1. Make it either personal or general.
There is nothing I hate more than receiving a Snapchat from someone, only to see it again later on his or her story. If you think that it belongs as your story, then make it your story. If you think that it should go to specific people, then do that. Just don’t do both. Drake agrees.
2. Think: Does anyone actually care?
This goes off of the “story vs. personal” conundrum above. If only a few people care, send it to those people. Your entire contact list doesn’t need to know that you made yourself pasta with butter for dinner. However, your entire contact list does need to see that cute puppy that you stumbled upon today. Use discretion. And you probably shouldn’t put pictures of you doing anything illegal as your story…
P.S. Don’t snort salt…
3. Don’t get too caught up in the emojis or coolness.
Streaks are fun to keep, and I must say that I’m a sucker for them. But you don’t NEED to be in a million people’s best friends list, although it definitely is fun. And just because you stayed on campus for Easter and aren’t sending Snaps from Florida doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is any less Snapchat-able. You can always turn your seemingly less-interesting life (although you really should know that it isn’t) into art!
4. Reply to what needs replying to.
Questions definitely warrant a reply. If you don’t feel like sending a picture, you can always use the direct message feature. If a picture screams, “I didn’t feel like making this my story, so I’m mass Snapchatting it instead,” reply if you feel moved to, but know that it isn’t necessary. However, the more replying/Snapchatting you do, the stronger you will feel your “Snapchat game” becomes.
5. Be you!
You can cross your fingers for good lighting, but the entire appeal of Snapchat is that it offers a less refined version of you than Facebook or Instagram might. It’s okay if you don’t always look perfect in your selfies, because chances are, you don’t always look perfect. And if anyone has a problem with that, just remove them from your friends list. Easy.
6. BONUS: Keep your stories short and sweet…with exceptions.
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