WEEK 4: A Conversation with Guest Speaker Scott Perry by Cintia Leticia 

By UCLA X469.21 Student Cintia Leticia 

Cintia Leticia

Scott Perry literally wrote the book on Snapchat.

He is an online marketing specialist and author of Snapchat 101: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started.” His work is currently focused on helping big media clients develop campaigns for all sorts of projects, and comic book franchises are his specialty.

Scott was born in Alabama and spent more than 20 years working in the music industry before launching LATech Digest — a highly-respected blog focused on LA’s growing tech scene.

Scott Perry

Scott began the class discussion with an overview of how Snapchat has become an effective tool for branding. But while it’s good for working with influencers, it has limited value for broader marketing because its users do not engage actively with brands. Brands also get very little information about users.

Despite such limitations, Scott said Snapchat is a fun app that enables brands to be original and authentic. They can post engaging pictures and videos that let them be silly, human and relatable. Ideas include backstage and behind-the-scenes videos that offer a new perspective on the brand. He also discussed how brands are using Snapchat GeoFilters, which are a marketing tool for venues and events (even weddings).

Beyond Snapchat, Scott touched on other platforms including Facebook He reminded the class that Facebook’s low organic reach (which now typically hovers around 2%) can be boosted by posting discount offers and giveaways that induce sharing. The idea is to get people excited and encourage them to share brand information with friends. Asking for advice, posting interviews with experts, promotions, and chats are a few other types of content that spur sharing.

Even if you don’t plan to be active on various platforms. Scott strongly recommends that you secure your account handles and pages. This will ensure your name is available on the platform if/when you need it, while also preventing someone else from using it.

Scott said his clients don’t have much use for Twitter. That said, it’s currently the best way to reach him @ScottPerry.

He concluded the discussion by emphasizing that he’s a strong believer in the twitch.tv platform for video streaming. While it’s used mostly for gaming at present, Scott predicts twitch will eventually become the preferred video platform for everyone.