Snapchat is just for teenagers to send nudes to each other, right? WRONG.

With a company valuation of around $16 billion, and 10 billion daily video views at the time of writing, Snapchat offers a real opportunity to share your story with a wider, younger, audience.

Here’s what Snapchat is, what media organisations are doing on it, and how you can get ahead by using it (for work purposes, obvs.)

The basics

Snapchat is a video messaging app.

Unlike any other social media app, content disappears after 24 hours.

You can either post videos to your story (like a Twitter or Facebook feed) or send them directly to your contacts (like Twitter DMs.)

What media organisations are doing on snapchat 

@therealverge: covers live events like the NBA All-Star Game or the Oscars and hosts a regular behind the scenes series where Sam Sheffer – Verge’s social media editor – has Verge staff explain what’s on their desks

@HuffPost: posts interviews from events such as Comic Con, cute dogs visiting the office, and interesting guests who visit the team, in an attempt to connect with a younger audience

@mashable: often cover live events, or create original narratives that tie in to editorial themes on their site. Other stories have included product reviews, photo roundups, and news updates

Five ways to get ahead by using snapchat 

1. Follow someone you’re about to interview: people offer way more insight into their lives on Snapchat than on any other medium

2. Find out the top stories of the day in seconds using the discover tab, and sound smart in the morning meeting

3. Offer a behind the scenes look on set, at an interview or an event. You’d be surprised how interested people are in the events journalists get access too

4. Use it as an easy video capturing tool while out and about – you can easily fast forward video and add captions in app and then download and share it on other social media channels like Twitter and Facebook

5. Position your publication as a leader in the field by creating an account for it and sharing your own content or getting a guest (preferably a Snapchat pro) to stage a takeover. When you have people on Snapchat you really have their attention: they follow less people than on other social media channels

Pro tip: people find out about your snaps by word of mouth, there is no browsing of users on the app, so make sure your username is the same as your other social media handles, and promote it in your Twitter/Instagram bio, or with a bespoke graphic that you tweet out if you’re really fancy.

Warning: you cannot change your username on Snapchat once you select it, so choose wisely my friend.

Follow me on Snapchat @PhoebeParke for fancy lunches, sped-up walking shots and selfies with the dog filter.

 

You can now sign up to my email list to receive my free workbook on how to market your content effectively on and offline: http://eepurl.com/b2rdHP 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” – Colossians 3:23