Following predecessors such as Facebook ads, Twitter ads and True View ads on YouTube, Snapchat has gone mainstream and now offers Snapchat Ads. Its 150 million daily active users are sharing 9,000 snaps every second on the platform, and it has daily video views of 10 billion.
Some people are even making a career out of Snapchat, snapping every second of their lives, from the moment they wake up until the time they hit the hay.
Who’s the best person, brand or media organisation to follow on Snapchat? Here’s a list of my favourites.
- Rosanna Davison: The former Miss World turned nutritionist grants her followers access to all areas of her day-to-day life. She opens up her world to her Snapchat following: attending VIP events, showing off delicious recipes from her cookbooks ‘Eat Yourself Beautiful’ and ‘Eat Yourself Fit’, playing with her adorable dogs, Ted and Leo, and preparing for the various beauty workshops she hosts around the country. If you’re into beauty and fitness, she’s the gal to follow.
- The Daily Edge: The Daily Edge’s Snapchat account is full of creative content, whether it’s checking out the latest bargains in Penneys or making the ultimate crisp sandwich for lunch. It’s a great account to follow for some laughs and insights into Irish culture.
- The Journal.ie: The Journal.ie bring the news to their Snapchat account. They’ve interviewed Dáil members, dissected controversial news and reports for readers and taken us behind the scenes at events such as Dublin Culture Night. It’s a great account to follow for some really good, newsy content.
- James Patrice: If you need a laugh, James Patrice is your man. The Fashion Editor at MFI Magazine is hilarious on Snapchat. You’ll be guaranteed to see him lip-synching his heart out to songs on the Dart, scaring the life out of his poor mother, Fron, taking fabulous selfies and ‘rotting’ over meals. If you’re looking for entertainment, his snapchat is one to watch.
- Deric O’Hartigan: If you’re looking for fitness motivation then the TV3 weatherman’s Snapchat is for you. Expect weather snaps, fitness tips and adventurous fashion choices. While the rest of us are still snoring, he’s up at 6am swimming in the sea in freezing cold weather and hitting it hard in the gym. If you watch him long enough, maybe he’ll motivate you to get moving.
- Roz Purcell: The Natural Born Feeder is using Snapchat to showcase her cooking skills, her focus on fitness and nutrition and her seriously stylish wardrobe. She’s really cool on the platform but isn’t afraid to point out her twitching eye that is driving her crazy. For healthy living tips, she’s one to follow.
- JOE.ie: The lads at JOE.ie are doing a seriously tasty snapchat. From tasting bronuts to ordering a cheeky Nandos to the office, their snaps will make you hungry. Apart from the food, they’re bringing serious craic back home, for example at the Euros 2016. For entertainment and to satisfy your inner foodie, follow JOE.ie.
- The Happy Pear: When watching twins Dave and Steve of The Happy Pear on Snapchat, you can’t help but smile. Everything is awesome, everyone is a dude and their positivity is infectious. Their Snapchat is full of sneak peeks at their recipes, from morning juices to hearty salads, the brothers are happy to share all the deliciousness with their followers. They show that watching the sun rise is beautiful every morning and that it’s acceptable to wear shorts all year round. For a boost, the Happy Pears are one to check out.
Now, a guide to creating an engaging Snapchat Story.
For those who are completely new to Snapchat, a snap is a photo or video message from one Snapchat user to another. Snaps disappear 1-10 seconds after they are first opened. A story is a photo or video message users can view for 24 hours, as many times as they choose within that 24-hour timeframe. Different snaps can be added to a story to develop it throughout the day.
1. Remember, a Snapchat story is still a story. It must have a beginning, middle and end. (If you’re new to the platform, experiment with it. Get used to the time lengths, geofilters, editing tools and sharing options.) Make sure you change the theme of your story each time to keep followers engaged. For example, one story might focus on an event you’re attending, and another day’s story could tease followers with a product or service you’re about to launch.
2. Experiment with the features. Snapchat has great features that include geofilters, stickers and doodles. They’re good for adding extra layers to your story. And the geofilters are really fun.
3. Experiment with sound and music to add drama and excitement. Snapchat allows music and sound to play on your phone when the app is open. It’s an instant soundtrack for your stories.
4. Takeovers. For a brand account, having influencers take over your Snapchat account for the day can be interesting for your viewers. It may seem daunting to let someone else manage your Snapchat Story, but your followers will appreciate the exclusivity of a new face coming on board for one day only.
5. Save your story. Remember, Snapchat stories only last 24 hours. If you don’t want to lose all the hard work that went into creating a story, save the story to your Memories. This enables you to share the content on other platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.
6. Track your results: The data you can pull from Snapchat includes, views, replies and screenshots. But these are only available within a 24-hour timeframe once a story is published.
To access these:
- Swipe left on the camera screen to reach the Stories screen.
- Tap the circular thumbnail of your story.
- Tap each individual Snap to view the number of views and screenshots.
It’s important to keep track of this data to see which stories are well received and which ones aren’t. It also helps when brainstorming future content for Snapchat.
Happy Snapping!
– This post was written by Emma Vince – former Digital PR Lead at Tinderpoint.
