How to tell better stories on Snapchat: 9 tips
Is Snapchat part of your social media mix? Do you want to tell better stories on Snapchat?
Crafting epic content on Snapchat isn’t easy. It takes time, creativity and consistency.
In order to create stories that entertain, inspire and engage, you need to push the limits.
The best content creators on Snapchat are creative and innovative; they provide value and are entertaining.
Understanding the channel:
Before you can craft amazing content, you first have to understand the channel.
Snapchat is different from other social media channels.
For starters, it’s a younger platform. 37% of users are aged 18-24 and 26% of users are aged 25-34.
Secondly, it is all about being yourself. If you want to stand out on Snapchat, you can’t do what everyone else is doing.
Showing up as unique and authentic is critical on this channel.
If you want to create a loyal community on Snapchat, you’ve gotta be consistent. You need to create stories every single day to stay top-of-mind for your connections on the channel.
Lastly, you need to keep in mind that Snapchat is meant for snackable content. The more digestible your content is, the better.
People love knowing that they can hop onto Snapchat for just a few minutes and leave with value. The snackable nature of the content makes it easy to consume
The snackable nature of the content makes it easy to consume and create.
Tell better stories:
Now that you understand the unique aspects of the channel, we can dive into content creation.
If you want to tell better stories on Snapchat, follow these tips:
- Have a goal: You should have a goal for every single piece of content that you create. What do you want people to do as a result of viewing your story? Do you want them to send messages? Are you looking for more YouTube subscribers? Approach your stories with a specific goal so you don’t lose track on the content you’re creating.
- Have a flow: Aim to start and end your stories in a similar fashion to create familiarity among your fans. Your stories should have a beginning, middle and end so that your followers can follow along without getting confused.
- Get personal: There’s a degree of depth on Snapchat that doesn’t exist on any other social channel. Leverage this feature by opening up and getting real and raw with your fans. Share your personal story – your wins and losses – as a way of creating a real connection. This will allow you to transform followers to friends.
- Have fun: Use the filters, stickers and animations to have fun on the channel. Get creative by applying different elements to add more life to your stories and keep them entertaining.
- Behind-the-scenes: Snapchat is meant for bringing your fans and friends behind-the-scenes and showing more of your life. Take people inside your apartment; show them your newest product; tour them around your city. The more exclusive access you provide, the more exciting your stories become.
- Collaborate: Doing Snapchat takeovers and/or including others in your stories is a great way to change things up and be more engaging. Use influencers and other content creators to keep things fun and fresh. Sharing others’ snapcodes on your story is another way to be collaborative and grow your relationship with that specific Snapper.
- Short and sweet: While there’s no ideal length to a story, the goal is to keep your fans engaged and entertained throughout. Be concise with your content and focus on providing value in the form of inspiration, education or entertainment.
- Educate: Whether you’re sharing tips or describing the benefits of your product, you want to aim to educate your audience. Teach them what you know as a way of using the channel to grow your credibility.
- State calls to action: Want someone to message you? Want someone to follow you on another channel as a result of watching your Snapchat stories? Speak aloud your calls to action. Tell people exactly what you want them to do. “Swipe up” is a great call to action to use to get people to continue the conversation through private chat.
Now that you know how to craft great content on the channel, it’s time to promote your presence!
Cross-promote your channel presence:
Creating awesome content doesn’t mean much if your audience doesn’t discover it.
That’s why you need to cross-promote your presence on Snapchat.
Use your presence on other social channels such as Twitter and Facebook to drive your fans over to Snapchat.
If you’re really prioritizing Snapchat, you’ll want to make your Snapcode your profile photo. If you’re not, you want to at least post your Snapcode onto your other channels to drive awareness among your audience that you’re crafting content over there.
Regardless of whether Snapchat is your main social media channel or not, the 9 tips above will help you create better content on the channel.
What do you think? Which tip do you think will impact your stories the most?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!