With more and more influencers looking into ways to collaborate with others to create content and drive more traffic to their pages, Snapchat has finally announced the release of its Shared Stories, a new feature that is meant to allow users to invite and request other Snapchatters to add their own takes and insights to their Story.
To get users started with this new addition, Snapchat shared a few examples in a quick yet all-inclusive video:
Snap also explained the latest feature by stating:
“Shared Stories is a new iteration of Custom Stories, a product that previously allowed Snapchatters to create a Story and add friends to view and contribute. Now, with our new and improved Shared Stories, Snapchatters who’ve been added to the group can add their friends as well, making it easier for the whole soccer team, camp squad, or group of new coworkers to get in on the fun.”
Hence, when a user creates Shared Stories, they’ll have the chance to select certain people to contribute with their own Snaps. After the content is created, both the user’s connections and the contributer’s will have access to view the Stories, thus gaining more exposure and reach potential.
As you may have guessed it already, these Shared Stories will have the power to boost creation and engagement in the app by almost duplicating the trend that has been popular on TikTok for quite some time, in which users are encouraged to not be passive spectators when watching the creator’s content but active ones who have the opportunity to add their own take to the process.
However, the sharing dynamic is not very new on Snapchat, seeing that Custom Stories have previously introduced a similar concept. Nonetheless, the difference here is that Custom Stories were limited by location, whereas anyone from anywhere can contribute to Shared Stories but that is only if they’re invited to the group.
As usual, Snaps that are sent to Shared Stories will automatically disappear after 24 hours , and Snap is also enhancing its security front by letting users know if or when they join a Shared Story that includes someone that they’ve previously blocked.
Snapchat explains the reasons behind this move in the following statement:
“This gives Snapchatters the opportunity to leave the Shared Story, and ensures Snapchatters are always in complete control over who they share content with on our platform.”
All in all, Shared Stories is a great addition to the popular platform and it is easy to see how not only influencers, but also brands will benefit from it especially when it comes to those who place great focus on user-generated content when it comes to their online strategy.
Would you be interested in contributing to Shared Stories? Let us know by tweeting us @itpliveme