IN A SNAP

 

Over the past few months, I’ve been in several conversations with nonprofit development and marketing staff about some of the newer social media tools, including the one that confounds and intrigues everyone the most: Snapchat.

I suspect that many readers of this blog will only have a vague sense of what Snapchat is, let alone how to use it. But, as other nonprofits have discovered, Snapchat can help you connect with younger supporters in a way that no other medium allows.

While Snapchat might not be the primary tool in your social media or communications arsenal, it could open the door to a new demographic of younger donors. Perhaps more importantly, it can teach you to tell your story in a completely new way. 

  • Getting to the point – quickly. Snapchat’s ten second videos make an “elevator pitch” feel like a luxurious soliloquy. By forcing brevity, Snapchat will help you boil your message down to the most salient information, delivered quickly and clearly.
  • Living in the moment. Snaps expire after one day. Their ephemeral nature means that they are less about polished talking points and more about capturing a moment in time.
  • Exhibiting personality. Snapchat is about entertaining and being entertained. That means that humor, weirdness and surprises will capture attention much more than earnest appeals and carefully nuanced talking points.
  • Going behind the scenes. This is perhaps the most effective way to engage supporters with Snapchat. Showing staff and volunteers at work helps supporters to understand what you do and how you do it.

All of these things make a traditional communications-type person (like me) hyperventilate just a little. But if you’re willing to give up a bit of control, you might find a way to engage with a new generation of supporters who have long since abandoned Facebook and Twitter.

Here are some examples of how to use Snapchat:

PETA (@officialPETA) uses behind-the-scenes snaps to great effect. Whether they are doing a publicity stunt to raise awareness or filming a new promotional spot, they use Snapchat to show the process and to let the people on set share their PETA story in a quick and candid way. 

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Service Works (@IamServiceWorks), a youth-serving nonprofit in Houston uses Snapchat to show their programs in action. While they have fun with filters, they also showcase the mentoring and leadership training their organization is known for. Considering that most of their mentors – and all of their program participants – are age 25 or younger, Snapchat is a logical tool for connecting and sharing stories.   

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Oceana (@Oceana) is an organization committed to raising awareness around issues affecting the world’s oceans and the animals and plants that live in them. As they do events around the country, they also snap messages. On any given day, the snaps may come from a glorious beach, or a research laboratory, or even just from a conference. By using Snapchat, this organization shows the variety of activities it is doing to draw attention to the challenges facing ocean life. 

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Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (@LACMA) is using Snapchat to feature their collection and special exhibitions. They make art approachable and the opposite of stuffy or stodgy. They also use Snapchat Stories (a series of snaps that work together to tell a story) to great effect. At the bottom of this post, I included a series of snaps that perfectly exhibits the humor and personality they weave into their online presence.

 

Snapchat isn’t for everyone, but if you want to connect with younger people, download the app and start following some of these and other nonprofit organizations. Who knows? You might be a selfie stick away from sharing your case for support in a snap!

Any other nonprofits using Snapchat well that you would lift up? Has your organization made the jump to Snapchat? Let us know in the comments. (Or send me a snap @loradow)

 

Want to learn more about Snapchat?

While We Weren’t Looking, Snapchat Revolutionized Social Media (NY Times)

How to Get Your Nonprofit Started on Snapchat

 

And now, the LACMA snap story that made me laugh out loud:

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Posted by Lora Dow
Lora Dow

Written by Lora Dow

Since 2006, Lora has helped nonprofits on both a local, state and national level develop a clear and compelling case for support. Effective communications are critical to any organization's ability to inspire donors, advocates and volunteers. Lora's expertise and experience make the process of developing those communications the most effective they can be.

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