At The Orchard, we love Snapchat for the spontaneous, silly sneak peeks into our favorite artists’ everyday lives. That candid posting style differentiates Snapchat from the more pre-meditated (and even ad-like) style of posts often found on other platforms. But for those of us who believe the grey area between entertainment and promo is very real, we’ve rounded up a list of new features that will help promote your projects without sacrificing any of that trademark Snapchat authenticity.
Let’s explore them together!
Paperclips
Ever wish you could link out to a product page, ticketing platform or another social page from a Snap? Well, cue Snapchat Paperclips. The new feature allows anyone to attach a link to their Snaps. Once you take a Snap, click the paperclip icon, enter a web address and you’re ready to share!
So link out to that album pre-order, video premiere or silly cat video. And while you’re at it, why not wrap it in a tracked link that can provide you valuable data to determine which Snaps your fans are actually engaging with most?
In-app Custom Geofilters
Since 2015, brands and artists have been able to plaster their logos over Snaps at key locations, using custom geofilters. At the time, doing so required some knowledge of Photoshop and access to a desktop computer. But now, anyone can create custom geofilters in-app with just a few clicks. Simply navigate to Settings, tap “On-Demand Geofilters” and begin creating.
We’ve recommended Snapchat’s custom Geofilters before as an inexpensive way to connect the dots between an event and a new release. And now with a starting price of $5.99 and in-app ordering, what are you waiting for?
Snap Map
With the apparent popularity of Geofilters, Snapchat has rolled out the Snap Map, which allows anyone to see where on the map their friends are posting from.
Of course, artists can use this feature to allow fans to follow their journey on tour (or deactivate the feature, if that seems like TMI). However, the real opportunity comes with using custom Geofilters to increase the posts about you within a particular location. Imagine when a fan opens their Snap Map and sees that 10 of their friends are Snapping from one venue in town. They’re probably intrigued enough to click through those Snaps and see your Geofilter. Think of Snap Map as a more easily attainable version of Facebook and Twitter’s “Trending” section, or Instagram’s “Explore” tab.
Next time you’re deciding between promoting your new projects and remaining authentic, consider embracing the grey area and doing both! Especially for those with a young audience, Snapchat is the best platform for the job.
