Creating content on Snapchat turns out to be quite simple. The first thing that appears when you open the application, in fact, is just the camera: you just click a button to take a picture or record a video et voila! you're done. The collection of images and videos (snaps) posted has a lifecycle of 24 hours and goes to form what is called a "story."
With the introduction of stories, Snapchat has in fact invented a real language based on immediacy and flow, a way of communicating online that has replaced the concept-typical of other social media-of accumulating content and information within a "profile."
On the one hand, the volatility of content on Snapchat creates an urgency (watching stories before they disappear once 24 hours have passed), and on the other hand, emerging in the great sea of social media and getting people to follow our content from start to finish becomes a real challenge.
Let's take a look, then, at 3 technical tips that will help you improve story creation on Snapchat and increase your viewing time, enticing your audience to follow you from the first to the last snap.
1. Create more short-lived stories
Instead of creating snaps continuously throughout the day (a story that starts when you wake up in the morning and ends when you go to bed at night) focus on creating multiple stories of shorter duration. Split the narrative and create micro stories that have a beginning, an unfolding and a conclusion.
According to Snaplytics research:[http://blog.snaplytics.io/followers-on-snapchat-are-watching-less-than-your-content/]
- stories consisting of up to 10 snaps are followed from start to finish by 85 percent of people, meaning that out of 100 people 85 will follow you from the first to the last snap;
- stories composed of 11 to 20 snaps are followed from start to finish by 80% of people;
- stories composed of 20 to 30 snaps - which last, on average, more than 4 minutes - are followed from start to finish by only 66% of people.
The greater the number of snaps you post, the longer the length of your story and the lower the chance that people will follow you from start to finish.
The first piece of advice is, therefore, to keep your stories under 10 snaps. That's not to say that by creating longer stories you can't keep the attention of your followers: it all depends on how fond and interested your community is in what you're telling, as well as how you tell it.
However, I believe in respecting people's time and, most importantly, I always ask myself, "What role does my snap play within the story I'm telling? Is the content of my snap relevant to my audience?"
If the answer is no, I advise you to eliminate the superfluous.
2. Use first snaps to capture attention
On Snapchat, attention is all played out in the first 2-3 seconds, when people decide whether or not they are interested in the snap in front of them.
In general, the first snaps are crucial to capture the audience's attention, and I personally use two techniques: introduce the topic without revealing too much or do something unexpected and intriguing.
Another interesting tactic is that of Al Jazeera English[https://digiday.com/uk/al-jazeera-learned-posting-snapchat-stories-30-countries/], which consists of creating a storyboard to plan in advance the introduction of the stories: short snaps, alternating images and video, which function as an opener for the development of subsequent content that is left to improvisation and immediacy.
3. Support the narrative with texts
1 in 3 users watch Snapchat stories without the volume on[https://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-says-more-than-two-thirds-of-video-ads-play-with-sound-on-1465466400]. This happens for a variety of reasons, such as simply being in a public place and not having headphones on.
In this sense, texts take on a key role in guiding the audience to understanding your story. Citing again the case of Al Jazeera English, the use of texts led to an increase from 45 percent to 90 percent in the percentage of people following the stories from beginning to end.
One tactic that I personally use-and that I recommend if you want to make the most of the power of texts-is to highlight the key words of the snap trying to make it clear even to those who use Snapchat without the audio what I am telling.
These tips can give you some insights to improve the creation of your stories. To learn more, we are waiting for you on the official account of Mashable Social Media Day @smdayit_didays[http://snapchat.com/add/smdayit_didays] where you can stay updated on the world of Snapchat and, most importantly, you can find out a preview of many exclusive news about the event.
Sara Veltri