Be honest, did you roll your eyes when you saw the word Snapchat? Or did you maybe ask yourself “Which one is Snapchat again?” It’s true, the app isn’t the most popular with the boomer generation. But why is that? From the start, boomers gave the app a bad rap. It’s true were some rumors about what its purpose was when it was first launched and, without going into the details, suffice to say it was something many boomers would not approve of. Those rumors have been thoroughly dispelled and yet there is a pretty strong push back against Snapchat from boomers.
Could it be the younger audience that is turning boomers off giving it a try? It’s true, the audience teds to skew to the young with more than half the audience made up of those 18-24 and, like many things these days, the app hasn’t exactly marketed itself to the older generation. But while Snapchat neglects to take advantage of this demographic, I’m here to tell you don’t let they cause you to miss out.
Snapchat is an incredibly versatile app and there’s a reason it’s exploded on the social media scene. While your initial reaction might be that you don’t need more social media, the efficiency and ease with which you can connect people is too good to ignore. You can try to deny it, but the truth is that boomers are obsessed with their phones– yes, as much as any younger generation. They love to text, send pictures and videos, yet they fail to acknowledge when there’s a better way to do it. Snapchat allows you to send pictures and videos to multiple contacts at once. One, four, thirteen, twenty, fifty people—it doesn’t matter, they can all share the moment with you for a brief time. The beauty of the app is that it doesn’t use up any storage or data with the photos or videos. You capture the moment within the app and send it to other. Once they view it, it is erased from their phone. Easy as pie!
Still, not sure it’s something that is entirely necessary for your connecting needs? Just try to imagine the moments you’ll be able to share with friends and family anywhere and everywhere. I get to see first houses, first steps, night’s out, vacations from loved ones all over the world. It’s an great feeling to be able to really share these moments.
Beyond the personal use, of which it is invaluable, Snapchat is current and that should entice you enough to give it a try. Forgive me for sounding a little harsh, but boomers seem to have a short memory with popular social media trends. How long ago was it that boomers dismissed Facebook as nonsense for the kids? Now they’re the fastest growing demographic on the site. Twitter, LinkedIn—it’s the same story. Boomers are too dismissive and thus are late to the game. Believe it or not but Snapchat will soon be an essential marketing tool for businesses. It’s marketing potential as it stands now is already huge. Get onboard the trend now and be prepared for the future.