JJ Abrams is known for many things, but one legacy follows him into each new project: the lens flare.

WAIT, before you go watch The Force Awakens for the 14th time, let’s examine why JJ’s lens flare is important here.

Create Your Consistency on Snapchat

While I certainly do not suggest incorporating lens flares into your video and image efforts (unless they would really add to the overall result), JJ’s use of them has a valuable takeaway for all of us.

When you are consistent in any medium, you generate a few valuable characteristics for your audience:

• Credibility. Your audience will see you as an authority on whatever topic you wish to share because you share it every day (or at least very regularly).
• Reliability. Whatever else happens in the world, your “lens flare” – wherever you share it – forms a foundation for your audience. That may seem sappy, but it’s amazingly true.
• Relevance. Sure, you could just share content that’s completely off the cuff, and that often works great for organic reaction. But by putting in effort to provide a consistent presence or element to your audience, you show them they are important enough for your time & creativity.

Examples of Lens Flare on Snapchat

The best Snapchat Stories, in my opinion, create an expectation of content. I’ll give you a few examples which keep me coming back for more (scan their codes to see what I mean!):

Each day, CammySutra takes us on a walk through the streets of Glasgow, Scotland on his quest to find street musicians.

Sandra Centorino creates a new challenge for her Snap friends each week called #PSS: Pay-It-Say-It-Forward.

The first Snap for Rachel’s Itsasnaptv each morning is seeing her handwrite the date on her writing pad.

Joel Comm has added his #10FastSnaps segment to each day where one-second Snaps guide you through a specific place.

And possibly my favorite is JoeWilsonTV ushering each day with a song accompanying his cat, Mike, with the fast-forward filter applied.

How do you find your lens flare?

This might be a very organic or a very planned undertaking, but I’d start with your regular day.

• Is there something you do just about every day anyway?
• When are you most thoughtful or creative? Can you translate that into content?
• What is a moment or phase of the day which truly reflects your personality?

Once you think you’ve struck upon an idea, your next question is: how can I use the app (e.g. Snapchat) to present this to my audience regularly? You may or may not want to add a hashtag title to your new segment, though presenting it consistently may allow it to stand on its own.

If you have more insights about how you arrived at our own lens flare, please share it below! Let’s help everyone find what works to keep their audiences engaged.

OK, now you can go watch The Force Awakens. Enjoy the lens flares! OH, and don’t forget to follow me on Snapchat: