Snap Chat Competitions: Low Entry and Fun

I get loads of questions about snap chat competitions. The annoying thing about these competitions is that they are really difficult to find...but this is also the best thing. A bit like Instagram competitions, the fact that they are really hard to source means that only dedicated compers will be able to find them and low entry means that there is a much higher chance of winning! Also, as snapchat is on your mobile, it's so easy to enter. For other mobile comping apps, check out this post.

The Basics

So how does snapchat work? For many people it is a fun way to stay in touch with friends, and I myself have sent many a silly selfie to my friends who have moved away, and some to my friends on the other side of the room! To set up, simply download the app, and come up with a username and password. Try to make the username easy to remember as it is what other people will search for when they are looking for you! Here is a screen shot of my homescreen once I have taken a cheesy selfie:

The number 1 is notifications I have of private snaps and chats. Simply swipe to that side to access. The 6 is peoples stories that I haven't viewed yet. This is where the promoters will post their competitions. When you add a photo to your story, it will be accessible for people to view as many times as they want for 24 hours. To do this, when you take a photo and press send, make sure you tick the box that says 'My Story':

To add friends simply touch the ghost icon at the top of the page. This will lead you to a menu screen. Here you will see your own ghost icon or 'Snapcode' (which other people can use to add you) and a few options. 

Click the 'Add Friends' icon where you will be lead to a new screen. 

Promoters will usually give you their username, so click that option and type in their username and press the little plus button. Simple!

Examples

I have so far entered two snapchat competitions, and won twice, so it's safe to say I quickly became a fan. For the first competition, I had to add the promoters (Maze Runners) on snapchat and then take a screenshot of the relevant picture on their story, which was of a maze. I then had to edit the picture so that I completed the maze and upload the result to Twitter. My prize was a brand new iPad mini 4, which will be amazing for taking notes in uni...and a dedicated comping portal of course!

The second competition was more interactive. Again, I had to add the promoter and then view their story, which showed lots of lipsticks. I simply had to send a photo back (I did a super enthusiastic pout) saying which shade was my favourite and, hey presto, I won!

I have seen other competitions which require you to take a selfie in front of advertising and send it to the promoter and put it on your story. Unfortunately, I have never found the poster or billboard on time! Below are my top tips for finding and entering these hard to come by comps!

Search for the win

So how can you be one of the few to enter and perhaps win? Research is the key! The thing about snapchat is that you can't actually search for the competitions on the app, you have to look elsewhere. Twitter is great because you can search for more than one term, try things like 'win snapchat' or 'competition snapchat' which may tell you who is currently running snapchat competitions. My first snapchat win was found on Twitter and then needed me to upload a picture to Twitter. Sometimes, snapchat is just a way to further promote the brand, or perhaps to have less entrants - a bonus if you can get involved - but then requires you to share the results on another site such as Twitter or Facebook.

Google is another great way to source these comps, you can use a filter to search much like you do on Twitter. Superlucky Di has a great blog about this which I have linked here.

Be original

Like most effort competitions, snapchat requires you to be a bit different and stand out from the crowd. If you are taking a selfie, pull a silly face, wear a hat, or take it somewhere cool! It may be easier to take a picture of your feet in a public place, but the bravery of taking a selfie on a crammed bus is sure to earn you brownie points! Also, if the promoter mentions a product in the instructions, make sure that they can see it well and clearly. You don't want to be discounted for not following the rules!

Snapchat has a great feature that lets you edit your pictures by drawing on them. Use the little pen tool at the top corner and choose your colour to get creative and stand out from the crowd!

Along the same lines, you can add a caption to your photo. Maybe if you make them laugh, they may be more likely to pick you! To add text, click the T button (next to the pen tool) and you have a few characters to type something out. You don't have much space, so make each letter count!

Take Time

On Snapchat, you can chose how long the recipient can view your snap for. This is done with the little clock on the bottom left of the screen. Click on that, and choose how long you want. For competitions, put this at the maximum (10 seconds) so that they can really see your entry! Don't worry if you get a notification saying that they have replayed or taken a screenshot of your snap, this just means that they wanted a better look at it!

So there you have it, my beginners tips to becoming a snapchat comper! You can add me on snapchat with lornabeattie and at Twitter I am @LaurieBeat, and let me know how you get on with your snap chatting! You can even send me a tester snap or two, just to get used to it if it is all new to you. Either way, have fun and happy comping. 

Luck and Love, 

Laurie