SNAPCHAT FOR BUSINESS: THE CONSTANT CLIFFHANGER

April 12, 2016




The cliffhanger.

 An absolute favorite storytelling tactic that gets our blood rushing, our hearts pounding, our eyes widening, our voices exclaiming "What's next? What's going on? What are they going to do? I can't wait to see! I need to see now! Help! #AUUUGGGHHH"


In a nutshell, that is (the magic of) Snapchat.


What was once a teenager's funny little app for texting private (and often gross or silly) disappearing photos is now a solid and crazy engaging digital media platform with over 100+ million daily active users streaming and watching 5+ billion daily video views.


 Billions of daily views.....of what, you may ask, and why?


THE "OF WHAT?"
  • Of photos and videos from their fave brands and people. 
  • Consumers enjoying Snapchat are obsessively and addictively sticking around to see what their fave Snapchatters are sharing to their Stories. They come back for more every second.
  • And every second, it seems, people and brands are adding photos and videos to their Stories, updating and evolving their narrative.

THE "WHY?"
  • People are watching so constantly because Stories are constantly being updated - meaning their last Snap left you feeling like one does with a cliffhanger - WHAT. IS. NEXT????
  • But here's more MAGIC....the content you are watching literally can only be found inside of their Snapchat Story. 
  • This is WHY people are super addictive to Snapchat and keep coming back for the more. They want to see what's next - the ultimate and constant cliffhanger. 



4 ASPECTS AS TO WHY SNAPCHAT IS THE CONSTANT MARKETING CLIFFHANGER
(and why every brand and business needs to get up and running)


1) One aspect is because of the cool and engaging storytelling live in the idea of micro-moments. Everyone wants to experience bite-sized content - not just the younger set. Snapchat's execution is set up exactly like that, offering only 1 - 10 second moments. But, when strung together, a mini-narrative is created, an engaging (or funny or maybe not so funny) "story" is being told.

2) Paralleling this is the time table - every Snap will disappear 24 hours from when it's posted. Snapchat ramps up the FOMO, for sure. But it's working and people are going back to that "cliffhanger" to see more.

3) Another aspect is the "unique-to-me" experience that every single person experiences. There are no "likes" to see, no Followers count, no comments to read. Nothing. (See #3 to learn more) When watching a person or brand's Snapchat Story, it's just them....and you. There's a real special likability in that as if you are seeing a truly unique story that you may want to tell your friends about.

4) This segues into the exclusive vibe. You can only see the person or brand's content inside their Story, on Snapchat, on your mobile device. 

IMO, Snapchat is emerging as the "stickiest" social platform and it also is redefining how consumers engage with brand messaging which, in turn, influences their shopping decisions. It really is the perfect storm of storytelling micro-moments, ultra exclusive content (#BTS), unique-to-me vibe and time limits that has Millennials and really everyone else jumping in to check it out. Why wouldn't you want to share your "Story" with everyone...and keep them coming back for more with smart storytelling and expression of your brand style and core values.

If you are aren't sure WTF Snapchat is and how to get started, START HERE and take it from there. We got you. 










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SNAPCHAT 101 - FACE MAPPING HOW-TO

April 11, 2016




Here's a super super super super super quick (how's :14 long quick sound to you?) to see exactly what face mapping is (aka the gray wire that appears over your face - see :04 in our above video), how to do it and how to activate those awesome animated filters. You should also CLICK HERE to watch our full video explaining FILTERS + ANIMATED LENSES. Don't forget to check back in daily because Snapchat curates and changes the filters and lenses often - you never know what you are going to find. #fun. 




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5 WAYS TO ADD SOMEONE TO SNAPCHAT

April 7, 2016




Remember the days of just typing in someone's actual name and - voila - there they were? A quick click of the Friend Request button and you are good to go. That is so not how Snapchat is. In fact, searching by someone's name won't get you far at all. But don't worry - we got you. 

Below are the five (and there are only 5) ways you can add someone to your Friend's list so you can follow them to see their Stories. Keep in mind that there are some privacy options (you can Block someone easily if need be and you can also set your Story to "friends only" vs public) 

1

BY THEIR USERNAME


*Keep in mind this is their Username, not their actual name.

*And you have to know it - you can't search.



2

BY THEIR PHONE #


*Again, you have to know it.



3

BY THEIR SNAP-QR-CODE


*Launch your Snapchat and then take a pic of the QR code and - boom - they are added into your list.

 WAIT, what the hell is a Snap QR Code?

 It's the yellow box with the black dots all over it and a ghost inside. (Click here to see our QR code) You can find it by clicking on the white ghost at the top of the center camera screen. This is your personal QR code and also a place where you can add your profile pic - fun!



4

BY THIS URL WITH THEIR USERNAME:

www.snapchat.com/add/YOURUSERNAME

*Just add in the Username to find or put yours in to share.




5

BY THEIR LOCATION


*Snapchat accesses your location as well as others around you who are on Snapchat
*IMO, this is a little wonky and random, unless you want to add totally randoms to your friend list. 





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3 BIG QUESTIONS @ SNAPCHAT . . . .ANSWERED

April 6, 2016





1. WHAT IS SNAPCHAT?

  • Snapchat is a social media platform where people can share their Stories - a string of photos and/or videos that create a narrative. You take "snaps" (aka photos and/or videos) that you set between 1 - 10 seconds long and then add them to your Story. Your Snap - poof - disappears 24-hours from the time it's posted. 
  • Snapchat is also a place to discover and view other peoples' Stories (kind of like streaming through someone's entire Instagram feed). People share their Snaps to their own Story (just like you do - see above). Their Snap - poof - also disappears 24-hours from the time it's posted. 
  • Snapchat is also a place to privately communicate with a friend and/or contact. You send "snaps" (aka photos, texts, videos, gifs, stickers) that you set between 1 - 10 seconds long and then Snap them to your friend (kind of like text messaging). Your Snap - poof - disappears from your "chat" (or text) with your friend once you send it and after that you had set runs out. 




2. HOW (and maybe why) DO I USE SNAPCHAT?

  • There are 3 Main Screens inside Snapchat. You use these screens to create + share your Snaps to your Story, watch other people's Snaps that they have shared to their Stories or send (chat) privately with a friend or contact. The screens are:
    • The Camera Screen (center screen)
    • The Stories Screen (swipe right of camera screen to get here)
    • The Chat / Recent Activity Screen (swipe left of camera screen to get here)
  • As far as "why"....because it's fun, it's a cool way to express yourself and it's a place to find super exclusive BTS content that you literally cannot find anywhere else. [Note - this is exactly why marketers are running, not walking, to Snapchat. A lot more to come on this.]




3. THERE'S NO WAY TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE &
 YOU CAN'T COMMENT ON SNAPS YOU ARE WATCHING.
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

  • So here's the deal on this...while you can see who is viewing your own Snaps in your Story, unlike Facebook, IG and other social platforms, you can't see how many people are following someone or a brand. Nope, nothing is listed. 
  • And, no, you can't see how many people watched someone else's Story.
  • And, no, you can't "like" a Snap or a Story.
  • And, no, you can't comment on a Snap or Story. 
  • Basically, it's your personal experience discovering a narrative. 


SO WHY, AGAIN, AM I CHECKING OUT AND USING SNAPCHAT? 

At this point, we believe it's about 2 things - expressing yourself and the ultra-exclusive found here only content that won't be available for long. (See more in our 24-HOUR LIFE CYCLE post) You have to catch it in a certain timeframe or it's....gone.

There's a magic to this right now, an x-factor, in fact. As more and more people jump on, we look forward to seeing how people and brands produce Stories that are impactful and super fresh. And we look forward to sharing more 101s, cool news and content about this space. 


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SNAPCHAT HACK: HOW TO DRAW IN LIGHT COLORS

April 4, 2016




We sure love as many options as possible in life, am I right? So we wanted to share how to get even more COLOR options as you create your awesome Snaps. Click through to see this video sharing how you can draw in LIGHT COLORS - think pastels, if you will. Any color on your rainbow spectrum can become lighter by doing the following super easy action...

DRAG YOUR FINGER TOWARDS THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN
(But NOT to the edge - that's how you get white) 

Just pick your color on the rainbow spectrum and drag your finger towards the left edge of the screen. You will see the color box get lighter. Just stop when you find a shade you love #Cool

And want to see how you draw in WHITE or BLACK? Click here to check out our short video #Yaaas

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