Let’s Talk About Snapchat

Snapchat: a form of social media I resisted for years.

When Snapchat first launched in 2011, it was designed as a private messaging app — a way for users to send photos and videos directly to friends. These photos and videos would disappear after ten seconds or so. In its infancy, I thought of Snapchat as something used primarily by teenagers – like my college-aged youngest sister Macey and her friends.

At its best, Snapchat seemed to be used to send inane messages back and forth among kids. At its worst, Snapchat developed a reputation for being a “sexting” app, allowing teens to send inappropriate messages back and forth with less risk than with, say, iMessage or WhatsApp since the Snapchat photos and videos disappear into the ethos within seconds presumably forever.

However, as with all things technology related, times are changing. Social media platforms wait for no one!

Here are some Snapchat statistics you may not know.

• Snapchat has more users than Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
• Snapchat grew as much last year as Twitter did in four years. 
• Snapchat has reached 8 billion views a day! 
• Over 100 million people use it daily. 

Many are dubbing Snapchat the most powerful social media tool today, and the company’s valuation backs that up. As you may remember reading here, Snapchat recently raised money at a $20 billion valuation! 

Given that my business is online, having a social media presence is a must for me. But I continued to resist Snapchat. I just wasn’t sure it was a legitimate platform.

During New York Fashion Week in September 2015, though, I had several designers approach me, inquiring if I could snap live from their fashion shows. At that point, I knew I needed to learn more. Somewhat begrudgingly, I finally gave into the Snapchat movement in late 2015 (username: wearwherewell). Then in March, PopSugar named me as one of the top fashion bloggers to follow on Snapchat! No pressure, right? Heck – I was (and am) still learning to use the app.

Now that I’m about six months into my Snapchat trial, I thought I’d share with you the lessons I’ve learned about Snapchat thus far…

***Note that this is not a how-to guide for using Snapchat. If you’re in need of a beginner tutorial, I suggest reading this article from Wired – or just consult the teenagers in your life. 😉

9 Lessons Learned From Snapchat

1. I don’t feel the pressure to portray perfection.
   • Whether it’s here on my website or on Instagram, there is real pressure from a business perspective to make things look picture perfect. We spend hours conceptualizing ideas for photos — from the outfit and the location to the mood we want to portray and the message we want to communicate.
   • With Snapchat, though, there is no planning or editing. It’s raw and of the moment. This aspect of Snapchat is like a breath of fresh air for me.
2. I can post whatever I want whenever I want.
   • Again, with Instagram, I’ve developed this routine of posting at specific times, based on when I receive my highest engagement. Also, the content I post must “flow” with my feed. It’s all very formulaic and business-minded.
   • With Snapchat, it’s different… There is no need for a snap to look good or be posted at a certain time.
3. I like telling stories with my snaps.
   • There is power in storytelling, even if it is in short-form videos and photo snippets.
   • While there is no rule or pressure to post a certain number of times, I do find it most compelling when people’s snap stories tell a story. In case you don’t know, Snapchat stories are 24-hour compilations of snaps. It’s nice when those have an overarching theme — whether that’s just sharing a normal day in your life or sharing a travel adventure or sharing a behind-the-scenes look at a project you’re working on.
   • Having said that, though, it is possible to over-snap. I don’t need to see 49 snaps of your dinner. One or two will probably suffice to tell that story. Don’t be that person whose Snapchat story seems more like a reality show playing out! I will likely lose interest and skip over your story entirely.
4. I can include content that I would not post to other social networks.
   • For instance, I don’t like the way videos look when posted to my Instagram feed. So, where should I share that content? Well, it turns out that Snapchat is the perfect place to share it. For a short form video that doesn’t need a permanent home, Snapchat is where I post it.
   • One good example: During fashion week / fashion month, I use Snapchat extensively to share runway show coverage and sneak peeks at fashion shows.
5. I allow a bit more of my personality to show through.
   • I tend to be a bit of a private person. Yes, I see the irony in that given that I post so much content online. But it’s true. I’m very measured and guarded in how much I share of myself.
   • But with Snapchat, I share things that I wouldn’t necessarily give a permanent home to on the internet. Whether that’s my sense of humor, a no-makeup post-workout selfie, a video of our dog rolling in the grass or whatever, I share more of my real life on Snapchat. I’m a little less guarded.
   • Snapchat has a way of humanizing people. It certainly gives a different perspective on me and my brand.
6. I connect with others in a more personal, natural way.
   • When you watch someone’s day-to-day activities for a while, you start to feel like you know each other.
   • I have my settings set so that anyone can snap me back! It’s fun to see commonalities develop from little snippets of my life that I likely wouldn’t have shared anywhere else. The feedback is immediate and personal.
   • On the flip side, I also enjoy following others in fashion whom I admire. It’s interesting to peek behind the curtain, so to speak.
7. I feel like Snapchat is still very “pure” in its form.
   • What I mean by that is this: There’s no pressure to gain likes or followers. Heck – you can’t even see how many people follow you on Snapchat. Plus, there is, as of now, no real, direct way as a business to monetize Snapchat.
   • So sharing is purely for the purpose of connecting with one another. It’s like Facebook or Instagram was in its infancy. There’s something refreshing about that.
8. I enjoy sharing behind-the-scenes peeks at blog content.
   • Snapchat is wonderful for this! I really enjoy sharing snippets from our photo shoots, our location scouting, our travels, what we are eating, what we are doing.
   • It’s a fun way to show you a bit of the work and effort that goes into creating content here. It’s also a good way to give you an advanced look at what’s coming up here.
9. Snapchat is just plain fun!
   • It’s ridiculously simple in its form. Easy-to-use and free of pressure, Snapchat is a ton of fun.

My next Snapchat goal: creating a custom geofilter! How cool is that? I recently learned of this functionality when my friend Ailee created not one but three custom geofilters for her daughter’s second birthday party. How cool is that? Ha. I read an article recently that said custom hashtags are so blasé for weddings this season. This year it’s all about the custom Snapchat geofilter!

Are you on Snapchat? If so, leave a comment below and tell me your username!

My username is wearwherewell. My Snapchat content is unique and exclusive to what you’ll see on my other channels. If you’re not on Snapchat yet, give it a try! I’m still learning, but it’s a lot of fun.