image: Amy DeVita
Two trends collide: Mobile + Storytelling
Introducing: Snapchat Discover. Probably one of the best things to ever happen to Snapchat and one of the coolest things to happen to mobile media in quite some time. This new update released during #Snowpocalypse2015, so I had plenty of time to play around with it and learn about it and read the tech blogs’ opinions on it.
You can read all about Snapchat Discover it on the Snapchat blog, but the thing I find most compelling is that Snapchat says Discover is “not social media.” Editorial teams at the respective companies create the content featured in Discover. It isn’t determined by how many likes, shares, views, or clicks something gets.
A new channel for Storytelling
Here’s why this is important to pay attention to: This could potentially reconfigure the way organizations tell their story. While Snapchat says Discover is not social media, they’d be silly to stray away from the interface of social platforms – the ability to follow the activity of particular organizations and people, and share, like, and interact with content. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes an important platform for you to get involved with.
The number of companies using Snapchat increases each day, and with something like Discover, that number will only continue to grow. While you’re not currently able to be a content source for Snapchat Discover, you can use your existing Snapchat account to gain followers and pilot content that may eventually fit onto the Discover platform.
Here are some important things to remember when strategizing Snapchat content:
This is a purely mobile platform. Snapchat doesn’t exist on the Internet. In fact, if you go to Snapchat.com, you’ll find the promotional video for Discover. This is important when you think about the way you design or create. Everything should be readable on a phone screen.
This is a great way to reach young donors. There are a lot of younger users on Snapchat. This gives you the opportunity to make an impact on this audience via a platform they’re already using.
Your content has to be quick and simple. Snapchat lets you share photos or videos for a maximum of 10 seconds. For normal users, those things only are only available for 24 hours. And it’s probable your audience won’t view it more than once…especially if it seemed boring. So you’ve got to make a serious impact…and fast.
It’s still new…which is awesome. The breadth of Snapchat marketing is pretty slim. Not many companies are too sure about it yet. Be an innovator and figure out how it fits into your strategy.
A side note: Snapchat Discover is currently working with 10 media companies – CNN, National Geographic, ESPN, Comedy Central, just to name a few – that release new content every 24 hours that feature videos and articles handpicked by their respective editorial teams. At this time, there is no confirmation of an expansion to other organizations.
Want to see how this works from a user’s perspective? Check out this video:
If you’re interested in more information about Snapchat and Snapchat Discover, might I suggest the following:
