Just One Joey: Hijack Events With Snapchat Geofilters

In order to read this you will need: a pen, paper, Evernote, and a bag to collect your brains because your head is about to explode.

Thought it was weekend time? Think again. It’s time to work your ass off.

Why?

Because this is a game changer for any and every business, but you are going to need to get there fast, like yesterday fast, because this will not last very long. In fact, this may not make it out of May because companies will be using the hell out of this, and adjustments will be made (in fact, they have already started).

Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) wrote a brilliant article about Snapchat’s Geofilters a month ago. How to use it, why you should use it, etc. It was awesome and I jumped on it right away. If you don’t know what a Geofilter is, it is basically a custom design for the particular time and location of an event. Its use is exclusive to the people in that area at that time. If you aren’t there, you can’t access it. It is a brand for that particular event. You design it, you pick the location, you pick the time, and you can get it for as cheap as $5!!!! (If you do marketing, or put on events and you are lot using this yet, you need to get on this right away. What have you been waiting for?)

This is amazing for branding, but I think the real power is in advertising. If you know your audience, know their events, where they will be in mass, you can advertise yourself or your business for as little as $5!! You can “crash” an event from the comfort of your own home! I am calling it a Snapjack (like Snapchat and hijack put together. Plus it sounds like Snapchat if you say it fast ….. maybe it needs some work).

Anyhoo, this is how I used it last week, and how you can use it in the future (like 5 minutes from now):

Show people what you can do.

I am a huge Metallica fan, and thought setting up a Geofilter for their Record Store 2016 show in Berkeley, CA would be a cool way to get my foot in the door (Snapjack!!!). In my head, they were going to see what I did (for free), it would blow their mind, then they would ask me to be a full time Metallica employee (whatever that means. Who cares? It’s Metallica!). Didn’t work out that way (yet), but the metrics were huge for it anyways (100 shares for every 1 use. Ex. 50 shares = 5000 views. Nice, huh?), so I was happy. Keep in mind, I was not lucky enough to get a ticket to the event. I was nowhere near Berkeley, but I could still advertise my talents to Metallica and all their fans. Now I am just waiting for James or Lars to call me with the job offer. *waiting

Advertise Yourself or Business

The other way I used it, and this is what will lead to the revolution, is I hijacked (Snapjacked!!) a RECN event in Maryland that Gary Vaynerchuk was speaking at. For $10, I advertised my book to an entire arena filled with people. I didn’t go to the event. I didn’t advertise in their pamphlets they were handing out, but I advertised to everyone with a Snapchat account in that building regardless. Again, the usage to sharing was 100 to 1. The Metallica Geofilter makes sense, it’s f’ing METALLICA. They have nerds making Geofilters for them in the hopes that they notice them (wait a minute…..), but the view and share rate was the same for my (amazing) book. Why? Because Snapchatters are dedicated. It is pure at this point. If they are doing it they are loving it. Plus once you are in a “story” you will HAVE to see what’s in there unless you bail, but what’s one more picture? Your only job as a business is to make something worth using to a potential consumer. Something beautiful, funny, classy, whatever works for whatever you are advertising. Easy, huh?

Just a heads up: when you are making a Geofilter for an event in a different time zone than the one you live in, you need to account for that (duh). I was three hours off on the Geofilter I set up in Maryland (I’m in California). Felt stupid, but, you live and learn.

Here’s the good stuff.

Revolution Time!!

What is your business?
Who is your audience?
Where do they hang out?
Make a Geofilter for that place at the busiest time, and kkkkeeeerrrrrchow!

You sell shoes? Make a Geofilter for your local mall for a Friday night. Or better yet, make a Geofilter for a mall in LA or NYC. Pick a major city, find a mall, and build your fence!

Own a pub or a restaurant? Have a local sports team? Build a fence around their next game!

The opportunities are endless!!!

***Important***

The reason I know this will be short lived is because of two reasons:

There are only so many Geofilters allowed for a certain area. The reason I made one for an event in Maryland is because the Social Media Marketing World event (in San Diego) was filled with Geofilters already (I would hope so), so I picked a different event that Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) would be at. Now that you know this, build your Geofilter ASAP as far out in advance as you can (about 4 weeks).
There are already blackouts for certain areas (as in, you can’t make a Geofilter for that area at that time). Not to give away all my secrets, but certain events at Yankee Stadium are blocked, as well as Chase Field in Arizona. That is only going to get worse the more people hijack (Snapjack) events. Get on it now so you can take advantage while you still can. I would bet my dog that bigger events will blackout everything so their sponsors are the only ones with access to Geofilters. I locked in some huge events just this morning, so I know they are still out there, but you need to get on it.

Back To The Revolution!!

What if you don’t care about who your audience is, you just want to get your stuff out there in front of as many eyes as possible? No problem. Where are there going to be a lot of people in a limited area? Concerts? Sporting events? Graduations? Malls? Super tall buildings during the work week? (The “fences” are not based on vertical feet. The taller the building, the more people, the same price. NYC? Chicago? SF? Lots of tall buildings to choose from)

Use your noggin.

Here are places with a lot of people, taking lots of pictures, and sharing them over the next couple of months:

NBA Playoff Games: Maybe Drake will see your Geofilter at a Toronto game! Maybe he’ll use it! Better hurry, they will be out of the playoffs soon (sorry Drake).
Baseball: 162 games a season (per team), that’s a lot of opportunity over the next few months.
Summer concerts: Country Mega Ticket, Warped Tour, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N (F’ing) Roses. Use your eyeballs, get on the Google, look events up!
Graduations: College, high school, middle school. In every city, everywhere, all May and June.
Hockey Playoffs (I don’t care about hockey, that’s why it’s #4).
Any bar or pub after any of these events! Pick the popular places (I hope you know that already).

The possibilities are endless!!!

But I GUARANTEE it is for a short time.

The fact that they are already blacking out Geofilters (and NO ONE is utilizing these on a large scale yet) means it will only get worse. This is a small window and you need to take action now. Plan out your next 4 weeks of places/events you can use Geofilters and then lock them in!! If you wait, you are going to miss out on a huge opportunity for yourself and your business. It’s almost too easy.

Snapjack baby!

How to use Geofilters

Gary Vaynerchuk’s Article

Written By Joey Reghitto

Author of