SnapchatChris Snider | Drake University | @chrissnider
#drakesnapchat
What we will discuss
• Why I love Snapchat
• How to use Snapchat
• Why college students use Snapchat
• People to follow on Snapchat
• How Drake SJMC is using Snapchat
• How different media orgs 

are using Snapchat
About CHris Snider
• Assistant professor in the Drake
University School of Journalism
and Mass Communication
• Teach classes in social media,
web design and multimedia
• Formerly digital editor of the
Des Moines Register and editor
of Juice Magazine
• chrissnider24 on Snapchat
What about you?
• How many of you use social media for work?
• How many of you have a Snapchat account?
• How many of you actively use Snapchat?
• How many have never used Snapchat?
• What are your opinions of Snapchat?
So why am i standing here
in front of you talking
about snapchat?
So why am i standing here
in front of you talking
about snapchat?
1. I started using it…
And i liked it.
I really liked it.
Here’s why…
• Messages are gone quickly,
so you have to pay attention
• It’s creative
• It’s a fun storytelling tool
• There’s no shortage of
content (brands are there 

and Discover feature is
intriguing)
• It hits the right audience…
Snap by Shonduras
–Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) … Feb. 27,
2015 socialmediaexainer.com podcast
“Where are people paying
attention? …
If you want to reach a 15- to
25-year-old in America, and
you don’t realize that
Snapchat has a
disproportionate amount of
the attention of that
consumer, then you’re just
not paying attention.”
– Shaun McBride (@Shonduras) … Feb. 27, 2015 socialmediaexainer.com podcast
“(People) think it’s disappearing content, 

so it’s not valuable. But what people don’t
understand is that you have their attention 

100 percent for those 10 seconds or however
long. They are completely absorbing 

your content for that time.
If you’re looking on many other platforms, they
are scrolling past quickly. And even though it
will be there forever, they’ll never see it again.”
2. It passes the Groundswell
Technology Test (MOSTLY)…
Groundswell Technology Test
1. Does it enable people to connect with each other in
new ways? YES
2. Is it effortless to sign up for? YES
3. Does it shift power from institutions to people? YES
4. Does the community generate enough content to
sustain itself? YES
5. Is it an open platform that invites partnerships? NO!
ABOUT SNAPCHAT
• Launched in Sept. 2011 (originally called Picaboo)
• Developed by Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and
Reggie Brown
• Estimated 100 million active users as of Aug. 2014
• 70 percent of college students report posting once/day*
• Spiegel said in 2013 that 70% of users were women**
• Fastest growing social app of 2014
• Valued at $15 billion in March 2015
* http://mashable.com/2014/08/08/study-snapchat-college/ 

** http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/20/snapchat-ceo-says-70-of-users-are-women/
HOW IT WORKS
Source: BusinessInsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-snapchat-2015-2
UPDATE!!!!
QUESTIONS ON HOW
SNAPCHAT WORKS?
HOW SNAPCHAT PRIVACY WORKS
https://medium.com/backchannel/snapchat-s-non-vanishing-message-you-can-trust-us-6606e6774b8b
WHY
SNAPCHAT
APPEALS TO
YOUNG USERS
With Grace Wenzel 

and Kelsey Rooney
Survey of drake students
3 No’s were female; 5 male
Why you won’t like snapchat
• No special tools for storytelling (have to create 

in real time, and you have to create in the app)
• (Some people create 

elsewhere and take a photo)
• Little/no analytics (not 

even followers!)
• It confuses new users
• Lazy efforts don’t work - 

you have to be creative
Third-party apps
helped with some
of the problems.
But not anymore…
What analytics you DO see
• Your followers as they come in (have to keep track)
• How many people view each part or your story (so you
know who started and who finished)
• Snapchat usernames of those people
• How many people take screenshots or each Snap
• Snapchat usernames of those people
• Anyone who responds to you
WHO to follow 

on SNAPCHAT
MLB
Atlanta Braves – braves
Arizona Diamondbacks – Dbacks
Baltimore Orioles – Orioles
Chicago White Sox – WhiteSox
Cincinnati Reds – SnapReds
Cleveland Indians – Indians
Colorado Rockies – Rockies
Detroit Tigers – Tigers
Kansas City Royals – Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers – DodgersMLB
Miami Marlins – MarlinsMLB
Milwaukee Brewers – brewers
Minnesota Twins – Twins
New York Mets – MrMet
Oakland Athletics – Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies – Phillies
San Francisco Giants – SFGiantsMLB
Seattle Mariners – Mariners
Tampa Bay Rays – Rays
Texas Rangers – RangersMLB
taco bell
shonduras
FALLONTONIGHT
geeohsnap
NOWTHISNEWS
Drake SJMC’s
Experiment
with snapchat
This is a story about a guy who
runs his mouth too much…
That guy is me…
I’ve been saying that Drake
University needs to be on Snapchat.
So I finally decided to put MY* 

money where my mouth was.
*It’s really their money
Results from 

24 hours:
Started viewing: 45
Finished viewing: 44
Responses: 1
OUR APPROACH
• Have fun
• Entirely meant to entertain students (at least for now)
• Not promoting or selling anything
• Post about twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays)
• Let 24+ hours expire before posting again
• Focusing on growing our followers
Snapchat storytelling template
Storytelling tools: photos, videos, drawing, text and emojis
Native content on Snapchat: selfies, artistic masterpieces, ugly faces, pets, what I’m doing now
We even
created a
template to
help make
sure we were
using all of
the Snapchat
storytelling
tools.
• Second story: 55 started, 54 finished
• Third story: 65 started, 60 finished
• Fourth story: 65 started, 63 finished
• Fifth story: 68 started, 66 finished
We needed to create something
to generate more buzz
PROFESSOR UGLY SELFIE CONTEST
Results from 

24 hours:
Started viewing: 83
Finished viewing: 81
Votes: 13
So of course 

we did it again…
Results from 

24 hours:
Started viewing: 103
Finished viewing: 100
Votes: 21
Some FB posts 

don’t even reach 

100 people
WHAT WE’ve LEARNED
• Tell stories
• Use all the tools (text, video, emojis,
drawing)
• Keep Snaps short (1-2 seconds can be OK)
• You’ll get a lot of views while you’re still
creating. Just roll with it, and don’t rush.
• It’s OK to take Snaps of your screen. >
• Include other people in your stories as a
way to spread the word.
How NPR uses Snapchat
• On Snapchat as nprnews
• In a “very exploratory”
phase.
• They find an interesting
article, then ask the
reporter to share a fact
in a 10-second video.
• They post that video to
their Snapchat Story.
Source: Tajha Chappellet-Lanier
NPR’s Global Health
and Development
correspondent 

Jason Beaubien talking
about the measles
immunization rate 

in Tanzania
NPR: REsults
• As of March 23, 2015
• Around 10,000 followers and 5,000 views per snap
(they have 466k followers on Twitter)
• Get a few screenshots, but more if reporter is
attractive
• Starting to receive incoming Snaps, and are trying 

to encourage more
NRP: Lessons
• To get interaction, give more interaction
• Experimenting with being more interactive
• Keep is simple if you have a small team
How THE NEW YORK TIMES USES
• On Snapchat as thenytimes
• “Unofficially” using since March 14,
2015 - only promoted through
individual reporters’ social media
• Using it the way they feel “stories”
feature was meant to be used.
Telling journalists to tell a story
about what they are doing.
• Raw stories from a first-person
perspective
Source: Talya Minsberg, social strategy editor
First Snapchat Story:
https://www.facebook.com/
video.php?
v=10153169040999747&set
=vb.
516764746&type=2&theater
NY Times results
• No official launch, so no real numbers to share
• Followers are into tech, so tech reporter covering
Facebook’s F8 conference got positive feedback
• Most interesting stories have been around events
• Not requiring any reporters to use it; all voluntary
NY Times lessons
• Stories should have a beginning, middle and end - so
they encourage people to have an intro and a sign-off
• The app itself is a disadvantage because it’s difficult to
learn and tools are somewhat limited
• Encouraging reporters to experiment with their own
Snapchat accounts to be ready for what’s next
• Interested to see how app evolves - will they get better
tools for telling stories, better analytics?
How DAILY IOWAN USES
• On Snapchat as 

thedailyiowan
• “We felt as a news 

organization that it 

would be another 

different way to reach 

out to the community.”
• Started off showing behind-the-scenes info from the office.
• Have since given login info to reporters covering events.
Source: Jordyn Reiland, editor
DAILY IOWAN results
• A little over 100 followers as of late March 2015 and 

a story gets roughly 75 views in the 24-hour period.
• Saw a large number of followers in a short amount of
time at launch, but it has since slowed. 
DAILY IOWAN lessons
• What they learned: Don’t be afraid to try new things.
• They were hesitant at first, but glad they jumped in
and tried a new way of storytelling.
How MEDIANOWSTL USES
• Summer camp for high school
journalists in St. Louis
• On Snapchat as medianowstl
• Using Snapchat to share info
and build excitement for camp;
see it as a great tool to use
during camp
• Did a fun series introducing all
of the camp instructors
Source: Aaron Manfull, workshop director
MEDIANOWSTL results
• About 65 followers (725 on Twitter)
• Get 40-something views per story
• Camp is built around preparing students for the ever
changing digital media landscape, so they are always
trying new things and testing them out
• FHNToday getting 130 views/story
MEDIANOWSTL lessons
• Not a place to hard-sell your customers
• Not a place for long stories
• Tell a story; not a bunch of random snaps
• It’s hard watching content they work hard on disappear
mashable on snapchat
Published Jan. 23, 2015
http://mashable.com/2015/01/23/snapchat-what-we-learned/
What they learned
• Snapchat is a powerful tool for delivering visual stories
• It drains batteries (15 full iPhone 5S charges for one
day-long story)
• Editing tools are limited, so they tried third-party apps.
Snapchat has since shut out those apps.
What they learned
• Embrace the strange intimacy of Snapchat videos
• Never underestimate the power of a one- or two-
second snap
• Employ emoji whenever possible
• If you put enough time and resources into it, you will
get great mobile stories for your followers
Dasha
Battelle ran
the Snapchat
account for
Mashable 

…
Until she
was hired
away by
Snapchat
last week.
tips and tricks
Be interactive
USE AN IPAD
KEEP YOUR STORY SHORT
SHould you screenshot?
QUESTIONS?
Follow Chris:
@chrissnider
chrissniderdesign.com
tinyletter.com/chrissnider

Snapchat for Business 2015

  • 1.
    SnapchatChris Snider |Drake University | @chrissnider #drakesnapchat
  • 2.
    What we willdiscuss • Why I love Snapchat • How to use Snapchat • Why college students use Snapchat • People to follow on Snapchat • How Drake SJMC is using Snapchat • How different media orgs 
 are using Snapchat
  • 3.
    About CHris Snider •Assistant professor in the Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication • Teach classes in social media, web design and multimedia • Formerly digital editor of the Des Moines Register and editor of Juice Magazine • chrissnider24 on Snapchat
  • 4.
    What about you? •How many of you use social media for work? • How many of you have a Snapchat account? • How many of you actively use Snapchat? • How many have never used Snapchat? • What are your opinions of Snapchat?
  • 5.
    So why ami standing here in front of you talking about snapchat? So why am i standing here in front of you talking about snapchat?
  • 6.
    1. I startedusing it…
  • 7.
    And i likedit. I really liked it. Here’s why…
  • 8.
    • Messages aregone quickly, so you have to pay attention • It’s creative • It’s a fun storytelling tool • There’s no shortage of content (brands are there 
 and Discover feature is intriguing) • It hits the right audience… Snap by Shonduras
  • 9.
    –Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)… Feb. 27, 2015 socialmediaexainer.com podcast “Where are people paying attention? … If you want to reach a 15- to 25-year-old in America, and you don’t realize that Snapchat has a disproportionate amount of the attention of that consumer, then you’re just not paying attention.”
  • 12.
    – Shaun McBride(@Shonduras) … Feb. 27, 2015 socialmediaexainer.com podcast “(People) think it’s disappearing content, 
 so it’s not valuable. But what people don’t understand is that you have their attention 
 100 percent for those 10 seconds or however long. They are completely absorbing 
 your content for that time. If you’re looking on many other platforms, they are scrolling past quickly. And even though it will be there forever, they’ll never see it again.”
  • 13.
    2. It passesthe Groundswell Technology Test (MOSTLY)…
  • 14.
    Groundswell Technology Test 1.Does it enable people to connect with each other in new ways? YES 2. Is it effortless to sign up for? YES 3. Does it shift power from institutions to people? YES 4. Does the community generate enough content to sustain itself? YES 5. Is it an open platform that invites partnerships? NO!
  • 15.
    ABOUT SNAPCHAT • Launchedin Sept. 2011 (originally called Picaboo) • Developed by Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown • Estimated 100 million active users as of Aug. 2014 • 70 percent of college students report posting once/day* • Spiegel said in 2013 that 70% of users were women** • Fastest growing social app of 2014 • Valued at $15 billion in March 2015 * http://mashable.com/2014/08/08/study-snapchat-college/ 
 ** http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/20/snapchat-ceo-says-70-of-users-are-women/
  • 17.
    HOW IT WORKS Source:BusinessInsider.com http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-snapchat-2015-2
  • 21.
  • 42.
  • 43.
    HOW SNAPCHAT PRIVACYWORKS https://medium.com/backchannel/snapchat-s-non-vanishing-message-you-can-trust-us-6606e6774b8b
  • 45.
    WHY SNAPCHAT APPEALS TO YOUNG USERS WithGrace Wenzel 
 and Kelsey Rooney
  • 47.
    Survey of drakestudents 3 No’s were female; 5 male
  • 53.
    Why you won’tlike snapchat • No special tools for storytelling (have to create 
 in real time, and you have to create in the app) • (Some people create 
 elsewhere and take a photo) • Little/no analytics (not 
 even followers!) • It confuses new users • Lazy efforts don’t work - 
 you have to be creative
  • 54.
    Third-party apps helped withsome of the problems. But not anymore…
  • 55.
    What analytics youDO see • Your followers as they come in (have to keep track) • How many people view each part or your story (so you know who started and who finished) • Snapchat usernames of those people • How many people take screenshots or each Snap • Snapchat usernames of those people • Anyone who responds to you
  • 58.
    WHO to follow
 on SNAPCHAT
  • 59.
    MLB Atlanta Braves –braves Arizona Diamondbacks – Dbacks Baltimore Orioles – Orioles Chicago White Sox – WhiteSox Cincinnati Reds – SnapReds Cleveland Indians – Indians Colorado Rockies – Rockies Detroit Tigers – Tigers Kansas City Royals – Royals Los Angeles Dodgers – DodgersMLB Miami Marlins – MarlinsMLB Milwaukee Brewers – brewers Minnesota Twins – Twins New York Mets – MrMet Oakland Athletics – Athletics Philadelphia Phillies – Phillies San Francisco Giants – SFGiantsMLB Seattle Mariners – Mariners Tampa Bay Rays – Rays Texas Rangers – RangersMLB
  • 60.
  • 61.
  • 62.
  • 63.
  • 64.
  • 66.
  • 67.
    This is astory about a guy who runs his mouth too much…
  • 68.
    That guy isme… I’ve been saying that Drake University needs to be on Snapchat. So I finally decided to put MY* 
 money where my mouth was. *It’s really their money
  • 70.
    Results from 
 24hours: Started viewing: 45 Finished viewing: 44 Responses: 1
  • 71.
    OUR APPROACH • Havefun • Entirely meant to entertain students (at least for now) • Not promoting or selling anything • Post about twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays) • Let 24+ hours expire before posting again • Focusing on growing our followers
  • 72.
    Snapchat storytelling template Storytellingtools: photos, videos, drawing, text and emojis Native content on Snapchat: selfies, artistic masterpieces, ugly faces, pets, what I’m doing now We even created a template to help make sure we were using all of the Snapchat storytelling tools.
  • 73.
    • Second story:55 started, 54 finished • Third story: 65 started, 60 finished • Fourth story: 65 started, 63 finished • Fifth story: 68 started, 66 finished
  • 75.
    We needed tocreate something to generate more buzz PROFESSOR UGLY SELFIE CONTEST
  • 76.
    Results from 
 24hours: Started viewing: 83 Finished viewing: 81 Votes: 13
  • 77.
    So of course
 we did it again…
  • 78.
    Results from 
 24hours: Started viewing: 103 Finished viewing: 100 Votes: 21 Some FB posts 
 don’t even reach 
 100 people
  • 79.
    WHAT WE’ve LEARNED •Tell stories • Use all the tools (text, video, emojis, drawing) • Keep Snaps short (1-2 seconds can be OK) • You’ll get a lot of views while you’re still creating. Just roll with it, and don’t rush. • It’s OK to take Snaps of your screen. > • Include other people in your stories as a way to spread the word.
  • 81.
    How NPR usesSnapchat • On Snapchat as nprnews • In a “very exploratory” phase. • They find an interesting article, then ask the reporter to share a fact in a 10-second video. • They post that video to their Snapchat Story. Source: Tajha Chappellet-Lanier
  • 82.
    NPR’s Global Health andDevelopment correspondent 
 Jason Beaubien talking about the measles immunization rate 
 in Tanzania
  • 83.
    NPR: REsults • Asof March 23, 2015 • Around 10,000 followers and 5,000 views per snap (they have 466k followers on Twitter) • Get a few screenshots, but more if reporter is attractive • Starting to receive incoming Snaps, and are trying 
 to encourage more
  • 84.
    NRP: Lessons • Toget interaction, give more interaction • Experimenting with being more interactive • Keep is simple if you have a small team
  • 85.
    How THE NEWYORK TIMES USES • On Snapchat as thenytimes • “Unofficially” using since March 14, 2015 - only promoted through individual reporters’ social media • Using it the way they feel “stories” feature was meant to be used. Telling journalists to tell a story about what they are doing. • Raw stories from a first-person perspective Source: Talya Minsberg, social strategy editor
  • 86.
  • 87.
    NY Times results •No official launch, so no real numbers to share • Followers are into tech, so tech reporter covering Facebook’s F8 conference got positive feedback • Most interesting stories have been around events • Not requiring any reporters to use it; all voluntary
  • 88.
    NY Times lessons •Stories should have a beginning, middle and end - so they encourage people to have an intro and a sign-off • The app itself is a disadvantage because it’s difficult to learn and tools are somewhat limited • Encouraging reporters to experiment with their own Snapchat accounts to be ready for what’s next • Interested to see how app evolves - will they get better tools for telling stories, better analytics?
  • 89.
    How DAILY IOWANUSES • On Snapchat as 
 thedailyiowan • “We felt as a news 
 organization that it 
 would be another 
 different way to reach 
 out to the community.” • Started off showing behind-the-scenes info from the office. • Have since given login info to reporters covering events. Source: Jordyn Reiland, editor
  • 90.
    DAILY IOWAN results •A little over 100 followers as of late March 2015 and 
 a story gets roughly 75 views in the 24-hour period. • Saw a large number of followers in a short amount of time at launch, but it has since slowed. 
  • 91.
    DAILY IOWAN lessons •What they learned: Don’t be afraid to try new things. • They were hesitant at first, but glad they jumped in and tried a new way of storytelling.
  • 92.
    How MEDIANOWSTL USES •Summer camp for high school journalists in St. Louis • On Snapchat as medianowstl • Using Snapchat to share info and build excitement for camp; see it as a great tool to use during camp • Did a fun series introducing all of the camp instructors Source: Aaron Manfull, workshop director
  • 95.
    MEDIANOWSTL results • About65 followers (725 on Twitter) • Get 40-something views per story • Camp is built around preparing students for the ever changing digital media landscape, so they are always trying new things and testing them out • FHNToday getting 130 views/story
  • 96.
    MEDIANOWSTL lessons • Nota place to hard-sell your customers • Not a place for long stories • Tell a story; not a bunch of random snaps • It’s hard watching content they work hard on disappear
  • 97.
  • 98.
    Published Jan. 23,2015 http://mashable.com/2015/01/23/snapchat-what-we-learned/
  • 101.
    What they learned •Snapchat is a powerful tool for delivering visual stories • It drains batteries (15 full iPhone 5S charges for one day-long story) • Editing tools are limited, so they tried third-party apps. Snapchat has since shut out those apps.
  • 102.
    What they learned •Embrace the strange intimacy of Snapchat videos • Never underestimate the power of a one- or two- second snap • Employ emoji whenever possible • If you put enough time and resources into it, you will get great mobile stories for your followers
  • 103.
    Dasha Battelle ran the Snapchat accountfor Mashable 
 … Until she was hired away by Snapchat last week.
  • 105.
  • 106.
  • 107.
  • 108.
  • 109.
  • 110.