The Secret Psychology of Snapchat

7 min read

Do you get Snapchat?

If you don’t get it, you’re probably over 30.

This app ...

is huge!

It is used by 100 million monthly active users

who send more than 400 million snaps per day.

Source: Mashable

The company is worth $10 billion.

Source: Mashable

Keep reading to learn the psychology of Snapchat …… and why people use it so much.

1. What it is

2. How it works

3. The secret sauce

Deconstructing Snapchat

1. What it is

Snapchat is a way to make bite-sized content.

Snaps!Easy to consume pics perfect for snacking on mobile phones.

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Snapchat is useful for capturing life’s little moments.

Kind of like capturing the “Kodak moment”

(if you remember what that is.)

Snapchat is also a messaging servicewith special rules.

Every app has rules.

Swipe right to like or left to pass. If someone likes you back, it’s a match!

Write up to 140 characters.

Create 6 second looping videos.

Send photos/videos that disappear in seconds.

Why does this particular rule work so well for Snapchat?

The fact that snaps disappear means people can be more honest, more fun, and more...themselves.

PHEW

Carefree Communication

“Snaps disappear in 10 seconds so who cares!?!”… says the Snapchat user

Reducing the "cognitive load" of worrying what others might think of the photos.

See: Nir Eyal’s “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products”

Snapchat users snap without worry.

snapchatting is like wearing pyjamas at a

friend’s house.

If Instagram’s feed is like a wedding to dress up for,

2. How It Works

The default screen is the camera page.

It’s clear what the app wants people to do…

Take a snap already!

Other apps (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) always show the feed first.

Snapchat broke that rule, putting the camera first.

… and reduced the number of steps to one tap instead of several.

There’s another way Snapchat saves steps.

If you are an Instagram user, you know the pain of choosing just the right filter.

Choosing a filter in Instagram creates a loop of two decisions:

In Snapchat, filters apply automatically when swiping.

One less decision to make.

Cognitively speaking, that’s huge.

Users can get creative here too!

After taking a snap, altering the picture with paint and text is fun.

Snapchat offers endless customization opportunities.

Not only that, Snapchat has geo-filters, which, with one swipe,customize the image based on your location.

There is something novel, uncertain, creative, and surprising

about taking and altering snaps.

See: Nir Eyal’s book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products”

The best user-submitted snaps are curated into a Story by Snapchat for all to see.

All of these Snaps add“variable rewards.”

See: Nir Eyal’s book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products”

There’s still one more behavioral secret at work.

3. The Secret Sauce

Snapchat’s secret sauce lies in its roots as a messaging service.

Sending snaps activates the rule of reciprocation.

See: Robert B. Cialdini’s book “Influence”

Reciprocity in social psychology refers to our need to respond to a positive action with another positive action.

Following this rule, when a user gets a snap, she is somewhat obligated to send something back.

Because Snaps disappear, you need to reply right away

before you forget what Snap you received!

“Double tap to reply!” says Snapchat.And a few taps later a response is on its way...

Loading the next trigger for even more snapping...

Eventually making Snapchat a daily habit.

Snapchat has a great Hook

See: Nir Eyal’s book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products”

1. Internal TriggerThe fear of losing the moment.

Quick! Snap it! So cute!

2. ActionOpen the app and

snap with just one tap.

3. Variable RewardHow does it look? Did I capture the moment?

How should I modify this?

4. InvestmentSending it to another user

“loads the next trigger” and “stores value” when new contacts are added.

5. External TriggerReplying to a snap sends a new notification,

activates the rule of reciprocity, …

… and the Hook cycle continues.

… And now you understand why people are hooked to Snapchat!

Dori AdarDoriAdar.com

Nir EyalNirAndFar.com

Victoria YoungCreateInteractions.com