After I saw how well received my post on Why Bloggers Should Use Snapchat was, I thought it might be useful to continue you on this theme giving my view on how bloggers should use Snapchat to effectively maximize its potential. If I’m telling you why you should use Snpachat, then I should probably also tell you how to use it!
Snapchat is a fantastic marketing platform to promote your brand and engage with your followers on a more personal level so they get to know the real you. There are plenty of ways to do this using the ‘My Story’ feature which allows you to keep adding photos and videos over any 24 hour period to create a story. I find it very quick and easy, as unlike my blog photos or Instagram there is no editing involved and I can just snap and go….
So if you want to use Snapchat to promote your blog here are my top tips and a few ideas to help you know what to snap:
Snap Often – Consistency is key with Snapchat, so try and snap daily even if its only a few snaps.
BTS (Behind the scenes) – From the photo set up, to editing of pics and in my case terrible posing bloopers (there are many), take your followers behind the scenes of what goes in to producing the fab content that ends up on your blog.
Before & after shots – whether its before and after makeup being applied, a new recipe you have cooked or a redecorated room, before and after shots are dramatic and easily achieved with Snapchat.
Keep to your theme – You’d be surprised at the amount of beauty bloggers that I follow that don’t include any snaps relating to beauty at all. Whatever your blogging niche is make sure its reflected in some of your snaps.
Unpackaging – Give your followers a sneak peak of what you’ve just received in the post and what they can expect to see on the blog soon.
Holidays & event coverage – Blogger meet ups, holidays and press events are great times to get snapping and to give your followers a taste of the events you are attending.
How to videos – Adding 10 second clip videos together can make a great step by step how-to-videos, From how to do a french plait, use a beauty blender or edit your Instagram photos.
Mini reviews – And I do mean mini! A quick snap on a product and why you like it is just perfect for Snapchat, but not an in-depth 10 snap review – that is what your blog is for.
Plug another Snapchatter – Team up with another Blogger who uses Snapchat and give a shout out to each other (not forgetting to provide their username) and give reasons why they should follow them. This reciprocal gesture is a great way to gain new followers.
Q&A – Ask your followers on Twitter for questions and answer them exclusively on Snapchat
Keep it real – So much of a bloggers world is curated so people want to see some reality. It’s not perfect, I’m not perfect and I wake up with bed hair and eye bags like the rest of you.
Tease – Build excitement about new blog posts or brand collaborations that you are working on by teasing them with snippets of what you’re up to.
Have fun – Snapchat is meant to be a bit of fun, not perfection. Show your silly side and bring a smile to your followers faces.
Use your brand – To further cement your brand make sure your Snapchat username is your blog name or your full name (depending on what you promote online) so followers can easily recognise you. As it stands today you are unable to change your username once you set it, so you may want to consider setting up a new account if your username has no relation to your blog.
Would I want to see this? – Before you post anything always ask yourself “would I find this interesting and would I want to see this from another Snapchatter?”. If the answer is “no” don’t post it!
This post wouldn’t be complete without also including a few tips on what you shouldn’t do on Snapchat……
- Don’t go snap mad and post 5,000 photos a day – Ok, so that’s an exaggeration but you get my drift.
- Don’t send direct snaps to me unless it is specifically meant just for me. I can’t tell you how annoying this is. Please just add it to your story! If everyone I follow sent me 3 direct snaps day x the 50 people I follow, you can imagine how many times my phone would be going off. Please just stop it!
- Don’t focus all your snaps on one thing such as 50 snaps of your dog (as cute as it is, it gets boring!)
- Don’t just use the same content you are using on Twitter/ Instagram. You need to give followers a reason to follow you on each social media platform so don’t replicate the same content on all of your channels.
- Don’t try and take picture perfect snaps – that’s what Instagram is for. A bit of mess in the background keeps it real!
And lastly don’t forget to market your Snapchat. There is no point in creating exciting content if no one is following you. Unlike other social media platforms people can’t stumble across your account and start following you, so you need to make sure you are promoting your username. Here’s a few simple ways I advertise my Snapchat:
- On my ‘Contact’ page on my blog
- On my Twitter & Instagram bios
- In blog posts (like this one)
- In tweets
- On Instagram
- On my Facebook page
- Tell all your friends/ family
I hope you’ve found some of these tips useful and if you’d like to follow me then please do – my username is “DevotedToPink”.
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