The advent of Snapchat stories has given us a brand-new way to share. More like a personal feed rather than an individual snap, stories give your message (a grouping of snaps) 24-hour longevity on this popular platform. To engage your audience, employ these simple tips that will make your stories more interesting.

Respect the platform. This is meant to be a fun medium. To connect with your audience, you have to give them what they want. Keep it snappy.

Plan ahead. While stories “on the fly” have their place for prompting immediate action, they can still be planned. Loosely scripted, even. Most find it’s best to build the story ahead of posting, shooting photos or videos that specifically tell the story.

Move around. Talking heads are not effective here. Move around, switch camera direction and change up the on-camera face.

Embellish. You can add personality, emphasis and fun using filters (even multiple filters). Stickers, text, geofilters, even music are great ways to grab audience attention.

Tease them. Give them a reason to stay as soon as they start viewing. Use a tease to tell them what’s coming up. (Then be sure to deliver and make it worth their time.)

Have a takeover. Having someone else – a fan or an influencer – tell your story can be very effective. Let them.

Using these tips can help you kick your Snapchat presence up a notch. Once you have a plan for a story, don’t forget to promote it. Tell your friends there’s a story coming (or recently posted) they won’t want to miss. Then put those stories to work for you!