Given Snapchat's reputation as the new kid on the social media block, it's no surprise that Snap Inc. continues to add features to the platform, even as its competitors develop and release copycat interfaces (Instagram Stories, anyone?). It's not only important to stay on top of these updates as they roll out, but to understand how to use them strategically to keep engagement high and audiences growing.
Some communicators at B2B and B2C companies have already begun to employ some of Snapchat's latest features, among them PwC and The Shorty Awards. At PR News' Snapchat Boot Camp Dec. 7 at the National Press Club, Larissa von Lockner, PR and social media manager at PwC, and Megan Frantz, senior producer at The Shorty Awards, shared the most recent updates PR professionals should know about—and how best to use them.
Playlists. You can choose which stories to view in this new addition to Snapchat Stories, which plays through followers' most recent snaps. This, according to von Lockner, is a great way to interact and engage with followers. To interact with followers' stories, swipe up on the image or video you're commenting on, type in your text and hit "send." Von Lockner noted that one of the biggest mistakes brands make is forgetting to engage with followers. PwC follows all of its followers, opening up a two-way channel of communication.
Memories. Von Lockner referred to Memories as a game-changer for brand communicators on Snapchat. The feature allows users to choose previous Snapchat stories and content from a smartphone's camera roll to post to their Story. The only caveat, notes von Lockner, is that Memories content is formatted differently, making it stand out from the platform's live and raw content. Von Lockner advises brands not to use Memories exclusively as a content source as a result. One great use case von Lockner shared: supplementing a Story with infographics and statistics to as part of a recent "holiday outlook" campaign for PwC.
Follow Larissa: @LarissVon
Follow Megan: @megsfrantz
Follow Sophie: @SophieMaerowitz