Snapchat, a media-based mobile app, in many ways is considered a close network, where it’s hard to organically find users. You can’t share the content and distribute it out like Twitter or Facebook. So it’s known for it’s lack of discoverability.
The other side of thinking of is that followership is not a biggie in the world of Snapchat, the emphasis is on the viewership. Once you have them as an audience, you actually have their full immersive attention as they want to tune in to your point of view or engage with you as a person.
With that in mind, a good snapstorm or snap story is better than a blog post or a YouTube video of the same length. Why? Because you have the full attention of the viewer who watches your story from the start to the end.
Still, here are 5 quick ways to quickly build your viewership
- Replace your social profiles with your Snapcode (a QR code that looks like this)
- Use Ghostcodes; a Snapchatter directory app. When it first came out, I was featured on #techie page and quickly gain about 500 followers. Request a feature here
- Replace email signature with your snap URL or Snapcode.
- Onboard your friends and family as your first wave of audience.
- Add a Snapchat plugin to your website.
Bringing on users is easy, but retaining them, especially if you use follow for a follow technique. Which I wouldn't recommend - following everyone will become difficult in the long run. I heard stories of snappers restarting because they find that that technique is hard to sustain. On the technical aspect, the app will crash, your battery and data will be eaten up as it will try to load up all the other stories.
To retain users, here are some suggestions:
Create consistent and relevant content that aligns with your audience's interest.
Engage and talk with your audience. They are people too.
Show your personality, they come to see you.
Resources
- Download a high res Snapcode here
- Treat Snapchat like a TV channel
Want to learn more:
My name is Suzanne Nguyen, I'm a curious geek of the future that loves to snap about communications and technology.
Follow me on Snapchat for #SnapchatMonday and #TechTuesday
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