The Skinny on Snapchat – Storytelling in a Snap!

April 6th, 2016 by in Social Media

Snap to it and get ahead of the social media game! Snapchat, a creative photo-sharing app in which the photos eventually disappear, has taken the world by storm. The app was born in September 2011 after Even Spiegel (Co-founder and CEO) and Robert “Bobby” Murphy (Co-founder and CTO) met during their undergraduate career at Stanford University. In its short lifespan, Snapchat has attracted more than 150 million daily users between the ages of 13 and 30, and 65 percent of users are sending at least one snap per day. It is one of the most downloaded apps, so the earlier you embrace it, the more likely you are to reap long-term benefits. Snapchat is a great platform to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at what makes your city or organization tick and display your brand personality in a spontaneous fashion with a sense of exclusivity.

A key difference between Snapchat and other photo-sharing apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Flickr is that the images disappear after a specified amount of time. Photo and video sharing is done in-the-moment with a one- to 10-second time limit set for each photo, or “snap,” so content cannot be automated. There are no “likes” or “shares” on Snapchat, but you can cross-promote platforms and post snaps on other social media sites to increase engagement.

Let’s snap through five key features:

1.   FILTERS

Jazz up your snap by adding a filter for a little extra oomph. Snap filters are similar to those you can find on other popular photo-sharing apps, like Instagram, but have an additional graphic overlay.

Types of Filters

  • Time
  • Temperature
  • Location
  • Colors

2.   TEXT & EFFECTS

  • Text. Users can add text explaining and commenting on photos. The text can be resized, rotated and formatted in a variety of colors.
  • Emojis. :) No message would be complete without emojis! These can also be stretched and repositioned.
  • Doodles. Drawing on your snaps is the millennial version of finger painting. Channel your inner Bob Ross.

3.    GEOFILTERS

Geofilters are graphic overlays that pinpoint your location in a city, landmark, university, neighborhood, etc. You can also create custom Geofilters and submit them to Snapchat for approval.

Visit Snapchat to learn more about creating your own Geofilter — or just contact us! Check out this Geofilter we created for Peachtree City, Georgia!

Snapchat

4.    DOWNLOAD & SAVE

Downloading content to your phone allows you to save it for future use or upload it to another social media platform to further engage your followers.

5.    STORIES

Stories extend the life of your snaps to 24 hours, and followers can view these more than once. This tool is great for generating excitement surrounding a project announcement or upcoming event.

Types of Stories

  • Discover. Discover content is curated by media companies and created specifically for Snapchat.
  • Live. Snapchat selects live stories based on your location, event or day of the week. The company controls this content, so your snaps aren’t guaranteed to be featured in this section, but it’s a great way to see how locals and visitors view your city and what excites them.
  •  Recent Updates. Recent updates are stories created by friends you’ve connected with through the app.

SNAPCHAT SUCCESS STORY

Alpha Phi recently experienced an enormous increase in Snapchat engagement during the Alpha Phi Foundation Day of Giving campaign. The foundation took over the Alpha Phi International Snapchat account to draw extra attention to the campaign. While the organization did work with multiple social media platforms, Snapchat proved to be the belle of the ball.  Alpha Phi’s average story views jumped from 200 to more than 1,000 during the 24-hour campaign, and the app became a timeline of events showing their progress in 10-second intervals. This generated buzz and excitement because sisters could watch the event unfold in real time.

WHERE DO I START?

  1. Download the app and create an account.
  2. Rewatch the R&R webinar.
  3. Join us Monday, April 11 from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern for a Snapchat Q&A session with our social-savvy Snapchat experts at R&R.
  4. Find friends and followers!
    • Post your Snapcode to other social media sites and encourage friends to follow the fun on Snapchat! You can download your unique Snapcode by logging on to the Snapchat website.
    • Snappers can also find you by searching by username, but Snapcodes are the fastest way to connect with friends.
  5. Start snapping & sharing!

WHO TO FOLLOW?

Here are some awesome Snapchat accounts to start building your Snapchat contacts:

  1. Buzzfeed | username: buzzfeed
  2. theSkimm | username: theSkimm
  3. Getting Stamped Travel Blog | username: gettingstamped
  4. Adventurous Kate Travel Blog | username: adventurouskate
  5. Mark Wiens – Food & Travel Blogger | username: migrationology
  6. Mashable | username: mashable
  7. Ellen DeGeneres | username: ellen
  8. Ryan Seacrest | username: ryanseacrest
  9. McDonalds |username: mcdonalds
  10. DJ Khaled | username: djkhaled305