Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are among the largest social media platforms in terms of user base. Despite having close launch dates, Snapchat has over 800 million users while the other two have long crossed the 1 billion mark. To enhance its user experience and attract new creators, Snapchat has added new features it announced on Thursday, June 12.
What New Snapchat Features Will Be There?
Four major additions are being made to Snapchat. These new Snapchat features will help creators and Snapchatters make content more easily.
- The Timeline Editor
- Templates to “Create a Video” from Memories
- Deeper Creator Insights
- Story Auto-Save for Public Profiles
Here’s a deeper look into each feature.
The Timeline Editor
Out of the four, this is the sole feature that will first be available to creators in the US only. This new feature will enable creators to edit videos on the app more intuitively. At present, Snapchat’s video editor allows simple, basic edits like trimming, splitting, and adding creative elements. The timeline editor will show your videos in chronological order, and music, lenses, and other creative elements can be added to it in layers. The interface will look and feel similar to the Edits and provide a seamless experience.
Templates to “Create a Video” from Memories
This new Snapchat feature has been designed to make lens-powered videos easier to create from saved Memories. Users can select videos from their Memories, a soundtrack from the Snapchat Sound Library, and choose which template they want the video in. In a matter of seconds, you have a new video to snap.
Templates will be available to iOS users across the globe.
Deeper Creator Insights
Some new insights have been added to Stories and Spotlights. They will help creators with public profiles to understand their audience better, and also provide information about viewer behaviour and loyalty for potential brand collaborations.
A key new insight is Returning Viewers, which allows creators to see how many viewers watched their content for a minimum of 12 days in the last month. Views by Traffic Sources shows the number of views from the different sources of views, including Discover For You, Following, Spotlight, Search, Chat, and Profile for Content and Profile.
Top Content tells what a creator’s most viewed Spotlight posts and Public Stories are over the last 28 days. These were the insights that made Snapchat news and got creators talking.
Story Auto-Save for Public Profiles
Auto-saving stories to public profiles is the last new optional Snapchat feature. This update will allow fans of creators to keep up with content and revisit their favorite stories. The new feature, which will soon be available to creators worldwide, will also assist creators in compiling a permanent collection of their best moments and content, providing fans with a more in-depth glimpse into their creative process.
While it is optional, the idea of saving stories to display them on your profile for days or months does go against the core of Snapchat’s nature – vanishing messages and content.
The new features Snapchat has and will roll out demonstrate a move towards a better user experience while creating content, an intuitive interface so users don’t go to other editing apps, and empowering creators with better data. They also raise the question of where the app is headed in the future, as it has taken a step toward longer-lasting content, while Snapchat is known for the opposite. Whichever way it goes, Snapchatters across the globe are excited about the changes to come.