I’m using Snapchat, but be gentle, I’m learning…

So…. Apparently I’m not the only one. Whew!

It’s not just me that has had a rough start into the world of Snapchat. To be honest, when it first came out all those years ago, I was on the geriatric train, complaining about the ‘dumbing down’ of our culture through mindless ‘selfies’ and vapid filters. I’ve since grown up, or maybe younger?

I love to constantly learn for this reason: You are never always right. I like being wrong, the older I get. It keeps me humble. So in my learning how to code and develop apps myself, I’ve realized how genuinely challenging the work is for the engineers at Snapchat, how proprietary the source code and how valuable the company truly is.

I’m from the facebook ‘generation’. I’m an older millennial. So Facebook and its forebearer MySpace was the layout and system that I was used to. Older people, like myself are so used to browser layouts and the tablet or mobile platform is still a difficult concept for us to swallow. Mobile is necessary, so we get that (enough). We text. But SnapChat is a precursor to augmented reality future that the next generation will grow into in the coming decade.

We’re seeing flying bots that follow us around and take our selfies being introduced in concept. This will be a fact of life in 5 years. So platforms like SnapChat will (and pretty much already are) make(ing) Facebook the current day Yellow Pages. Sadly, this is what Facebook is becoming. Data will be less valuable from Facebook if the next generation doesn’t use it. Right?

So this is what I learned about this burgeoning platform:

Be an ARTIST

SnapChat is for painters what Instagram is for photographers. Great photographers can thrive on IG, but usually don’t because Instagram makes amateurs look like pros with a simply filter, but if used properly as a Graphics Designer, not just a film-click-develop photog, a professional photographer can make a salary on that platform alone. Same is true with SnapChat. A somewhat decent drawer can be seen as a truly unique, creative artist. I know this must be frustrating to the ‘starving artist’, but for the shrewd business types with some creative touch, can get a strong following.

The key: Make your videos fun an interactive and people will constantly come back for more.

Use the…Filters, Luke

The Filters must be strong with you. Use many and use them often. There are filters that are so impressive (to me) that if you can find out how to integrate them well like Shonduras or CyreneQ. Of course there are the typical celebrities on SnapChat, but the ‘regular people’ are what push the platform forward at this point. It is cool that you can see the more personal aspects of your favorite celebs lives, but often times even what they show you is ‘propped up’.

Snapchat filters almost do the opposite of what I had originally thought. I thought that they created a more superficial reality for it’s users. In actuality, I found that it gives a peak into the silliness of the user. It allows the followers to get up close and personal with whomever they’re following. If you’re using your snapchat regularly and aren’t being offensive and are being creative, it seems like it should be hard to lose followers.

Build a Story Playlist

This is probably the most important technique for marketers on ANY social media platform. With the advent of stories last year, Digital Marketers have struggled to understand its purpose. Of course we’ve caught up, but soon everyone will realize that programming your story playlist will be akin to creating a TV Guide schedule for your own personal social media channel. Get the content compiled, make it make sense, and roll it out so that your followers want to be where you are.

Wow! I bet you feel different about Snapchat now, eh?

Okay, so maybe you were on the boat ahead of me, but odds are if you’re reading this, we’re in the same boat. Snapchat is $18 a share right now. It is the future and they just released AR glasses at $130. They have a strong long term plan, that I can see being a staple for a long time in internet 2 and the IoT.

Are you going to jump into the waters or stay on the edge of the pool? It is intimidating, the UI of snapchat is definitely youth friendly and very different from that of the social media we’ve known in the past. I think SC is a harbinger for how connectivity will be in the future and I can’t wait.