Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn—even if your agency doesn’t have a presence on these social media platforms, you probably use them in your personal life.

But what about newer social media apps like Snapchat? If that name sounds foreign, you and your business could be missing out on a valuable marketing tool—and a crucial demographic.

Snapchat is a video and picture messaging mobile application which allows users to send a video or picture to their followers for a maximum of 10 seconds. As an app, it’s still considered relatively young and currently in growth mode. Businessinsider.com estimates that 45% of Snapchat’s nearly 200 million users are under the age of 25. The app now boasts approximately 7 billion video views each day—a number that rivals Facebook, according to fortune.com.

Impressive statistics. But isn’t this app just for teenagers? Valid point—but that’s exactly why now is the perfect time for your agency to start using Snapchat.

As a social app gains popularity and matures, the demographic of its users also tends to age. When Facebook first launched, the majority of users were high school and university students; now, parents and grandparents have started utilizing the platform. Early positioning with Snapchat will give your agency access to maximum attention and ROI at the apex of the app’s maturity.

The name of the game in social media is to capture the attention of your desired demographic by providing valuable content, then monetize that attention in the form of sales. Most social platforms have a “feed” that allows users to scroll while viewing posts of the other users they follow. This scrolling process tends to be very quick, resulting in very short attention cycles for posts. Consequently, your creative agency post may not receive the attention it deserves.

Snapchat is unique compared to the attention graph of other social platforms. As followers open your “snap,” their full attention is on your message only. This makes a big difference in a noisy world where everyone demands your attention.

So how can your agency effectively leverage Snapchat? Here are three simple steps to get you started:

Step 1: download. Open the application store on your mobile device and download Snapchat—it’s free. Once you download the app, it will prompt you to create an account. Take some time to navigate around the app to get a feel for it.

Step 2: create content. Now that you’re comfortable navigating the app, it’s time to think about what you want to snap. You have two options when posting videos or pictures: Post on your “snap story,” or send a snap to an individual follower. Posting to your story means all your followers can click on that snap and view it as many times as they want over a 24-hour period. By contrast, sending a snap to a follower only allows that one individual to view it one time.

As with all social media platforms, valuable content is king. I recommend posting three videos and two pictures to your snap story per day. This could include providing insurance tips or agency announcements to your followers. The important thing is to remain creative and authentic.

Step 3: gain followers. Snapchat is unique and currently doesn’t have natural discovery search for other users. In order to add someone, you must search Snapchat for their specific username, not their company or traditional name. That means you have to be creative in how you use other communication channels. Here are some proven methods to gaining followers:

• Use other social platforms to announce your new Snapchat username. It’s important to leverage the audience you might already have.
• Add your Snapchat username to your email signature.

For more valuable social media insight, follow my Snapchat story. Happy snapping!

Corbin T. Jackson is founder & CEO of Corefira Group in Oklahoma City.