Several months ago I wrote about how I made the decision to incorporate Snapchat into our social media strategy at Coastal Carolina University. Fast forward some 200 days later and I am now writing about how I have made the decision to incorporate Snapchat into my own personal branding strategy. To say that everyone supports this move of mine would be a little bit of a lie.

After experimenting with my own personal Snapchat account for quite some time, I finally solidified my plan on how to use it over the holiday break. No longer am I all about snapping random, low quality images like the other billion people on the service. No longer am I taking a photo and using my thumb to scribble a horrendously illegible word or two across it. No longer am I taking a video of the radio blaring in my car. Bottom line, my Snapchat account isn’t about random garbage anymore. Rather, it is about my brand and my blog.

I have changed my priorities when it comes to Snapchat. Now I am using my account to push my personal brand.

If you connect with me on Snapchat, and I highly recommend that you do (brentreser), you will notice something. About 90% of the snaps you receive from me will be strictly video messages of yours truly promoting brentreser.com. Hey now, stop making that disgusted face! I can assure you that while I am promoting my website, I am not shamelessly promoting my website. My objective is not to overwhelm and scare you with constant messages telling you to go read my blog. Instead, these snaps will only come each time I publish a blog post (so roughly 5-6 times a week). In the nightly aftermath of publishing my work, I will compose a video snap where I give a quick teaser on the topic for that particular night. I will send it to you personally and I will also post it to my story.

I write, post, and tweet about my blog often. However, very seldom do I get to talk about it. By going this avenue with Snapchat I have the luxury to explain in my own voice the latest happenings with Don’t Blink. I get to reach people who I might not normally reach through my other social media means. For the people who I do already reach and who will get hit again with my snaps it is my hope that this method might get through to them in a different way. If they weren’t reading before, maybe they will now. By composing these video messages I also hope to break up the monotony that Snapchat sometimes becomes. Perhaps people will appreciate a planned out video every once in a while as opposed to an in-your-face blurry selfie.

I already know that some don’t appreciate it, however. My brother and a friend have both voiced their displeasure over my latest tactic. They think it is self-promoting and spam-like in nature. Oh well, you can’t please everyone.

If you are on Snapchat, add me (brentreser). If you have other creative ways for how you utilize this service I would love to hear about it. Keep snapping my friends and always remember that no one is immune from a screenshot. Don’t Blink.