1. I’m tired of perfect lives. Most people are. Snapchat minimizes your ability to stage it. That’s right, forget all the Instagram props, filters and Chanel logos, it’s hard to fake it as much on Snapchat, which makes it all the more real.
2. You can tell exactly who and how many people viewed your snaps. The anonymous voyeur thrives on Instagram, stalking your life quietly in the dark while Snapchat tells you exactly who viewed your content. Talk about detailed analytics!
3. Screenshots. Can you imagine the scandal that would ensue if Instagram would publicize exactly who screenshot your images? I love how Snapchat shows you who took screenshots though I have to say some people can be really creepy with their screenshots. Seriously…
4. It’s in real time. So there’s no pretending to be in the Maldives while cooped up at your cubicle or uploading some fake edited video. Snap Chat is the new live-tweeting, it allows users to cover events as they happen.
5. You can put so much more content out there without worrying about spamming your followers like you would on Instagram. You’re not limited to a number of photos in an hour, there is no posting etiquette. Provided of course you’re not snapping yourself on the loo..
6. You get to discover the real people behind the online personas you follow, and then you get to really decide whether or not you’re a fan. I’ve followed some people on Instagram for years only to discover on Snapchat just how insufferable, superficial and rude they are. That was most definitely an eye opener.
7. It is the ultimate tool for product endorsement.There’s a difference between promoting a product in a staged filtered photo and physically demonstrating to your followers in a video why you love something. You can’t fake authenticity and you can’t pretend to be a genuine person, people catch on to these things immediately and so do brands.
8. I’ve gotten way more direct messages from followers in my couple of months on Snapchat than I ever have during my years on Instagram. Why? Because it’s more personal. It makes you more approachable. It allows people to relate with you and lets you connect directly and privately with your audience.
9. Everything disappears in 24 hours, forever. Every day is a fresh start. No old outdated content just lying there, no weird bored people scrolling and scrutinizing through your years of history, no angry comments. It’s a clean slate.
10. Snapchat is one big beautiful mesh- of videos, photos and captions. And don’t worry you can save your entire story on your camera roll. Which allows you to filter out your content more. So instead of taking a five minute of video that would drain your phone’s storage you get to have a bunch of short snippets highlighting the best part of your day. Genius if you ask me!
11. There’s no pressure for performance expectations through the accumulation of public likes and comments. It’s not a place for self-reinforcement nor a popularity contest like Instagram, except for the occasional Q&A sessions, I still find those silly.
12. Snapchat brings out the quirky in people. It’s definitely not a serious app. Users can caption and draw things on their images, the sillier the better. Speaking of silly, Snapchat has interactive selfie lenses that can be applied to your face and let you turn into a cat or puke rainbows. Totally random, so much fun!