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Snapchat's growth over the past two years has been incredible, and with over 200 million photos andvideos shared by its users every day, it is f ast gaining the attention of brands and marketers who want apiece of its young and engaged audience.

I'll save the particular methods of promotion using Snapchat f or another t ime, but in this blog you'll learnf our ways in which the make up of the app means that it is a great marketing tool f or brands andbusinesses.

1. The scarcity and exclusivity of its messages

Once a Snapchat users receives and opens an image or video, they have a maximum of 10 seconds to viewit bef ore it disappears and they can not access it again. For brands, this provides a sense of scarcity thatposting to other social networks like Facebook or Instagram cannot provide.

For brands who want to of f er vouchers or promotions through Snapchat, the app provides a means bywhich the of f er can be limited only to its f ollowers, with no chance of it going viral as it 'll disappear shortlyaf ter opening. That theory might sound counter-productive at f irst, but the f eeling a consumer gets whenthey f eel part of something small and exclusive is hugely powerf ul in terms of garnering brand loyalty.

The image above shows a promotion by New York-based 16 Handles, which exemplif ies this approach.

2. The unexpectedness and surprise in its messages

The disposable nature of Snapchat's messages is lovedand accepted by the app's millions of users, and brands canuse this to their advantage. Many Snapchat viewers seereceiving a message as a present. There's no way ofknowing what it contains until a user opens it, and thiselement of surprise can be harnessed by marketers toprovide all manner of messages and promotions.

3. The purity of its messages

Unlike Instagram with its caref ully orchestrated photos and f ilters, Snapchat photos - because they have tobe consumed so quickly - encourage a purity of message that its rivals cannot. This f rees brands f rom thehabit of overthinking or micro-managing the message they want to construct, and sets them f ree to providecontent that is of f the cuf f , "real", and that will resonate with their audience. The example above is a photosent by Taco Bell to its f ollowers on Snapchat to promote its Beef y Crunchy Burrito - simple but ef f ective.

4. The brevity of its messages

Being that Snapchat messages only exist f or a matter of seconds, there is lit t le room f or pride orembarrassment f rom the sender. While it is clear to see how this would relate to individuals (particularly inthe prevalence of "adult" messages being sent between users!), it also has signif icance f or brands, whocan move on f rom misjudged or poor-perf orming content in no time at all. In comparison, if you posted astatus update on Facebook, it lingers there f or a lif etime in comparison to Snapchat. And if that contentwas poorly received, there is plenty of t ime f or your audience to communicate their dissatisf action.