, it’s like they’re giving a personal endorsement to their friends. People trust endorsements from their friends more than any other kind of recommendation.
As the previously mentioned statistics show, the Snapchat audience is out there, just waiting for your branded geofilter. As properties plan their events for the summer and early fall with the goal of driving leases, demand for custom geofilters will be high. Threshold’s graphic designers can create Geofilters for your property’s next event, and while we’re at it, we’ll advise you on other apartment marketing ideas to raise awareness about your community.