6 Tips for Storytelling on Snapchat

Are you new to Snapchat? Want to know what kind of content stands out? Maybe you need a few ideas to take your story telling to the next level? I’m here to help!

Below are 6 tips that I consider when creating my own stories, yes, you read correctly, I actually pre plan all my stories. I believe by planning your stories it allows you to brainstorm different ideas/scenarios that will in turn separate you from many other content creators and artists on the platform. Below is my personal list to good storytelling on snapchat.

Here are my 6 tips:
1. Make it a “Story”
2. Make it Entertaining
3. Make it Interactive
4. Make it Engaging
5. Use the Snapchat Tools
6. Feature your Audience

Now let’s break these down some more:

1.  Make it a “Story”
I’ve found that creating an actual story performs best, gets the most views and stands out on Snapchat. Majority of users are using the platform stories side to simply document their day, to share random bursts of thoughts or take selfies.  To separate yourself, think about creating an actual story, the same way you were taught to do it in grade school – every good story has a Beginning, Middle (where the climax and fun stuff happens) and End. Don’t be afraid to add a Title to the beginning of the story, maybe even add  “The End” to the last frame, but make sure the middle is consistent with an overall theme or idea. SIDENOTE: I am not saying that spontaneous stories aren’t good on Snapchat, because they can be, when there’s a beginning middle and end. Find a balance, find what works best for you and make that happen!

2. Make it Entertaining
People love being entertained! And there are countless ways to keep a person entertained. You can be funny, mysterious, goofy, awkward, daring, adventurous whatever your natural self is, DO THAT. Never try to force anything, or else you’ll burn out your creative juices pretty quickly – just be you, have fun and the entertainment will come.

3. Make it Interactive
Personally, creating content that allows the viewer to interact with me has been the most rewarding. Having a call to action that is not selling anything, but must simply asking for their thoughts or opinions about my story has been one of the biggest factors in my growth on snapchat. I spend 80% of my time on the platform interacting with my audience and 20% of my time creating content. That percentage might not work for everyone, so find what works for you.

4. Make it Engaging
Make the content you create engaging, keep people eager to see the next snap in your sequence. There are several creative ways to do this, you can use the skip a frame button, screenshot button, and chat button to create new content that has not been created on snapchat yet. This type of content will stand out. For example, I love creating stories that are actually like games that allows my audience to engage.  For example, in one of my Walking Dead stories, my audience had to keep tapping the screen (taking advantage of the tap to skip from feature) to stop the zombie/walkers from attacking me and saving my life. I believe getting them to react on top of just watching a story adds a whole new element to viewing content on Snapchat.

5. Use the Snapchat Tools
Don’t be afraid to use the tools in Snapchat, I actually encourage using it because its those tools that make the platform and the content creation unique. Doodle on your images and videos, add emojis, try a fast or slow motion filter, and add text. The key here is to find some balance, you don’t want to add too many of one thing, you want to add just enough elements that compliment your images or videos.

6. Feature your Audience
This is my non-negoiable tip, find ways to include your audience in your stories, have a call to action inviting them to send their thoughts and snaps – screenshot those pictures, send them to another device or computer so you can take a picture of the picture to include them to your story. Your audience enjoys interaction and everyone likes to feel like they have been seen. In a platform that does not allow discovery, this is one of the best ways to get an audience to participate.

There you have it, 6 tips for you to think about when crafting your next story idea on Snapchat. These tips are not meant to be use all at once, I will tell you that I think about each of these tips when creating every single story of mines. Do you have another other tips you think about when creating your story? Comment below, we would love to hear from you.

Final Thought
Storytelling does not have to always be planned and prepped with a storyboard, but  telling complete stories will definitely benefit your audience growth, and your overall growth in Snapchat. Most importantly, BE YOURSELF, HAVE FUN and create the stories you want to see and people will tune in and watch!

Have Fun with your next Story!

Guest Star

This article was written by a guest Snapchat writer.