Even though Snap went public last week with a first-day IPO pop that beat Facebook’s, it’s still early for many brands on the platform.
Here are three easy ways to break in or bring your Snapchat presence up to speed while the platform is still hot:
1. Ease in with Memories. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” says Kat Lapelosa, a Snapchat expert, brand consultant and Praytell art director. “Don’t think that you can’t take it slow just because you’re late to the party.”
“Have fun, and get used to the platform using your own personal account,” she says. “You’ll learn the features that way.”
Once you’re ready, start taking videos and photos at company events without posting them. “Save them for later using the ‘Memory’ function. It allows you to go back later, pick the best ones and edit them. That way you can post without the extra pressure of being live in the moment.”
The process is simple. Just launch the app. Tap the white circle under your shutter, and Memories will open. Select the image you want to edit, and a pencil icon will appear to the left. Now add stickers, text or doodles, just as you normally would in Snapchat.
Lapelosa created this Memory so it could be easily emailed and embedded:
Register for PR Daily’s March 16 “Master Snapchat Strategy” webinar for more tips from “Oh Snap!” author Kate Talbot, Praytell art director Kat Lapelosa, and PricewaterhouseCoopers social media managers Katrina Najm and Larissa von Lockner.
2. Don’t over-invest in equipment. “Keep it cheap, and avoid crazy filmmaker equipment,” says Lapelosa. “You don’t need a Mevo camera. Just use your phone and low-cost accessories to shoot good snaps.”
Stabilizers top her list of recommended accessories. They attach to your phone and can eliminate “shaky-cam.”
Lapelosa uses the $248 DJI stabilizer (below left), but says cheaper options such as the $14.95 Charger City Multi-Use Tripod (below right) will do the trick.
Lighting is also crucial. “Don’t buy a lighting rig. Instead, try a phone case that projects light,” she says. “These are all fine, but be sure to pick one that matches your phone size.” Pictured is the Kobra Selfie Lighting Case for under $25.
3. Tickle viewers with tunes. Background music can spice up a snap. In the past, iTunes and Spotify would cause the Snapchat application to pause, so people resorted to using external speakers.
“That didn’t quite work,” says Lapelosa. “The sound was grainy and weird.”
Her solution is to play your music through a pair of headphones that have a mic. She uses Urban Ears.
“Plug them into your phone, and don’t put them on your head,” she says. “Just have them around your neck or to the side. Turn the volume all the way up, and play the song you want in the background.”
The result?
“The sound comes through clearer,” Lapelosa says. “Snapchat will record the sound while you’re recording your video. It’s a cool hack. It makes snaps more fun.”
That’s exactly what she did with the Memory posted above. Judge the results yourself.
Brian Pittman is a Ragan Communications consultant and webinar manager for PR Daily’s PR University. Kate Talbot, author of “Oh Snap!,” Praytell art director Kat Lapelosa, and PricewaterhouseCoopers social media managers Katrina Najm and Larissa von Lockner will share more Snapchat insights in PR University’s March 16 webinar, “Master Snapchat Strategy: Essential steps and new tricks to win big on Snapchat.”
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