All You Need to Know About Snapchat: A Bufferchat Recap

Arielle Tannenbaum -

Chris Mikulin stopped by #bufferchat on November 11th to share his insights about using Snapchat as a strategic tool. We had an awesome chat all about when, where, why and how to use it to engage with your audience/community and beyond! Check out the recap below for (almost) all you need to know about Snapchat!

Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, every week on Wednesdays, 9 am PT/Noon ET/4 pm GMT, for valuable industry insights and networking with nearly 400 other smart marketers and community managers.

*As a note, Chris updated his Twitter handle from @caribou_chris to @cmikulin!

Why should we (individuals or companies) use Snapchat?

From Chris:

  • The data doesn’t lie: @Snapchat has 100+ million daily active users, plus 5 billion videos are viewed everyday!
  • Over 60% of smartphone users between 13-34 in the US are on @Snapchat. 77% of them are over 18, so it’s not just teens.
  • Snapchat is a great platform for building brand loyalty, storytelling and having one-on-one interactions with your audience.
  • It’s a fun way for brands to show their authentic selves and not worry about creating high production value content.
  • Many worry about disappearing content, but it’s a positive – it gives your audience a reason to check back, tune in & engage.

From the community:

  • “For academia, Snapchat is a great way to engage, directly, with the pre-college and college age students!” @bookofcara
  • “Snapchat gives insight into behind the scenes/things happening “right now”/what a company is up to…fun & fast!” @cateelise
  • “@Snapchat adds variety to the mix of content we share across all channels. It’s fun, spontaneous, and very humanizing.” @NatalieBergen
  • “Snapchat captures memories & can be a great way to share who you are & what your company is about.” @HouseofKTS
  • “Snapchat allows brands to reach into the very heart of the millennial generation PROVIDED they do so with tact.” @raffeg

See all the great answers to question 1 here!

What makes a good snap?

From Chris:

  • I always recommend being your true authentic self.
  • The more real, authentic & gritty your content feels, the more likely your audience is to see it as genuine & approachable.
  • It also really depends on the person/brand. For us behind the scenes or just random funny things I think of do well.
  • A good snap is one that can tell a story & capture an emotion. Connect with your audience, predict what they want to see.

From the community:

  • “The best kind of #snap? Make me wish I was there with you.” @lafitara
  • “Setting, Subject, and Story are the ingredients of a good snap. @benfigo delivers this almost daily.” @tigga7d6
  • “Capturing a moment that was unplanned + timed just right because the unexpected is what attracts the eye and emotion.” @foodsheblogged
  • Quick wit! You have to be fast, and people won’t mind a 10sec interruption to their day if it makes them smile.” @formerlyvodak
  • “Take advantage of Snapchat filters/features in funny ways. A friend live-snapped the GOP debate with the new Lenses!” @cateelise

See all the great answers to question 2 here!

What are some great ways to engage with others on Snapchat?

From Chris:

  • A great way to engage with your audience is by just asking them a question. It’s as simple as that.
  • We do ‘focus group’ questions where we ask people to screenshot their favourite colors …
  • And since Snapchat records screenshots we’re able to see what colors are popular so that we know what to order next.
  • Other great ways are hosting Q&A’s and fielding questions from your audience, art contests, scavenger hunts. Just have fun!

From the community:

  • “Trivias! Snap the questions w/ ABC answers and ask people to screenshot the correct answer.” @sabcruzb
  • “I like it when people have questions I can respond to, it often starts a great dialogue!” @LizaTaitBailey
  • “one way is by responding to snaps via story- @lolojones does this often. Snapstories are short vlogs.” @psomebody
  • “Snaps can be a fun and interactive way to cross-promote other platforms” @AlexFromMT
  • “I like snaps that invite the user to screenshot the image. It brings them into your snapchat.” @Josewats

See all the great answers to question 3 here!

Should we measure engagement on Snapchat? How can we do that?

From Chris:

  • Snapchat doesn’t make analytics easy, but there are a few easy ways that you can track your performance.
  • If I was smart I would have created a Google Doc spreadsheet the day I created my account. Here’s what you can measure …
  • Number of followers (track names/date), avg views, retention rate (% of views of your first snap vs last snap), screenshots.
  • Since you can also see who views your snaps try to keep an eye on who engages the most and engage back.
  • This ebook by @Delmondo covers everything you need to know about Snapchat analytics: http://delmondo.co/snapchat-analytics-ebook/ …

From the community:

  • “Not in the way others do it. I say conversations and comments should be more important than views. That is true engagement.” @tigga7d6
  • “Tough one; views count doesn’t actually mean they saw everything. Some people just want to kill the notification.” @sabcruzb
  • “One good measurement is Story Fallout Ration, or, the difference in views between the first snap in the story and the rest” @northcuttHQ
  • “I’m going to stick my neck out here. We SHOULDN’T be measuring snapchat, it’s spontaneous nature means data can be hindering.” @Berngaming
  • “Yes! It’s still a process of finding the right way. Tracking views, screenshots, and replays is a good place to start.” @StoreCoach

See all the great answers to question 4 here!

What are some great resources for learning more about Snapchat?

From Chris:

From the community:

See all the great answers to question 5 here!

What companies or individuals are nailing and crushing it on Snapchat?

From Chris:

  • My favourite Snapchat accounts to follow are brandenharvey, salliasnap, Shonduras, figoamericano, wtfrankie, diplo, emgarber
  • They’re consistent, interesting, fun, and understand how to get the most of the platform. Huge influences for me!
  • Brands that are really crushing it on Snapchat IMO are natgeo, redbull, cocacola, mashable, shortyawards, webad (ripndip)
  • I really enjoy what these brands are doing. They take risks + they’re true to the platform & always bring me back for more.
  • Definitely keep an eye on @Delmondo, all of the creators/brands that they work with are doing AMAZING things! Love them!

From the community:

See all the great answers to question 6 here!

Here’s a fun one! Save a photo/video from Snapchat and share it with us!

From Chris:

  • JUST FOR FUN
  • You can find me on Snapchat here, just snap or screenshot to add me.

From the community:

See all the great answers to question 7 here!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in on this great chat!

Catch #bufferchat each Wednesday at 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern.

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash