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Wondering how to sustain engagement with Snapchat users?
Looking for ways to improve your Snapchat stories?
By trying these tactics, you'll keep your Snapchat fans engaged and coming back for more.
In this article, you'll discover seven ways to keep people engaged with your Snapchat stories.
#1: Keep Their Eyes Moving
Talking-head videos get boring after a few snaps, so constantly switch things up to keep viewers engaged. Snapchat gives you 10 seconds for a reason, so don't break the rules by having 5-minute videos from the same angle made from 30 snaps.
Sure, you can go multiple snaps in a row to get your point across and tell a story. In fact, you should do this. However, mix it up with some short photos, filters, different angles, different settings, or show something with the back-facing camera. It's not hard to do and makes all the difference.
#2: Get Creative and Play With Filters
Snapchat is a creative person's dream. There are so many different things you can do with it. You can use emojis, 3D stickers, text, a pen tool, filters, geofilters, and so on. You really can go nuts. Use each of these creative tools in your next story, as they're easy to add and can make a big impact.
Check out this article to get five beginner and five pro tutorials on how to use these creative tools.
#3: Keep Your Snaps Snappy
Ten seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but on Snapchat, it is. You don't need to show every snap in your story for 10 seconds. With photos especially, the human brain is quick; it doesn't need 10 seconds to process a photo. If your story is entirely that, people will begin tapping to skip, and eventually they'll drop off.
Use shorter videos and photos to quicken the pace of your story to keep it more engaging.
#4: Tease ‘Em
Try to create intrigue about your story right from your opening snap. To motivate your audience to keep watching, tell people immediately if something interesting, useful, or entertaining is coming up. If your story isn't hinting at least one of these three criteria, people will swipe to the next story.
Be prepared for strangers to stumble across your story. If that first snap is just you making morning coffee, they may not stick around to find out more.
Bonus tip: Use an interesting last snap thumbnail. The tiny circular thumbnail of your story always shows your last snap, so make it intriguing! I've watched entire 10-minute stories just to find out what that last snap was all about. You'll likely get more views on the entire story if that last snap looks interesting, as opposed to just a talking head or selfie.
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On that point, your last snap teaser could get your story played over the competition.
#5: Tell a Story
It's called a Snapchat “story” for a reason. You need a narrative to make people watch to the end of your snaps. As humans, we strive to find out how the story ends. Could your stories start with an issue or problem that needs to be solved?
The use of emotion can drive the narrative of the story and get your audience to sympathize with what's going on. Draw your audience in and explain at the beginning and again throughout to feed them the narrative of what's actually going on in your story.
The beauty of Snapchat is that you can integrate it easily into your lifestyle and daily habits. That said, the best stories have a little planning in them.
You're not shooting a movie, though, so the effort you put into your storyboard may be minimal. It helps to grab a pen and paper to sketch out a rough story.
#6: Add Text
Try to cater to people who are watching stories without the sound on. If your story isn't particularly visual or doesn't make sense without captions or audio, they'll quickly move on.
It's not always possible, but add text to highlight a point. Using text will likely keep people watching and lets you say more in one snap, which reduces the need to have additional exhaustive, explainer-type snaps.
#7: Switch Up the Cameraperson
Great engagement happens when you introduce your audience to interesting people. In meetings, for example, do a short introduction of people and get them to say hello and share what they do. It's fun and exciting to watch (and could get your meeting off to a fun start). Plus, those people may go and tell their friends/audience that they were on your Snapchat story, which is an added bonus.
If you're part of a team, it's easy to keep things engaging by having different team members chip in here and there. If you're a sole proprietor, you can have guests on your Snapchat or do full takeovers as another great way to keep engagement up.
Conclusion
It's official. Our attention span as a species is now less than that of a lowly goldfish (8 seconds vs. 9). So how on earth do you get people to watch your Snapchat stories?
The biggest problem is people not respecting the context of the platform. This isn't LinkedIn! Remember, Snapchat made its name as a fun messaging app, so let's keep it that way. You can still be professional, but keep it lighthearted and show your true self. Let your hair down from time to time.
Now it's time to create your best stories ever! Remember, consistency is key here. If you can regularly create great stories for people to watch, you can quickly start to build a loyal following.
What do you think? Are you using some of these tactics to keep Snapchat viewers watching until the end? Do you have some other tips to share? Please let us know in the comments below!
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