Social media is booming today and there is no better way to go viral and get recognized than on social media. Each platform has its own way of grabbing their audience and keeps them coming back for more. New filters on Snapchat, new pages on Instagram. OMG when will it end?? I can’t even keep up with all the updates and new features on every form of social media, let alone learn how to use them before they change it again!! But focusing primarily Instagram and Snapchat in this blog, I want to touch on a few important points and my experience with each of these.
Okay so Snapchat and Instagram are a little different from each other and I’d say Instagram is my favorite, maybe because I have the most followers out of all of my social media sites on Instagram and thats why I like it so much but I also really appreciate a good “artsy” picture, (I mean who doesn’t??).
Instagram has a special place in my heart because I introduced this platform to an interior design and staging company called Refining Design. I know them personally (my aunt and uncle) so I was able to get them started and give them some tips on using hashtags, who to follow, and what type of content they should post. I mean this is literally the PERFECT platform for them to promote on!! Well fast forward a few months and they’ve got almost 400 followers and they have been getting likes from the photographer from Architectural Digests that did the cover story on the Obamas White House living quarters! WOW, I know!!! I love getting updates and reading the comments that talk about how much people love their page! I put a link to their Instagram page so feel free to check it out! They have a variety of gorgeous landscapes, rich art, detailed staging, and decor!
While my Instagram page is not purely business, it is a personal page but I do use it to show my style and outfits a lot of the time. Being a fashion major (and social media enthusiast) I love, love, love to capture my style in pictures. I’ve even tagged a company I’ve gotten a shirt from and they reposted my picture on their Instagram page! Although that is pretty much the extent of my “instafame”, I like to think it is possible that some day I will, but I know my hopes are high.
Moving on to Snapchat, which I would say, users have a very different intention when using snapchat, I don’t really send snapchats directly to people as much as I put Snapchats on my story. Now of course since the content goes away after you open it, or on your story, after 24 hours, you can imagine what a college student’s snapchat story looks like. Being in a sorority, we do have rules about what is appropriate to put on Snapchat and let me tell you it is for the best! But I do not know anyone that uses snapchat for business reasons other than brands, as opposed to the many people on Instagram that have a personal account and a professional account. Although there have been quite a few “nobody’s” that have gone viral because of a snapchat, thats right I’m talking about the”Damn Daniel” series of snapchats that went totally viral and landed these two high school kids ON ELLEN DEGENERES. But that doesn’t happen too often.
From a business standpoint, I really don’t think Snapchat is a great way to reach your audience on a daily basis unless you are a celebrity, just because I can almost guarantee that if the audience you are trying to reach has a snapchat, they definitely have an Instagram and they can see your content there longer than they can on snapchat. Snapchat is ideal for events when you want to document and keep followers updated. This is best for awards shows, a big project and other big anticipated events like those.
There is LITERALLY so much to say about these two platforms and honestly I could write for hours comparing the two and talking about all the things I love and hate about each, who has gone viral, and which celebrities have the best accounts but that could take me days so I am ending my rant here, catch me on Instagram and Snapchat later!
Sydney Ventolo 