I remember waffling on whether or not to join Twitter and seriously questioning not only its staying power, but also its usefulness. Now I can’t imagine doing media relations work without it. For staying up to date on the latest breaking news and trends and for getting to know journalists’ interests, there’s nothing better.
Yet, despite how much I have come to value Twitter, I remained resistant to Snapchat, which I viewed as nothing more than a place for teens to post questionable (and regrettable) selfies. But that changed last month with the introduction of Snapchat’s new “Discover” feature and its partnership with some of the biggest media brands in the world.
My change of heart isn’t coincidental. If the media is there, I want to be there too. And, as Joshua Benton wrote for Nieman, “Snapchat is 100-percent worth watching for anyone involved in news.”
Snapchat is fast growing and very well funded, and as a result has the potential to be extremely powerful. And, equally (if not more) important, journalists are using it for all kinds of things from live-Snapchatting events to conducting interviews.
It’s too soon for me to know whether I’ll love Snapchat, or whether it’ll be helpful to me in my job. And it’s too soon to know exactly how much it’ll impact journalism or the media industry. But if it really is the next big thing, I’ll want to know how to use it well.
If you have Snapchat tips for PR and media relations pros, I want to hear them. I’m much older than the target demographic and my poor navigation and use of the app so far has shown my age. Share tips here on the blog, on Twitter [@kristinemaloney] or on Snapchat [kristinemaloney].
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