The Guardian/ How to become Snapchat famous: get creative and learn to relax

Fay Schopen

Sunday 12 November 2017 11.00 ESTLast modified on Sunday 12 November 2017 19.10 EST

Do you live for Snapchat? Or did you download the app months ago, send a wonky selfie captioned “How does this work??!!” to a clueless friend and promptly forget all about it? If it’s the latter, let’s face it, you’re old. Snapchat has about 178 million daily users worldwide, the majority aged under 34. But the recent announcement by parent company Snap that top creators will be paid for content could be a game-changer.

While details haven’t been announced, users could be incentivised to create content in a similar way to YouTubers, who can make videos in exchange for ad revenue. Take 28-year-old Cyrene Quiamco, from Little Rock, Arkansas, who left her job as a web designer two years ago to concentrate on Snapchat full-time, where she has 200,000 followers. She already makes $500,000 (£380,000) a year from sponsored snaps, speaking engagements and consulting, and has written a book on becoming a social media influencer, 11 Seconds to Success.

Want to live the dream? Here’s her advice.

Understand the medium

According to Quiamco (CyreneQ on the app), Snapchat isn’t a form of social media, it is social media. “I have the option to chat privately, to ‘tweet’ and post pictures constantly, to consume news like Facebook and to follow influencers like on YouTube. Don’t use Snapchat like other social media, because it’s not – it’s so much more,” she counsels. British travel Snapchatter Will Hatton, AKA Broke Backpacker, makes good use of the platform by posting travel videos, pictures of views and travel tips for the thrifty, as well as organising his own tours, which he publicises on the app.

Use narrative

Snapchat can be homogeneous – I’m looking at you, Kardashian sisters. So while everyone else is “snapping random selfies with flowers and dog ears”, tell a story. “Have a beginning, middle and end. Greet your audience, talk to them throughout the day and tell them goodbye at the end. This gives your story a structure which people subconsciously like,” says Quiamco. Florida DJ Mark Kaye (MarkKaye), the host of Snapchat’s first talkshow, Talkin’ Snap, interviews Snapchat stars and musicians on his show by weaving together 10-12 snaps to create a story.

Get creative

Many Snapchat stars use the drawing tool – see Audrey Spencer, AKA Cakes1toDough1, the “cat lady of Snapchat” who draws “hilarious scenes” on top of cat pictures, suggests Quiamco. Other notable users include Miologie, who mixes art history and humour, and Norwegian designer Geeohsnap, whose Random People Project merges photographs of ordinary situations with imaginative drawings.

Interact

“You have the chance to create an active audience, instead of passive watchers,” says Quiamco, who creates interactive games and competitions, and asks followers to help her make her artwork. For the less advanced user, start with the “swipe up” feature, which lets you add website links.

… and relax

The app’s disappearing snaps do away with the “pressure of perfection”, says Quiamco. So let loose and be yourself. “Make content that you like, because if you like it, someone else is bound to like it and your audience will grow,” she adds.