Become a Snapchat Pro

Snapchat has exploded into the next big platform for your business or brand (add me!).  The Product Hunt team put together a list of some super useful tools to build a bigger audience and make cooler content.  Check it out.

Snapchat isn’t the most welcoming of platforms for new users. At first glance, the app is not entirely intuitive; but after you play with it a little bit, you start to quickly see why so many people swear by this social platform. It allows you to communicate with followers in a completely different way than you would on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

The name of the game in the Snapchat universe is “perspective”—you get to experience the world not through a bunch of perfect filters (although, Snapchat has a few), but as close as possible through the eyes of the person you’re following—whether it be your best friend or a celebrity.

Whether you are brand new to the Snapchat game, or you use it frequently but want to be more of a pro at it, here are nine different apps and resources to help you make the most of this app that is taking the world by storm.

(but first lets take a moment to add ProductHuntTeam on Snapchat and see the custom geo-filter we have around the office) ?? ?? ??

@ProductHuntTeam

1. GhostCodes

Simple and fun way to discover new people on Snapchat

One of the pain points of Snapchat is that it’s not always easy to find new people to follow. In some ways, that limitation works because it keeps the platform intimate. But, what if you actually want to find interesting thought leaders to follow in a particular category? GhostCodes makes it easy to do that with its category discovery function. It works just like the App Store—you can find featured and top-ranked Snapchatters to follow based on your set of interests. Happy discovering!

2. Unofficial Snapchat Button

A button embed to promote your Snapchat account

This button generator allows you to promote your Snapchat account on any webpage in under a minute. This is especially useful if you’re a blogger or entrepreneur and want to give your followers an easier way to find you on Snapchat.

3. Snapchat 101

A start to finish tutorial series on how to use Snapchat

If you’re new to Snapchat, the platform can be a little bit confusing in the beginning. Who can see your snaps? How do you get those cool special effects? Where do you find the filters? How can you create your own story?

So. Many. Questions.

This course will take you through the entire platform and demystify Snapchat for new users. You’ll get eight course videos (each 2–5 minutes in length), as well as a PDF that explains what all of the various icons mean in case you get confused (we’ve all been there). The course covers: Signing up, navigating the home screen, taking and sharing your first snap, adding emojis, text, drawings, and filters to your snaps, and other ways to use Snapchat that you might not have thought of.

4. Snapchatters

Carefully handpicked Snapchatters to add on Snapchat

If you want to find interesting people to follow on Snapchat and don’t mind more of a random discovery tool compared to something like the category-focused GhostCodes, check out this site. The list is curated by Snapchatter Laurent Desserrey (@LDESSERREY on the Snaps), who reviews submitted profiles for a minimum of one week before featuring them. Then he adds anyone who stands out from the crowd. While subjective, we think Laurent has pretty good taste. Give it a try—you might just find your new favorite Snapchatter (or become someone else’s).

5. Yellow

Find new friends on Snapchat

One Product Hunt user described this app as “Tinder without the dating.” App creator Anthony Tuil says, “It’s more about making new connections.” Yellow caters to a younger audience, and we can see how they got 3.5 million swipes within two weeks of launching in late 2015. If you’re looking to use Snapchat as a way to connect with new people, this is an interesting app to check out.

6. Snapchat Story Explorer

Swipe up to see more Snaps of that same moment

You’ve gotta love a good Snapchat Story. One of our favorite things about the stories the Snapchat team puts together is that we get to see the same event from totally different vantage points and perspectives. It’s also such a cool way to explore what’s happening all over the world through one another’s eyes.

Snapchat went one step further with the launch of Story Explorer, which allows you to swipe up when you see a moment that inspires or intrigues you, and see more Snaps of that same moment from other Snapchatters. Explorer isn’t live in every city yet, but knowing Snapchat, they’ll roll it out quickly if it becomes popular. This is definitely a cool feature to keep your eye on this year.

7. SnapMemories

Timehop for Snapchat Stories

Finally! A way to take a walk down memory lane and relive your public Snapchat Stories (for better or worse). Each month, you’ll get a personalized email recap of all the Stories you created in the previous month. It’s sure to be one of the most entertaining emails you get all month. ;-)

For those of you worried about privacy, SnapMemories only captures your Stories that are made fully public—and you’re the only person who will see them (in other words, the SnapMemories team isn’t creepin’ on your old Snaps). This is a fun one to check out if you love Snapchat and nostalgia.

8. Snapvice

Snapchat tips & tricks delivered once a week

Snapvice is a weekly newsletter that gives you the scoop on new features, hidden tricks, and awesome people to follow. They are also doing Q&As with successful Snapchatters and sharing interesting news and relevant tips for those who want to better understand and use Snapchat. Short, sweet, and useful. We like it!

9. #AskGaryVee Episode 196: Snapchat

Influencers on content creation and the future of Snapchat

If you’re on Snapchat and you aren’t following Gary Vaynerchuk yet, go do that right now (he’s @garyvee ). If you’ve followed Gary at all, you know he goes on the most epic rants about everything from marketing to the New York Jets to truth talk about the proverbial entrepreneurial “hustle.” It’s hard to listen to Gary and not get the sense that he’s speaking the truth.

His latest truth? That Snapchat is about to blow up (even more than it already has), and it’s one of the absolute best ways for people and brands to connect with their audiences. If you’ve got questions about the power of Snapchat and how we can expect to see people engage with it in the future, listen to this podcast episode. This is probably one of the best looks at the future of this platform on the Internet to date, so you don’t want to miss it.

If you’re looking for more cool Snapchat-driven apps and resources, we have an entire Snapchat Topic of products on Product Hunt. And, if you want an inside look at what we’re up to every day, add @ProductHuntTeam on Snapchat.

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