SNAPCHAT

Why I hated Snapchat & Why I like it now! Its a social game changer!

I keep racking my brain. Why is Snapchat so big? Why are there more than 100 million people using Snapchat on a daily basis to show people details mixed with emojis and scribbled fonts over video and photos of their day? In this era, we idolize our phones. Most of our life revolves around pulling our phones out and snapping a picture of our morning meal or our adorable furry pets just to post it on social media for all of our friends and family to see in hopes to get 25 likes or hearts with the hopes of one day having more than 100 likes. So why would anyone waste time on a social media app that shows your pictures for 10 seconds and erases them forever and never get a heart for it? Why do people love Snapchat? What’s the big deal

I first got on Instagram in its early days. The first picture I ever posted to Instagram was of me at Pebble Beach. It was a beautiful day and a perfect moment for a picture. I decided I wanted to upload this picture to this new creatively simple app where pictures, rather than words, told a story. I was instantly fascinated. I absolutely loved the idea of telling a story with pictures. “This is what I did today. See? Here’s my picture to tell you about it.” That is exactly the kind of social media I like to be apart of. Sharing images is loads more intriguing than posting a short narrative of your day on Facebook. Personally, it makes more sense. As a user,
it feels more engaging to use Instagram to post a picture than to write a post on Facebook. It brings life to the story I’m telling. I’m a firm believer in this simply because I use images to tell a story all the time. It’s my job.

I first heard about Snapchat back in 2012. I was sitting with a few buddies around a poker table. My initial reaction—this app makes me feel old. I consider myself a well-rounded, knowledgeable social media guru. I can adapt easily to new social media sites and I enjoy using it to its full potential, but Snapchat hit me in my achilles heel because I had no idea what this app was about. To me, it felt like a waste of time. At one point, I felt like the app was meant for college age people who had nothing better to do than send nude pictures of themselves and not be punished for it because guess what, the picture disappears in two seconds. It was silly. I kept thinking, “There is no way that this app will live past this year. I know I have absolutely no use for this.” I deleted the app from my phone and life went on.

The buzz continued with Snapchat and earlier this year (or 2015), I finally decided to download it back to my phone. I found many new things that surprised me. The app had evolved. Snapchat not only allows you to post videos and photos for your followers to see, you can draw, write colored texts over the video and talk live with friends (similar to FaceTime or Skype). But, it was the “My Story” feature
that caught my attention and opened my eyes on how powerful this social media app can become. I, then, understood why there are 100 million people on Snapchat. This app was finally being used to its full potential. I was now able to tell a story through a different outlet. After using this app for a while now, I found I loved this feature because I can show the simple things in my life without cluttering my Facebook or Instagram. All the little videos you’ve always wanted to post on Instagram but didn’t because you felt Instagram was your artistic portfolio can now make their way over to Snapchat. All the personal photos you send to your friends while texting take up valuable space, so Snapchat makes a great alternative to save that space. Now on Snapchat you can also save your photos and videos and keep them. A good friend of mine had a great idea, every time I snap a video and add it to my story, I’d save it, collect the footage then make it into a YouTube video. Since the idea was pitched to me, I’ve made it my personal goal to do just that. So far, I’ve been able to share what my life is like and talk about my
business.

As you can tell, I have a certain view of what social media should be used for. I love social media because it has been a successful outlet for my business. People know me for crafting my art behind the camera. That’s where people envision where most of my work takes place. In a way, that is true, but there is so much more to my business then just fiddling with a camera. Social media allows me to market my business to potential clients. I use this way of connecting with people and to get in touch with businesses looking for a service that my company offers. In the modern sense, I am mailing a flyer of my business services directly to the customer’s hands. It’s easy, it’s efficient, and it’s smart. Snapchat has plenty potential, but do I feel like it is a big innovative business changer? Only if you’re socially engaged — which is what every business should do.

I want to stress the importance of using social media to improve your business and to build your brand. As I mentioned earlier, we live in a world where we are glued to our phones. Some of us use it for business reasons and others just use it to watch YouTube videos, check Facebook, play Candy Crush and make a few phone calls. Either way, these uses involve advertisements and social media. By considering social media as a vital tool for your business, you are reaching an
audience that you otherwise never would have otherwise. Large businesses are using these tools to creatively market their product or themselves. For example, Apple music, who you can follow @applemusic, just launched its Snapchat channel. I instantly added them as a friend. Through their story, they were able to show me tours of their LA, London, and New York based music studios. This instantly inspired me to want to listen to Apple music on iTunes. What a great marketing hook. Snapchat allows you the ability to do just that. Or you can simply use Snapchat to send goofy pictures, declutter your Facebook or tell a story from your day.

I may have hated Snapchat once, but I’m excited to have discovered the full uses of this social media tool, and if you would like to check out the entire year of “My Story” Snapchat videos compiled into a single YouTube video click here and make sure to subscribe for more.