Are you interested in learning how to make money off Snapchat? The key to making this platform work for you is understanding what it’s best for. Snapchat is a social media platform designed to let users send images and video up to ten seconds long (snaps) to other Snapchat users or as a post viewable by anyone using the platform.
If you Google ways to make money off Snapchat, you will immediately notice a common theme; like most other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others, you won’t earn any money just by showing up. Snapchat is a tool to help you make money but using your account there is not inherently money-making. So what is Snapchat good for?
Make Money Off of Snapchat
The key to making money off Snapchat is in how you view the platform. As with Twitter and Facebook, anyone can set up an account and begin using it to do any of the following:
- Promote your own product or service
- Promote affiliate-linked products
- Advertise an event or performance
- Give advice or set yourself up as a thought leader
- Promote your own creative work or the work of others
How do you do this AND make money? The secret is to remember what so many forget–your potential customers or patrons on social media want to feel like they are engaging with a PERSON and not a sales machine. The first thing you should do to make money off Snapchat or any other social media platform? Treat your fellow users as POTENTIAL customers that you have to court and cultivate–don’t make all of your Snapchat posts self-serving, sales-related, etc.
Beware
Make sure you have clear policies for any returns, disputed transactions, etc. Have a clear AND customer-friendly policy. If you get a reputation early for being a stingy seller or a contentious one, you won’t survive. It is far better to err on the side of the customer and eat a few dollars out of your own pocket on a single transaction and maintain a good reputation than it is to “win” a dispute with a customer or client who will complain later to anyone who will listen. That’s not winning-that’s the start of a bad online reputation.
Make your account fun, friendly, and accessible. Everyone hates spam; let that idea be your guide in how you conduct yourself in the social media sphere. You will make friends faster than you might make sales–at first. But get a reputation for being a non-spammy seller or social media figure and you will find it much easier to sell. Trust counts.
Be Consistent
The key to making money online in any form, let alone via Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc.? Consistency. If you post once a week, a lot of social media influencers might say you aren’t doing enough. But if you post CONSISTENTLY once per week–showing up on time every time–you establish a pattern of reliability. It’s more important that people feel they can trust you based on your consistent behavior (everybody loves routines!). If you can only manage to post once a week, do it! But do it at the same time, every time, and make yourself known for being reliable.
Do Your Research
Maybe you read all this and you aren’t quite sure how to run an online business incorporating Snapchat or other platforms. The best thing you can do is to look at other platforms doing something similar to what you want to do and take some careful notes but especially on any areas that bother you as a potential customer. If those practices bother YOU, make sure you don’t inflict them on your own future customers, clients, fans, etc.
Joe Wallace specializes in personal finance, military affairs, and consumer protection topics. Since 1995, his work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and collects unusual vinyl records, which gives him an excuse to write the vinyl blog Turntabling.net.
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