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Snapchat Adds New Features to Facilitate Fun Interaction, Including Emoji Polls and Bitmoji Reactions

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Snapchat Adds New Features to Facilitate Fun Interaction, Including Emoji Polls and Bitmoji Reactions

Snapchat has added a range of new features to welcome the new year, including poll stickers, individual chat replies in group discussions and its own take on reply reactions, each of which is designed to better personalize your in-app experience.

Here’s a look at each of the new additions.

First off, Snap’s added Poll Stickers, which enable you to create emoji-focused polls that you can share in Snaps and Stories.

As you can see in this example, the new poll stickers provide a fun way to measure your friends’ responses to whatever question you choose.

As explained by Snapchat:

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Our visual Polls work across iOS and Android, so all your friends can weigh in and show their thoughts. Plus, our Polls were designed with transparency in mind – you can see how your friends voted to help ensure responses stay thoughtful and kind.”

The fact that you can see the responses points to the more light-hearted nature of the option, though it’ll no doubt also lead to some angst and concern as well due to misuse.

The new poll stickers are now available in the sticker folder in the app.

Snapchat’s also adding a new option to reply to individual messages within an ongoing group chat, enabling you to specifically address any comment with a separate chat thread.

Snapchat message reply threads

The functionality will be familiar to those who engage in group chats on Messenger, given Meta added the same functionality back in 2019. The option will make it easier to ensure your messages are understood, while additionally providing more context to all group chat members.

To use the individual reply option, you’ll now be able to hold down on a message in a chat then tap ‘Reply’.

Snap’s also rolling out Bitmoji Reactions, which are similar to the reaction options in other social apps, but utilize your Bitmoji character for a more personal touch.

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Snapchat Reactions

As you can see here, within a chat thread, you’ll now be able to choose one of seven Bitmoji reactions, providing a quick way to respond to messages, while also incorporating Bitmoji use.

Snapchat Bitmoji replies

And finally, Snapchat’s updated its video and audio calling interface in order to “make live conversations more fun”.

Snapchat video calling update

The new process makes it easier to add Lenses in video calls, a key engagement element for Snap’s video calling option, while you’ll also now be able to preview who’s on a group call before you join.

These are all relatively minor tweaks in the broader scheme, but each, again, adds an element of fun, which will help Snap boost engagement and interaction within its group chat and calling options.

Essentially, all of these options replicate elements of other social apps, though with a Snap-specific tilt, and that capacity may help expand Snap interaction, by providing familiar tools in a new context, feeding into Snap usage.

Each of the new features is now live in the latest version of the app.


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Snapchat Explores New Messaging Retention Feature: A Game-Changer or Risky Move?

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Snapchat Explores New Messaging Retention Feature: A Game-Changer or Risky Move?

In a recent announcement, Snapchat revealed a groundbreaking update that challenges its traditional design ethos. The platform is experimenting with an option that allows users to defy the 24-hour auto-delete rule, a feature synonymous with Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging model.

The proposed change aims to introduce a “Never delete” option in messaging retention settings, aligning Snapchat more closely with conventional messaging apps. While this move may blur Snapchat’s distinctive selling point, Snap appears convinced of its necessity.

According to Snap, the decision stems from user feedback and a commitment to innovation based on user needs. The company aims to provide greater flexibility and control over conversations, catering to the preferences of its community.

Currently undergoing trials in select markets, the new feature empowers users to adjust retention settings on a conversation-by-conversation basis. Flexibility remains paramount, with participants able to modify settings within chats and receive in-chat notifications to ensure transparency.

Snapchat underscores that the default auto-delete feature will persist, reinforcing its design philosophy centered on ephemerality. However, with the app gaining traction as a primary messaging platform, the option offers users a means to preserve longer chat histories.

The update marks a pivotal moment for Snapchat, renowned for its disappearing message premise, especially popular among younger demographics. Retaining this focus has been pivotal to Snapchat’s identity, but the shift suggests a broader strategy aimed at diversifying its user base.

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This strategy may appeal particularly to older demographics, potentially extending Snapchat’s relevance as users age. By emulating features of conventional messaging platforms, Snapchat seeks to enhance its appeal and broaden its reach.

Yet, the introduction of message retention poses questions about Snapchat’s uniqueness. While addressing user demands, the risk of diluting Snapchat’s distinctiveness looms large.

As Snapchat ventures into uncharted territory, the outcome of this experiment remains uncertain. Will message retention propel Snapchat to new heights, or will it compromise the platform’s uniqueness?

Only time will tell.

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Catering to specific audience boosts your business, says accountant turned coach

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Catering to specific audience boosts your business, says accountant turned coach

While it is tempting to try to appeal to a broad audience, the founder of alcohol-free coaching service Just the Tonic, Sandra Parker, believes the best thing you can do for your business is focus on your niche. Here’s how she did just that.

When running a business, reaching out to as many clients as possible can be tempting. But it also risks making your marketing “too generic,” warns Sandra Parker, the founder of Just The Tonic Coaching.

“From the very start of my business, I knew exactly who I could help and who I couldn’t,” Parker told My Biggest Lessons.

Parker struggled with alcohol dependence as a young professional. Today, her business targets high-achieving individuals who face challenges similar to those she had early in her career.

“I understand their frustrations, I understand their fears, and I understand their coping mechanisms and the stories they’re telling themselves,” Parker said. “Because of that, I’m able to market very effectively, to speak in a language that they understand, and am able to reach them.” 

“I believe that it’s really important that you know exactly who your customer or your client is, and you target them, and you resist the temptation to make your marketing too generic to try and reach everyone,” she explained.

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“If you speak specifically to your target clients, you will reach them, and I believe that’s the way that you’re going to be more successful.

Watch the video for more of Sandra Parker’s biggest lessons.

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Instagram Tests Live-Stream Games to Enhance Engagement

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Instagram Tests Live-Stream Games to Enhance Engagement

Instagram’s testing out some new options to help spice up your live-streams in the app, with some live broadcasters now able to select a game that they can play with viewers in-stream.

As you can see in these example screens, posted by Ahmed Ghanem, some creators now have the option to play either “This or That”, a question and answer prompt that you can share with your viewers, or “Trivia”, to generate more engagement within your IG live-streams.

That could be a simple way to spark more conversation and interaction, which could then lead into further engagement opportunities from your live audience.

Meta’s been exploring more ways to make live-streaming a bigger consideration for IG creators, with a view to live-streams potentially catching on with more users.

That includes the gradual expansion of its “Stars” live-stream donation program, giving more creators in more regions a means to accept donations from live-stream viewers, while back in December, Instagram also added some new options to make it easier to go live using third-party tools via desktop PCs.

Live streaming has been a major shift in China, where shopping live-streams, in particular, have led to massive opportunities for streaming platforms. They haven’t caught on in the same way in Western regions, but as TikTok and YouTube look to push live-stream adoption, there is still a chance that they will become a much bigger element in future.

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Which is why IG is also trying to stay in touch, and add more ways for its creators to engage via streams. Live-stream games is another element within this, which could make this a better community-building, and potentially sales-driving option.

We’ve asked Instagram for more information on this test, and we’ll update this post if/when we hear back.

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