K atie c ouric

Good for Events
Tim Greenberg, chief community officer at the World Surf League, explains
that when Instagram Stories started, his team looked at their platforms and
said, “Well, we don’t want to produce the same content on both platforms,
so how do we take a different voice and approach to Snapchat?” They
decided that Snapchat would be a way for their fans to follow their social
team’s journey around the globe, and that Instagram Stories would be
reserved for content about the athletes because that’s where they get the
highest engagement.
The World Surf League sees success with Snapchat when they cover
live events like the Billabong Pipe Masters. On this platform, they try to be
funnier and more personable. Tim shares that you can have a lot more fun
because the content will disappear in twenty-four hours. It’s a behind-the-
scenes tool for bringing fans closer to the beach. They also try to make it
feel as if a friend is talking to you, like, “Hey, I’m at this event. I’m telling
this story.”
Joivan Wade, founder of “The Wall of Comedy!” adds that you can use
the disappearing factor to your advantage. On Snapchat his team will create
a piece of content that encourages people to be there at five o’clock on
Friday because once five o’clock on Saturday rolls around, that piece of
content is gone. They create content that’s compelling for the live format—
that demands someone to watch it right there and then.
Hard to Get Discovered on the Platform
Choi explains that it’s really hard for creators to get discovered on
Snapchat. She feels that influencers give platforms “a little extra twinkle”
and unfortunately Snapchat has not encouraged their growth on the

---

platform. Recently, the platform has started doing verified check marks for
brands/celebrities, and you can also search interests like music. However,
when you search interests, they just suggest the top ten musicians, which
isn’t enough—it doesn’t help smaller people grow. The whole user
experience just isn’t pleasant; Choi says that you feel like you’re “digging
through a junk box” to find the content you’re looking for.
The only way to grow on this platform is by doing shout-outs with
fellow influencers. You have to be in each other’s stories, share Snapcodes,
and follow each other. It’s the only way to grow—unless you’re already
famous like Kylie Jenner, and then of course followers come naturally.