• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • 10 Snapchat Hacks to Make Your Snaps Stand Out

    by Andrew Pickering / July 14, 2016

    social media how toDo you want to take your Snapchat marketing up a notch?

    Have you explored all of Snapchat's features?

    Learning to use all of the features Snapchat offers is a big part of telling stories people will want to follow.

    In this article, you'll discover 10 hacks for creating more appealing Snapchat stories.

    snapchat hacks for standout snaps
    Discover ten hacks for Snapchat to make your snaps stand out.

    Listen to this article:

    Where to subscribe: Apple Podcast | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

    #1: Use Complementary Color Schemes

    You may be familiar with the color gradient that Snapchat gives you to doodle on your photos, but did you know you can get all of the different shades of color too, including black and white?

    When you select a color, drag your finger over to the top left of the screen for lighter shades that will eventually turn to white. Or drag down towards the bottom for darker shades and the bottom left for black.

    snapchat change color
    Use different shades of color.

    #2: Customize Text Size and Color

    You can also change the color and size of your text, down to the letter.

    Here's how you do it: after you write something, click the T symbol to make the text bigger. Next, tap on your text. Then play with the color picker to change the color. Finally, press and hold over the text to bring up the highlighting tool, and select individual letters for which you want to change the color.

    snapchat text color and size
    Text size and color are fully customizable.

    Tap done to finish. You can now pinch smaller, expand bigger, and rotate the bit of text to make even funkier snaps.

    #3: Combine Snap Filters

    Snapchat features a good range of filters and geofilters, so many that sometimes one just isn't good enough.

    Here's how to choose more than one filter. After you take your photo, swipe right or left to choose your first filter. Next, hold one finger steady on the screen, and swipe with a different finger to select another filter.

    snapchat multiple filters
    Match a nice sunny filter with the temperate filter, or maybe a black and white with a cool geofilter you've found.

    At the moment, you can do this for up to three filters per photo/video.

    #4: Use Close-ups in Video

    This hack is easy, yet many people don't make the most of it.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    When recording video on Snapchat, focus on your subject and play with the zoom function. Doing this can help you retain your viewers' interest for the entire 10 seconds.

    snapchat zoom while recording
    Adjusting the zoom can help hold interest.

    While recording with either the front-facing or rear-facing camera, simply slide your thumb up and down the screen to zoom in and out.

    #5: Add a Soundtrack to Snaps

    It's easier than ever to incorporate music into your snaps. If you have a favorite song that sums up the moment you're snapping, simply load the song onto your music player on your phone (iTunes, Spotify, etc.), and when you start snapping, the song will continue playing in the background.

    Note: Pay attention to music rights, especially if you're a big brand. You could find yourself in trouble if you use unlicensed music in a way that could be portrayed as advertising your product.

    #6: Use 3D Stickers in Videos

    3D stickers are a fairly recent update to Snapchat. They offer a great way to make your 10-second videos a lot more entertaining.

    You can add 3D stickers to make your emojis and Snapchat graphics stay in place in a video. It's simple to do. First, shoot your video and select your sticker by clicking the square on the top line. Next, place your sticker where you want it to appear in the video. Then, at the point of the video you want the sticker to stick, simply press and hold, then release.

    snapchat 3d stickers
    Stickers add a quick element of entertainment to your snaps.

    #7: Create Custom Filters

    Another neat little trick is to create your own color filters/gradients for snaps. Use the emojis and stickers Snapchat gives you.

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    First, find an emoji that has an outline color you want to use (maybe your brand colors). Next, make the emoji larger by expanding it multiple times, and as you do, move it to one side and down. The more you expand it, the more blurred it becomes around the edges of the emoji.

    snapchat custom filters
    Snapchat lets you create your own color shades and filters.

    You can place it in such a way you get a cool gradient on your photo or video. Also, you can combine Hack #6 and Hack #7 to create 3D filters!

    #8: Enable Hands-free Snapping

    One of the restrictions of Snapchat is that you must keep your finger on the button. So most selfie sticks are out of the question.

    Or are they?

    This hack is for iPhone users, but you can get similar assistive-touch apps on the other platforms. On iPhone, though, this is a built-in feature. In Settings, go to General > Accessibility. Next, turn on Assistive Touch and click Create New Gesture. Now, tap and hold in the space provided for 10 seconds in one place, just as you do to record a snap.

    The blue bar at the bottom should fill up to let you know how long you should hold. Next, save the gesture as something memorable such as “Snapchat – No Hands!”

    snapchat hands-free
    Yes, you can Snapchat with a selfie stick!

    Now, open Snapchat and tap the little white dot in a black square that should have appeared on your screen. Select Custom, and then tap the name of your newly created custom gesture. A white circle with a dot in the middle should appear on your screen.

    To use it, tap and drag the white circle down to the Record button on your screen. As soon as you let go, it starts recording and your hands are free to do as they wish.

    You could use this hack with a tripod to show a hands-on demonstration via Snapchat, or just to impress your connections!

    #9: Draw With Increased Precision

    Here's another hack that uses the accessibility functions on your iPhone. Again, there will be apps available for this for Android users; however, we'll show you how it works with an iPhone.

    You can use the Zoom function to get super-specific when it comes to using the pen tool on Snapchat. Sometimes, you might have to either write smaller or make more intricate works of art.

    snapchat zoom in while drawing
    Zoom in and get more specific!

    Here's how. In Settings, go to General > Accessibility > Zoom. Next, turn Zoom on, which brings up a zoom window. Now, go back to Snapchat, take your snap, and select the pen tool. Here, you can draw directly into the zoom window. When you move it away, your drawing will revert back to normal size.

    This makes it much easier to do intricate drawings and smaller legible text. If you have fat fingers, this feature is extremely helpful!

    #10: Edit Outside of Snapchat

    This step takes some effort, but definitely packs a wow factor in your stories. Essentially you download one of your own snaps, put it into an editing suite, and then film it again through Snapchat.

    Here's what the result looks like.

    snapchat edit snaps
    Make a continuous series of snaps.

    First, take a snap and download it to your phone. If it's already in your story, click on the three dots next to your story to expand all of your snaps in the story. Tap the Download button on the snap you want to edit.

    Next, take that individual snap video and import it into your video editing suite. Get creative here. Try to relive the moment in slow motion and then replay backwards, or faster, or in a special feature, or zoomed in, and so on. Make the video 10+ seconds.

    Now hold your phone steady and record the computer screen on Snapchat, recording this new edited video you just made. It will look like a smooth continuous series of snaps.

    Pretty cool!

    Conclusion

    When it comes to Snapchat, the more exciting you can make your stories, the better. Just remember though, a big part of becoming better at telling stories on Snapchat is learning how all of Snapchat's tools work.

    Now it's time for you to make some awesome stories! We challenge you to do all of them!

    What do you think? Have you tried some of these hacks while using Snapchat? Do you have other ideas to get more out of the app? Please let us know in the comments below!

    Tips on ten Snapchat hacks you can use for standout.
    Tips on ten Snapchat hacks you can use for standout snaps.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Snapchat

    About the authorAndrew Pickering

    Andrew is one half of the dynamic duo 'Andrew and Pete'. Together they show small businesses how to break the rules and Stand Out by disrupting mundane marketing.
    Other posts by Andrew Pickering »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility