by 
Are you using Snapchat?
As great as Snapchat is for engaging with people, it also has the potential to deliver viable leads.
In this article, you’ll discover five ways to generate leads with Snapchat.
#1: Prompt Your Followers to Join Your Email List
Snapchat should be part of your overall content promotion strategy, not something you just do on its own. Use Snapchat to promote your own blogs, ebooks, webinars, videos, or podcasts, and optimize your content to collect email addresses of potential leads.
With Snapchat, you can’t create clickable links directly in your snaps, so you’ll want to use Bitly to shorten your link into something memorable. Even with the free version of Bitly, it’s easy to edit your link.
To get started, log into Bitly and click Create Bitlink.
Then paste your long URL and click Create.
Now customize the Bitly link to make it more memorable.
When you use this link in your snaps, encourage people to screenshot it and take a look at the content.
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Alternatively, you could ask people to snap you back if they want the link. You can then send people the link using Snapchat’s direct message function. Links in Snapchat direct messages are clickable and even open up within the Snapchat app.
It’s not just content that you can promote this way. You can promote your newsletter, competitions, and even early bird product launches to collect emails of potential buyers.
Move your Snapchat followers to your email list, which is a much more effective place to sell.
#2: Extend the Relationship Beyond Snapchat
Snapchat follows the rules of traditional networking. You need to get to know people first and build rapport with them. Then when the time is right and you have something they may be interested in, simply ask them directly if it’s worth having a longer discussion about it.
People aren’t on Snapchat primarily to buy, and therefore it isn’t the best platform to sell on. So rather than try to land a sale on Snapchat, move people to the next step off the Snapchat platform.
This tactic works better for more expensive products or service-based businesses where the buying commitment is a bit higher. You could suggest a Skype chat, a meeting for coffee if they’re local, or offer them a free taster product. It’s key that you identify a low-risk, easy first step in your sales process, as this will be easier to secure on Snapchat than a sale.
A great way to do this is “batching and branding.” Here’s how it works. Book out one full day per month that you dedicate to helping people for free. For example, batch nine meetings and run them for half an hour each, every hour. Then brand this opportunity so it sounds more exciting than a “consultation” or “meeting,” which suggests a sales meeting. We call ours the “Zombie.” Why? It’s free, it’s no obligation, and it offers a ton of value. It’s a “no-brainer”… hence the Zombie. Haha.
Yes, this sounds a bit silly, but find a name that suits your branding. Because of the tone of Snapchat, it’s much easier to get people to book a “Zombie” than it is a “Free Consultation.” The more Zombies we get filled, the more sales we have. Can you do something similar?
#3: Show Your Product or Service in Action
Make it a habit to actually show your product or service in action. This non-salesy “show not tell” method works great for both product-based businesses and service-based businesses.
If you run a service-based business, you should talk about what you’re up to each day, what you’re working on, and even shine a light on your clients and let them talk to your Snapchat followers. For product-based businesses, show your product being used, a behind-the-scenes look at how it’s made, and different uses for your product.
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The more you can show off what you do and how you help people, the more your casual Snapchat followers will get to know you and how you can specifically help them.
The key to success is letting your Snapchat followers know how to take the first step in buying your product or service and making it easy for them. You could potentially even tell your followers to swipe up and ask for a link if they’re interested.
#4: Promote Gamified Discount Offers
A really fun way to generate more leads is to offer a voucher directly in your snaps. Simply include a discount voucher code in your snaps and tell people if they want it, they need to screenshot it.
This tactic will only get you so far, however. To increase the likelihood that people will screenshot your voucher, gamify it. Make the process of “earning” a voucher fun for your followers. Here are three ways you can gamify your coupon delivery, with zero artistic skills!
“Where’s Waldo” Game Using Bitmoji
Bitmoji is an app that allows you to create your own emoji character. You can link it to your Snapchat account, and your personalized emojis are available as stickers. All you need to do is find some kind of busy area (a street, a shopping mall, etc.), take a photo of it and hide your bitmoji in the scene. Tell your followers to screenshot the scene, circle your character, and send it back to you to win a voucher.
Coupon Spinner
Create your very own slot machine-style game. Have a variety of coupons for lots of different amounts and create a series of snaps where you flash each coupon for only 1 second each. The game is for people to take a screenshot at the right moment to win the best coupon going.
Treasure Hunt Coupon
You can also run an Internet treasure hunt, where you give clues to reveal a special Bitly link. Here’s an example:
Snap 1: “We’re giving 50% off all purchases today, all you have to do is find the hidden coupon code online.”
Snap 2: “The page the coupon code is on is … bit.ly/50 [answer to the following question].”
Snap 3: “Here comes the question…”
Snap 4: “What was Elvis Presley’s middle name?”
Snap 5: “So, if you think it’s Andrew, simply go to bit.ly/50andrew and receive your coupon.”
Snap 6: “Good luck.”
The answer isn’t Andrew by the way…you’ll have to work that one out for yourself. These three examples are really easy to do, but more importantly, they respect the context of Snapchat, which is fun and lighthearted.
#5: Qualify Warm Prospects With a Giveaway
Giveaways are a great way to generate and build an email list, but they don’t necessarily equate to leads. So instead of doing a giveaway for something like an iPad, offer giveaways that are qualifying and that have some intent. For example, an ice cream parlor might do a giveaway for a free scoop of ice cream every day for a week as the main prize.
People who enter the competition have qualified themselves as being in the area and in the market for your ice cream. If you collect details and ask to keep in touch in some way during your giveaway, you can classify these entrants as potential leads and future customers whom you can now contact.
So the first step is to decide what you can give away that will generate qualified leads for your business.
Once you have the idea, announce it to your Snapchat audience via your story. Perhaps announce it a few times during the week or make a big deal of it leading up to the giveaway at the end of the week. The good thing about Snapchat is that after 24 hours the snaps (and thus the competition) are gone, so there’s a sense of urgency for people to enter the competition on impulse.
Conclusion
To get the most out of these ideas, it’s important that you show up on Snapchat regularly and start having conversations with people. These tactics for generating leads on Snapchat will work much better if your followers already know and like you.
I hope this helps you on your Snapchatting journey!
What do you think? Have you tried some of these tactics? What has worked for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
