Snapchat tips, tricks and best practices.

1. Snapchat
Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

2. • Introduction
• Who’s It For
• How It Works
• Snaps
• Best Practices
• Ideas
2
Contents

3. You’ve heard of Snapchat by now, but maybe you aren’t sure how it works or can’t quite see the
point. For artists looking to target younger fan bases, Snapchat can be a fun place to connect with
fans and stand out.
The most significant difference from other socials is that Snapchat Stories are available for just 24
hours after posting. However, this trademark posting style helps them retain the silly, spontaneous,
and exclusive feel that users love.
3
Introduction

4. …Young
• 45% are between 18-24 *
• 71% being under the age of 34 **
• 41% of all 18 to 34-year-olds in the U.S. **
…and dedicated
• 178 million daily active users **
• Those under 25 average 40 minutes on Snapchat every day **
• 1 million snaps are uploaded every day **
4
Who’s It For
Regular Snapchat users are…
* The Next Web, http://tnw.to/d4kAY
** Omnicore, https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/

5. Snapchat works off of taps and swipes and very little text. This can make giving written instruction
tricky, so we’ve put together a key to help you understand how to use or find a feature.
5
How It Works
Tap this spot or icon
Swipe in
this direction

6. 6
How It Works
Getting Started Checklist:
ü Tap the ghost to customize
ü Create a username
ü Add an image to your
snapcode
ü Customize settings

7. 7
How It Works
Getting Started Checklist:
ü Set “View My Story” to
“Everyone”
ü Set “Send Me Snaps” to
Everyone” (all fans) if
preferred
ü Turn on filters and make
sure location services
are enabled

8. 8
How It Works
Snapchat works a lot like Instagram. Open the app
and take a photo or short video. Then, either send it
directly to specific people or add it to your general
feed (or, in Snapchat lingo – your Story).

9. The basics of Snapchat are simple: take a photo or video and share it.
…you didn’t think you’d get off that easy, did you?
Like any social platform, Snapchat has its own best practices.
The following slides will help you create quality Snapchat content.
9
Snaps
“Okay…how do I do this well?”

10. 10
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Snapchat is the least serious of the social platforms and their fun photo
features help to enhance the lighthearted, silly quality to the best content.
After taking your photo or video, try some of the following edits.
image courtesy of @listentoedison

11. 11
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Use the text icon in the upper right to add
text to your photo.

12. 12
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Try adding some emojis to your photo
instead of just including in a text caption.

13. 13
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Visual artist? Use the drawing tool to go all
MS Paint on your snap.

14. 14
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Swiping to the side shuffles through an assortment of filters
like photo effects and location and event tags.
To stack filters, hold your finger down on your first choice
while continuing to swipe through.

15. 15
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Tap and hold down on your screen to add lenses to
yourself or the world around you.
Lenses are interactive overlays, so making certain
expressions or gestures can change the appearance of
the lens.

16. 16
Snaps
Enhancing Photos
Driving fans to a link of your choice by clicking the paperclip icon.
Fans can visit the link by swiping up.

17. 17
Snaps
Memories
Swipe up on the main screen to view Memories,
which stores older content from Snapchat or your
Camera Roll.
Memories can be edited with filters, text, and other
effects much like realtime snaps.

18. 18
Snaps
Shazam
To share music with your followers, try tapping and
holding down on your screen while snapping to
Shazam a track in-app.

19. 19
Snaps
Geo Stories
To allow only people at a certain
location to view your snap, tap the “+”
icon to the upper-right of your feed
and select “Geo Story.”
This can be used to reward show-
goers or record store shoppers with
exclusive content.
Just one caveat: the story must be
posted from this location. No remote
stories, sorry!

20. 20
Best Practices
You’ve gotten the hang of the basics.
Now it’s time to make sure you’re getting all you can
out of Snapchat.
image courtesy of @listentoedison

21. 21
Best Practices
Frequency
Stories are a lot like a DVR – everything you post will
be available for 24 hours so fans can (binge?) watch at
their leisure.
Share snaps whenever you have a moment that
deserves capturing.
image courtesy of @theglitchmob

22. 22
Best Practices
Types of Content
Snaps last for a max of 10 seconds and once they’re viewed, they’re gone.
What do people want to see on Snapchat?
ü Candid
content
ü Humor
images courtesy of @dietcig

23. 23
Best Practices
Candid Content
Snapchat feels much more intimate than other socials:
• Short format
• Self-destructing posts
• Lack of pre-shot
edited perfection
image courtesy of @listentoedison image courtesy of @theglitchmob

24. 24
Best Practices
Humor
Snapchat is a place where humor and creativity trump
even the most carefully crafted photos and videos.
image courtesy of @bobsterclaw

25. 25
Best Practices
Snapchat isn’t the place for…
X Formal promotional materials
Instead, show a snap of an
actual vinyl or a store a fan
can visit
X Previously shot, edited
photos or videos
Although Snapchat Memories
allows these, post behind-the-scenes
snaps instead where possible

26. 26
Ideas
Need some ideas to get started?
Posting regularly but looking
to get more creative?
Here are some examples
of ways to use Snapchat.
image courtesy of @theglitchmobimage courtesy of @dev0ng

27. 27
Ideas
Request Fan Snaps
Fans can see if you’ve opened their snap.
Try asking for snaps of them listening to your album, singing along to their
favorite track, or doodling on your album art.
A quick view on your part will make a fan’s day!

28. 28
Ideas
Share Fan Snaps
Snapchat can be a place for interaction.
Invite fans to send snaps directly to your account and share favorites on other socials.
images courtesy of @theglitchmob

29. 29
Ideas
Share Your Snaps
…or just share your own! Video and photo
snaps can be saved by tapping the
download button.
Share your best snaps on your other
socials for further reach.
image courtesy of @futuregenband

30. 30
Ideas
Promoting a Release
We now know that Snapchat isn’t the place for formal
promotional photos and sales pitches.
Try getting a snap of a CD or LP actually in store.

31. 31
Ideas
Tease a Track
Share photo or video of the
recording process, a track
in Pro-Tools, or a test
pressing spinning. Even
better, send it directly to
super fans for an exclusive
experience.
image courtesy of @dev0ng images courtesy of @stsisgold

32. 32
Ideas
Q&A
A favorite of the YouTube community! Invite fans to ask questions via Snapchat.
Answer directly to select fans or add answers to your Story so fans can view them.

33. 33
Analytics
Measuring Success
At the moment, Snapchat has very little insights into
analytics. You can, however, see how many times your
story was viewed or screenshot-ed by tapping on your
story and swiping up.

34. 34
Analytics
Measuring Success
Since Snapchat has very limited metrics and
calls to action available, try driving fans to a
tracked shortlink that tracks location, device
type, and more.

35. Thank You