Snapchat and Tacos: A Rocky Romance

In a move that makes you wonder "Why haven't other people tried that?" Taco Bell has put two twenty-somethings in charge of its Snapchat account in an effort to effectively reach the millennial segment. It's a bold but smart move on Taco Bell's part. Snapchat is just a stream shy of being instant live video (a la Periscope) (the option does exist to live stream with a friend who is currently on Snapchat at the same time as you). However due to timeshifted audiences and lack of editorial control over live streaming video, Snapchat will continue to grow as an important channel in a marketing mix especially towards millenials.
No matter who is in charge of the social reins, Taco Bell will need to exercise sound creative strategy. Two millenials may hold insights into how to engage their counterpart audience but they know about as little as the rest of us on how to make sense of Snapchat in the grand marketing scheme. With few metrics and iffy user validation/targeting it's anyone's guess where the measured metrics are even coming from.
As with the other three social media giants, Snapchat will push through the growing pains and give marketers sophisticated metrics and features. A wishlist of sorts could be:

1.  A heat map or pins locating who has viewed/opened your snap
2. Age/Demo targeting
3. Discovery section for brands/adding brands to the discovery section
4. Perhaps a marketplace feature? 
5. Ability to snap links or more interactive snaps

Until Snapchat can deliver hard-hitting, verified metrics (and cheaper ad options) it shouldn't be used as a standalone marketing strategy but as a complementary piece of the consumer journey. Walk your snap followers through the eyes of your brand and offer as genuine and earnest an experience as possible. While you may not know where they are coming from or who they are, genuine experiences are always shareable and well received by this jaded millenial audience. And in Taco Bell's case, you can't go wrong with a little taco love.