As a social media consultant who assists dozens of small and medium-sized business owners with their marketing strategies, I often recommend investing time and resources into a Snapchat presence. With over 280 million daily active users, Snapchat offers a massive platform to reach younger Millennial and Gen Z audiences.
However, I‘ve heard consistent feedback from entrepreneurs and clients that the bright white background causes eye strain headaches during extended Snapchat use. Especially when browsing Stories or messaging late at night, the glare of phone screens in the dark can impact sleep quality.
Fortunately, Snapchat added a Dark Mode option that helps alleviate these issues through a simple black/gray color scheme. In this comprehensive guide for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and marketers, I‘ll cover:
- Snapchat growth statistics showing its marketing potential
- How smartphone displays work with dark mode enabled
- Concrete battery life savings you can expect
- Step-by-step instructions to activate dark mode
- Tips for troubleshooting issues
Beyond just improving comfort, I‘ve found through client case studies that Dark Mode can make social media management more sustainable long-term. Let‘s dive in…
The Rising Importance of Snapchat for Your SMB‘s Marketing Initiatives
As an entrepreneurship advisor, I guide business owners through today‘s complex digital marketing landscape. My clients often underappreciate Snapchat given its reputation as an ephemeral "selfie" app. However, the statistics reveal immense marketing potential:
- 70% of Snapchat‘s daily active users create content daily on the platform. This high engagement rate means your brand messages have a greater chance of being seen.
- There has been 50% yearly growth of Snapchat users 35 years old and up. Expanding beyond just teens and young adults.
- Experts predict over 332 million global Snapchat users by 2025. Meaning its advertising reach will only grow.
- Snapchat advertising rates have fallen over 30% in the last 3 years. Now more accessible for SMB budgets.
Bottom Line: All types of businesses, from eCommerce brands to professional services, should develop an active presence on Snapchat. The sheer size of the network and engaged activity makes it a crucial channel in 2024 and beyond.
However, consistently posting Snaps and Stories requires getting in front of bright screens for long periods, leading to…
Why Dark Mode Alleviates Eye Strain When Browsing Snapchat in the Dark
If maintaining a Snapchat marketing presence causes headaches and fatigue, it simply isn‘t sustainable long-term. This eye discomfort is directly related to how smartphone displays emit light:
- Display panels use LED or OLED to backlight screen and create brightness
- At maximum brightness in the dark, a smartphone can emit over 450 nits
- Staring into these bright pixels strains your retinas and visual processing
- Dark mode limits display brightness to below 50 nits for comfortable viewing
In particular, blue light wavelengths can negatively impact circadian rhythms and sleep quality when using phones at night.
As a small business owner myself, I certainly notice less eye tension when strategizing late-night social campaigns with Dark Mode enabled. The sharper contrast allows easy reading with minimal glare.
Now that we‘ve looked at why Dark Mode helps, let‘s calculate concrete battery life savings…
Exact Battery & Money Savings from Turning on Dark Mode
Beyond reducing eye fatigue, using Snapchat‘s Dark Mode can extend time between charging your phone. For resource-constrained entrepreneurs and SMBs, minimizing expenses is mandatory for survival and profit.
Let‘s quantify projected energy savings from Dark Mode using average smartphone battery capacity stats:
- Typical battery capacity is 3000-4000 mAh currently
- Maximum display brightness drains around 800 mAh per hour
- Dark Mode cuts display energy use by up to 60% per studies
- Total hourly savings = 480 mAh brighter to 320 mAh darker
For simplicity, let‘s assume you use Snapchat actively for 4 hours each day. Here is the daily battery savings math:
- Normal Mode: 800 mAh x 4 hours = 3200 mAh daily
- Dark Mode: 320 mAh x 4 hours = 1280 mAh daily
- Total Savings = 1920 mAh per day
So by having Dark Mode enabled, you can conserve an extra 1920 mAh of battery every single day. For a 3000 mAh battery, that equates to around 64% longer runtime per charge.
Adding it all up over the course of a year assuming daily savings:
- Annual energy savings = 1920 mAh x 365 days = ~700,800 mAh
Since the average cost per kWh of smartphone charging is around $0.20, having Snapchat Dark Mode on would save about $7 per year.
I‘ll admit $7 might not seem too significant, but every dollar counts whenbootstrapping your own small business!
Step-by-Step Instructions to Turn On Dark Mode
Now that I‘ve provided detailed background and analysis on why enabling Snapchat‘s Dark Mode is highly beneficial, here are concise instructions for activating:
On Android Devices:
- Open the Snapchat mobile app
- Tap your circular profile icon (top-left corner)
- Tap the Settings gear icon (top-right corner)
- Scroll down and select "App Appearance"
- Choose "Always Dark" to enable
On iPhones & iPads:
- Open the Snapchat iOS app
- Tap your circular profile icon (top-left corner)
- Tap the Settings gear icon (top-right corner)
- Scroll down and select "App Appearance"
- Choose "Always Dark" to turn on
It takes less than 30 seconds to complete!
One tip if you don‘t see Dark Mode options is to check you have the latest Snapchat version installed. Feature availability can vary across versions.
Feel free to schedule a consulting call with me if any issues getting it activated on your device.
I highly advise all business owners, marketers, entrepreneurs to take advantage of Snapchat Dark Mode (especially at night!). Just be warned your Snaps won‘t be any cooler without filters 😉
Hopefully you found this expanded small business guide valuable in showcasing Snapchat‘s marketing potential while offering actionable tips to reduce eye strain through Dark Mode. Please reach out with any other questions!
Peter Lloyd
SMB Marketing Advisor
