At any given time during the last year I’ve seen probably 5-10 resorts use their Snapchat QR code (an ironic combination of trends if there ever was one) as a profile picture.

You know.

There are two camps here.

The first are resorts whose marketing plans make this practice an absolutely valid idea. I still may not agree with it, but within their plan it fits their goals and objectives.

The second are some of the resorts I’ve talked to who, seeing other brands taking this approach, wonder if they should follow suit. It’s for this group that I want to raise three red flags about this practice.

#1) Mobile
Let’s start with a quick discussion of mobile. Snapchat is a mobile app. You scan these QR codes from a mobile device. Which means that in order to follow someone using these icons you’d need to see the icon on a device that is NOT your mobile app.

According to ComScore (the chart below from MarketingLand’s analysis), just 30% of social traffic comes from a non-smartphone source (desktop + tablet web + tablet app).

In other words, less than a third of your reach would be in a position to act on that image in the first place.

#2) Too Small
The second strike is that the way the icon is rendered in feeds makes it much too small to actually scan.

Surprise: Bike-friendly Netherlands named best place in the world to be a driver https://t.co/o0EGUirFUJ pic.twitter.com/EouxOofnky

— Daily Hive Vancouver (@VancityBuzz) September 20, 2016

During one of my multiple efforts to “get” Snapchat this was how I tried to follow resorts…but I couldn’t. I had to click through to the profile page of the account to successfully scan the image.

Profile visits, as your analytics can attest, pale in comparison to users that never leave their feeds. Strike two.

#3) Loses Branding
But more than anything, we have to remember the role social posts play in the first place.

While they do drive a bit of direct revenue, social media is best at branding and, more specifically, keeping your brand top of mind.

Posting 50 times a week with a tiny logo inside someone else’s logo (or no logo at all) will never be as effective in this regard as a full sized logo would.

The Big Question
The question then becomes, is the cost of losing that branding worth the handful of people that may overcome the mobile/size hurdles to follow you on Snapchat because of it?

I tend to think the answer is no. Instead, I’d just tweet out a larger-sized Snapchat image with a direct “follow us on Snapchat” call to action every week or so. Or, if the objective is simply to make sure people know you’re on Snapchat with no expectation of scans directly from the feed, perhaps an approach that gives your logo priority but retains the Snapchat branding could work.

Again, your goals may dictate otherwise, but if they don’t, food for thought.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.