November 2018 Snapchat Update Fail - Audio Mods Gone Wrong!

THE RECENT SNAPCHAT UPDATE GETS A FAILING GRADE…

Well Snapchat has done it again with the latest update that took place just before Halloween. There are some small differences that were made in an attemp to enhance the user experience, but the main change has ruined the entire platform for me and has flushed the fun right down the toilet by changing one single thing…

The audio enhancements attached to certain filters.

The filters in the Snapchat lineup that include audio modifications have been a hit with users. They make your snaps more fun and entertaining, adding a nice dose of “silly” to your creative offerings.

Up until now, certain lenses come with a voice changing effect that you can’t turn off. In the recent update, they have taken away the voice modifications that go with these lenses, and have replaced that with an audio icon that lets you pick from 4 difference voice effects.

On the face, this seems like a great idea. But Snapchat seriously dropped the ball. Why? Because the two most usable voice alterations are gone. When you tap the audio icon on the lower left, you now have the ability to change the voice effect on any lens. But we are only given 4 choices.

The voice effects include the annoyingly high-pitched voice mod, the seriously-low voice mod, a robot effect, and the warble effect. I find these to be the four most useless voice mods out of everything they have previously offered.

Missing from the lineup are the two best voice mods, including the slightly higher pitched version, and the slightly lower pitched version. The great thing about these two are that you can still understand what is being said after the modification. But they left them off the list. Why?

The “big mouth” lens has been one of the most popular and long-lasting lenses in the lineup, and it was connected to the slightly-higher pitched voice mod. That’s gone. Now you’ve got to either use the natural audio, or pick from the 4 worst voice mods that I mentioned above. This puts a big dent in my user experience.

I’m already raw about Snapchat dumping my favorite filters that I use for certain character roles that I entertain my following with. That’s enough to make me give up on the app, but I’ve stuck with it, up until now. Take away my favorite voice mods, and now you’ve left me with NOTHING, Snapchat! I’m not a happy snapper!

I’d sure love to hear the opinion of others on this recent update. Do you find this change as annoying as I do? Does it enhance, or ruin your user experience? Will Snap Inc. ever get a clue, and decide to start serving up what the USERS actually want, rather than senselessly mixing up the platform every few months?

Tell me what you think. I’m ready to here it!

Carlton Flowers
The SnapPro

Why Snapchat Sucks - Change These Things Or Watch Your Market Vanish

Where Snapchat Misses The Mark - Are They Losing Touch?

It’s 2018, and Snapchat has hit its peak. But they aren’t safe sitting on top of this mountain of success. If they don’t address these handful of annoyances and user concerns, the market dominance they now enjoy will start to fade to oblivion.

Could Snapchat become the next Vine, or maybe even experience a slow demise until they get to the MySpace graveyard? It’s entirely possible, especially if the leadership doesn’t pull their heads out of their rear ends and start taking action on what I see as huge icebergs that will sink the ship.

What surprises me is that it doesn’t seem that any of the major tech channels are covering these issues. So it’s time for the Gadget Guru himself to take the bull by the horns and lead the way. Let’s get into the meat of why Snapchat SUCKS in 2018!

Uploads Suck

I didn’t notice this problem until late 2017. Uploading to Snapchat was never a problem when I first registered my account and became a rabid snapper. But apparently it’s a big problem now. If I upload multiple snaps, you can almost guarantee that half or all of the snaps won’t make it to the timeline on the first try.

This problem might be due to the sheer number of Snapchat users are actively using the app in 2018. It might also be due to network congestion across the cellular infrastructure. Whatever it is, it sure would be nice to hear the head honchos at Snapchat publicly address the issue, and at least confirm what the roots of the problem might be.

This is super frustrating, because Snap stories that are missing individual snaps render the story useless. There’s nothing worse than noticing several hours after the fact that half of your story snaps didn’t upload. When posting in story mode, and making an important point, you don’t get your message across very well when half your snaps in the beginning or middle of the string don’t upload.

What makes this problem even worse is when you are moving from a Wi-Fi area to a cellular 4G LTE area. You can almost guarantee that the snap uploads will fail. And it’s the same in reverse. As soon as you hit a Wi-Fi signal coming out of 4G LTE coverage areas, the snap uploads will bomb.

As small as the videos are with Snapchat, you wouldn’t think there would be as big of an upload problem as what we are seeing recently. I’ve had better luck uploading 2 or 3 minute long videos to YouTube and Instagram, so it can’t be the network alone.

There has to be a better way of doing this, even if it means reducing the video quality of snaps. A lower quality snap is better than a high quality snap that won’t upload!

Get this fixed now, Snapchat, before my head explodes!

Favorite Lenses Don’t Last

I see absolutely no reason why Snapchat has to pull the best lenses and not bring them back for months on end. This is a major problem for the serious Snapchat story producers that use the lenses for character roles.

Right when the popularity of some of the characters I create out of the lenses get mega-popular, Snapchat takes them away! Sometimes I have to wait months for them to return, and when they do, they might only last for a day.

Several years ago, Snapchat allowed users to purchase their favorite lenses for $0.99 each. I don’t know why they felt this was a bad thing. There has been ZERO talk of buying your favorite lenses ever since. And that really sucks!

If Instagram/Facebook Stories had the filters that Snapchat has dropped, I would make a permanent switch. Someone is going to figure this out one of these days, and when they do, Snapchat will left in the dust.

Give us what we want, Snapchat, because user experience is what makes your future secure! If that means allowing us users to purchase our favorite lenses, or even keeping ALL of the lenses open for perpetuity, GET IT DONE!

Android Glitches Are Rampant

If there’s one thing about Snapchat that makes my head want to explode, it’s the Android glitches. I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and my Snapchat experience is definitely inferior to the iOS build. It’s a night-and-day difference.

One of the glitches that I don’t see ANYONE reporting about is the changing of the font size when adding large text. For some reason, the large text gets blown up about 25% bigger than what was selected, after the snap gets uploaded. This really sucks when your words run off the edges of the screen.

Since there is no such thing as editing on Snapchat, the only choice you have when this glitch occurs is to delete the story or deal with the lack of readability. That stinks, Snapchat, and I’m convinced that it can’t be THAT hard for your developers to fix the problem.

In Conclusion…

I sincerely hope that Snapchat doesn’t go down the pathway of Apple, where arrogance prevents them from listening to and serving the user base. I love Snapchat, and it’s my favorite app. But they’ve got to stay on top of these things and start communicating in order to remain on the cutting edge of social media.

If these issues gain traction and the head honchos at the Snap Headquarters don’t address it fast, the Facebook/Instagram juggernaut is going to eat them alive. I don’t want to see that happen, because I’m always rooting for the little guy.

In the meantime, do YOU have some super Snapchat snafu that ensnares you when you snap? I want to hear about it! And I’d love to hear your feedback on what you think about the Snapchat snafus that make the experience suck for me too.

Carlton Flowers
The Supreme SnapPro

Snapchat Story Followers - It's Tough, But Worth Building

WHY SNAPCHAT IS A TOUGH SOCIAL SITE TO BUILD A FOLLOWING ON

Out of all the social media networks, building a group of loyal followers on Snapchat is the most difficult. That's because you can build your network, but nothing guarantees your contacts will actually view your daily story.

With Snapchat, you might have 500 people you are connected with, but only 10% watching each and everything you do on a daily basis without fail. It's kind of like Facebook, where you make a post and not everyone hits the "like" button, but worse. Why? 

Because you actually have to OPEN the Snapchat story to see what is going on. When you are scrolling away on Facebook, you will be exposed to ALL posts placed by your friends. Not the case on Snapchat. 

That's why you have to work HARD on your strategy, and on your creative Snapchat story-building ability to entice your contacts to actually open up and view your story.

If you bomb the first time, and have random, totally senseless non-entertaining or completely useless content on your Story, your friends arent going to waste their time and come back the next day to see what you are doing. 

But if you capture their attention the FIRST time with valuable, eye-opening, exciting, shocking or entertaining content, they will come back each and every day because they don't want to miss out on what you are gonna do next. 

The first time someone views your Snapchat Story is the golden opportunity to get them hooked. You cannot mess this up, or you risk not ever gaining that viewer back again. That's why you have to take this seriously if you want to build a massive following of rabid viewers. 

Carefully plan out what you want to do, and what your content will focus on. Look at your own snaps in the eyes of a friend, and ask yourself, "would I waste time watching myself?" 

If you want the best tips and tricks to turn the heads and keep people's attention on Snapchat, reaad my blog posts and listen to the audio podcast. 

Got questions or comments? Please share them below! I'll be glad to help! 

Carlton Flowers
The SnapPro

Snapchat Story Turnoffs - 5 Annoying Things that Kill Your Following

CAN'T BUILD A STRONG FOLLOWING? HERE'S WHERE YOU MISS THE MARK...

If you don't want your new Snapchat friends to be "once-and-done" visitors after they see your story, you better pay attention! I've compiled a list of 5 things that are major Snapchat "turn-offs". If you aspire to be a SnapPro with a huge audience of rabid fans that come back every day to see what you are doing, stay away from these five things:

1. Inside Jokes

When you post snaps to your story that nobody can understand but your best friend, you're not going to attract visitors. This alienates people and makes them feel like an outsider, and not a friend. If your general audience can't understand the meaning of your snap without an explanation, it's not going to make you Snap-famous. Don't do it.

2. Annoying Sounds

When your viewers open your story and screeching sounds violate their eardrums, it doesn't take a half a second to get swiped to the next story. Loud wind noise, rattling paper, shrieks, random machine noise, you name it. If it hurts your viewer's ears, they ain't coming back to endure it again.

3. Random Nonsensical Snaps

First of all, nobody wants to see a shaky, herky-jerky video of your feet or some dark hallway. If there's no purpose to the snap, who wants to be bothered with it? These days, people are so busy that they will resent you for wasting that valuable ten seconds of their life that they'll never get back. And you better believe they won't be motivated to navigate back to your story the next time you pop into the lineup.

4. Unplanned Stories

As the saying goes, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". If you want to be the next Snapchat reality show star, you have to realize that reality TV isn't reality. It's all carefully planned. My advice for building a repeat audience? Plan out what you're going to do a day ahead of time. They call it "My Story", not "Mindless Jabbering". Take the hint. Plan it out and create a story, and give your viewers a reason to follow along.

5. Meaningless Pictures

Every now and then, I come across snap stories that include pictures of random objects that have no message or meaning. Wanna bore your audience to tears and brand yourself as a Snapchat Dud? Post pictures of your shoe, your front door, or the dog sitting on the floor. That will guarantee you a spot on the "who-not-to-watch" hall of fame list. If you're going to post a picture, give it meaning. And make it a meaningful part of your story or theme.

So there you have it. If you see yourself doing some of the things I've mentioned, make yourself a solid plan to improve. Take notes, and write down your plan of action. Stay tuned because I'll have another set of 5 things to avoid that keep you from growing your viewership.

Now that you know what not to do, check out my other posts for ideas on how you can produce and direct an entertaining Snapchat story line like a Hollywood mogul! Now get out there and create some awesome content, and start growing your following!

Carlton Flowers
The SnapPro

The Secret to Steady Snapchat Story Subscribers

HOW TO GET PEOPLE COMING BACK TO YOUR STORY EVERY DAY

If you want to be a SnapPro Snapchat Celebrity, you've got to learn how to get people coming back every day to view your snap story. Your desire is to have a crowd of rabid fans that eat up everything you post.

If you're an average casual Snapchatter, your friends probably view your snaps once in a while. But what’s the trick to getting people to come back day after day? How do you get your audience to view every single snap you post to your story on a daily basis?

The answer is, you have create "sticky" content. That's the kind of stuff that makes people stick with you for good. In other words, the more entertaining, informative, or valuable your snaps are, the more sticky your viewership will be.

There are several things that factor in to building sticky viewers, but one rule reigns supreme…

You have to create a structured, regular schedule for posting to your snap story, and you can't deviate from it. You've got to be committed!

I use a grid that lays out the entire week for all of my social network posting. I fill in the grid where I want to post content from the different social platforms, and I check them off when I get them done. That way, I can clearly see if I’m staying consistent, and if I'm slacking off for a period, it's rather obvious.

If you post to your Snapchat story every morning at 8am and stick to a common theme or message, people are going to start to look for it. They will quickly create a habit of having you as a part of their daily routine. That's what you want. Your goal is to create a desire for your viewers to integrate your snap story into their daily lives.

If you do this right, your viewers won’t feel right if they don’t start their daily routine by watching your story. And when you get really good at this, they'll complain when you don't keep your commitment and provide their content.

And that's just the beginning. Don't stop there. Build an entire daily routine. if there’s something that you do every week that is a part of your normal routine that is interesting, include it in your story. People will come to expect it. Your entire routine will actually become a reality show that people get hooked to, just like a TV show.

A lot of my followers know what I do on Friday mornings at 5:45am because I always include my basketball group on my snap story. They also know that I visit manufacturing plants and show how things are made. They've even become accustomed to my comedic antics in the grocery store, and they know everything about my business enterprises.

I've converted viewership to business deals, because people are aware of the products and services that I provide with my businesses. So it has already to monetary value on my end. And it's all free advertising.

In fact, it's a regular occurrence for my wife to come home and tell me that people stop her in the grocery store or at Walmart to tell her that they know who she is, because they regularly see her in my snap stories.

Get a regular schedule mapped out on paper. Decide what your recurring themes are, and then make the commitment to stick to your plan and you will start building sticky viewers before you know it! I guarantee it.

Now get out there and get it done, future Snapchat celebrity!

Carlton Flowers
SnapPro Celeb Supreme

Becoming a Snapchat Pro for the Regular Joe

SNAPCHAT PRO TRAINING ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET?

I’m astounded that there are relatively no resources in book stores or online courses on how to create celebrity status on Snapchat through high quality content creation. Everything I’ve found out there is geared towards corporations that have the budgets to plop down $80,000 or more a month for professional ads.

But there’s nothing out there for the average hustler who’s trying to come up in the world and use Snapchat for leverage.

I recently read a book on Amazon called “The Snapchat Marketing Blueprint”. Thank goodness, I got to read the book for free since I’m on the Kindle Unlimited program. I would have asked for a refund of the $19.99 advertising price had I been fool enough to pay for it.

I read the book expecting to get some grassroots ideas on using Snapchat for marketing a small business, or your personal brand. Judging from the title, I thought I would see an actual step-by-step blueprint to follow.

It was nothing of the such.

The book was verbose, had a ton of fancy $10 corporate-speak words, and gave ZERO advice for the average Joe who wants to use Snapchat for marketing purposes. The “Blueprint” part was nothing more than telling stories about Fortune 500 companies who have spent half a million dollars or more, and what they got for their investment.

It was an utter disappointment. But it was a motivating moment. After trying a handful of books about Snapchat, and discovering that none of the content is valuable, I’ve decided to start teaching on this topic. I’ll be blogging about some of my best tips right here, and I plan on writing a book in the future.

There is a rather sketchy "guru" out there selling a Snapchat marketing program for $300, and I’m super curious to know how good the content is. But I’m not taking the chance on wasting the money just to be nosy. But my goal will be to provide a superior product at a fraction of the cost.

Until then, I'm going to share some of my best tips and advice for those of you looking to create top quality Snapchat content, or your own Snapchat "Reality TV" show. If you have questions, post them in the comments and I'll be glad to provide my advice!

Carlton Flowers
SnapPro King