Will Facebook Kill Snapchat?

Yesterday, Facebook rolled out “Facebook Stories” to all users. We know that Facebook is strangling Snapchat, but will Facebook completely kill Snapchat?

My thoughts on Facebook vs. Snapchat

Facebook has made moves to slow Snapchat’s growth, but that doesn’t mean Facebook will kill Snapchat. Snapchat introduced us to “Stories” – quick, easy, shareable content. Content that “disappears” after being watched – or disappears within 24 hours. We now can find “Stories” on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook (and I’m sure a few other social networks as well).

Stories are the new News Feed

My prediction is “Stories” have just become the new News Feed. “Stories” are better at grabbing attention, and even holding it. If you don’t pay attention, you risk missing it. If you follow a brand’s “Stories”, you’ll quickly get in the habit of watching their content daily – and if you miss it, you risk missing their announcements.

“Facebook Stories” will put pressure on Snapchat, but Snapchat knew this was coming. Snapchat created “Stories”, but knew that wasn’t enough to keep them alive forever. It’s too easy for other social networks to reproduce “Stories”. When Snapchat launched their IPO a few weeks ago, they didn’t call themselves a social media company. Snap Inc. – the official business name of Snapchat, calls themselves a camera company. Snap Inc.’s future isn’t in social media alone, and they know it – but I believe social media will always be a part of their camera business model.

I don’t expect to see the Snapchat die. I expect them to continue to launch new products, services and apps that tie into social media. Check out their first product, Spectacles.

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Hidden Tips of Digital Marketing

I read many marketing and business development articles each day. I’m always curious to hear about the new tips/advice that the experts are willing to share. Hearing what experts are doing and seeing their data is very helpful right?

Only if you’re just getting started.

If you’re just getting into marketing, read it all. Learn the language. Learn the process. Learn what strategies were used in the past and why. Once you understand the language and have some knowledge of what worked, stop listening to the experts. Don’t listen to what they say…just watch what they do. You’ll learn much more.

The hottest marketing advice doesn’t come from listening to experts. It comes from watching what they do.

This article, The Psychology of Shareable Content has a lot of great information in it. It’s a great read, especially if you’re just getting into marketing. It covers things that have been tested and tracked for several years. When reading the article, take the time to look for their “hidden tips”.

Ask yourself what are they doing and why. As you learn the language marketers use and some of their marketing strategies utilized in the past, you’ll develop the ability to see what experts are doing today. It’s your job to figure out why and if that strategy will help you as well.

So what are some of the “hidden tips” that stood out to you? I always look at the layout of each article I read. In this article, they used multiple pages to increase the number ads you saw while reading that post (increased the amount of money they’re making for writing it).

What else stood out to you? Do you see any “hidden tips” from me in this post? There are some here.

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