How MannyMua Beautifies Snapchat, One Contoured Cheek At A Time

Social beauty vlogger MannyMua uses Snapchat to show off his contouring with brands like Tarte and Benefit Cosmetics, while also offering a glimpse of his life beneath the makeup. He talked with Fast Company about what he loves about the platform, how to build a following, and what he’s learned from the viral controversies along the way.

How did you get started on Snapchat?

I love Snapchat because it’s such an immediate way of connecting with your followers. It’s so personal and fun to let people see into your life. That’s why it’s been such a successful platform. I only started doing it because I don’t vlog on my channel, that’s not something I do normally. But people wanted me to vlog anyway and see into my life. I couldn’t bring myself to film it with a camera, so Snapchat was my way to give my followers a way into my life without having to film it and edit it. It’s just a 10 second clip. It’s a great platform to use for what I do.

What kinds of posts are the most successful on Snapchat?

I noticed that me joking around and having fun on Snapchat is always what gets me talked about the most on Snapchat. I get a lot of tweets about my friends and I hanging, or me just doing something very personal. It’s not always about having to wear makeup on Snapchat and posing and looking pretty and cute. That’s fun too. But not everyone cares about that. They want to see your real life, fun, and connections you make with other people. That’s how I am on Snapchat.

What do you love most about the platform?

What I love most is connecting with so many different people. After Snapchat started, my engagement with people and my fanbase grew so much more. They get to see so much of me on a regular basis, not just me as MannyMua online. It’s been so cool getting to see what Snapchat has done for me and my career and my image. That’s my favorite part. It has helped me grow so much. I get to show people a side of me I don’t ever get to show on Instagram or Youtube because that’s a part I’m willing to show as a persona. Snapchat allows me to be Manny on an everyday level. There’s no pressure.

You’ve experienced some controversy on Snapchat before. What have you learned from those experiences about how to use Snapchat?

Whenever I’ve had controversy on Snapchat, it comes from me thinking that everyone watching is my friends. So it’s just me venting to my friends. And that’s how I thought for so long. But I started to realize that not everyone watching my Snapchat thinks like that. Not everyone watching has good intentions. You have to treat it as any other platform, and be careful with what you say. Not everyone watching is your friend.

This article is part of our coverage of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017.