- John Brooker
An In-depth Guide to Growing your Snapchat Following
Snapchat is killing it right now. But are you killing it on Snapchat? Only a select group are because Snapchat is the hardest platform to grow a following on. Only a few know the tricks of the trade. This means they can enjoy the benefits of reduced competition. Soon the masses will have figured Snapchat marketing out and the platform will become saturated like Facebook and Twitter. Make sure you don’t lose your chance to get more Snapchat followers before its too late. This 8 section guide will give you lots of actionable advice. All you need to do is commit to taking action on it.
Section 1: Follower targeting
First off you need to know what kind of followers you want. Ask yourself what niche you are targeting. Then use the following methods to attract followers from that niche:
Use the GhostCodes app so you can discover and be discovered by those in your niche.
Team up with niche influencers. If you don’t know any of them then just Google something like ‘Food bloggers New York’ if you want food related influencers in the area of New York. Swap in the words relevant to you. This will tell you who is talking about your niche. These influencers will most likely be using Snapchat.
Section 2: Using current Snapchat followers
Reach out to your current Snapchat followers personally. Snapchat is a platform where 1 to 1 relationships work well. Reaching out creates loyalty and loyalty makes people more likely to respond to any of your future requests, such as asking them to share you with their friends.
Current followers are useful in that they can share your account with their friends.
Here are some ways you can encourage them to do this:
Run a competition- Snapchat offers the ability to recommend other Snapchatters to each other. Make use of this by running competitions. Ask your followers to prove they’ve pressed the ‘send to…’ button and recommended you to their friends to be in with a chance of winning.
Send gifts- Send your most passionate followers gifts with your Snapcode on e.g. a Snapcode coaster. This means they can share your Snapcode with those they meet.
Just ask- Simply ask your followers to share. Keep asking every so often.
Your most passionate followers are micro-influencers. Let them takeover your Snapchat for a day. They are the best evangelizers you could ask for. Perhaps you could offer an incentive in return for a Snapchat review.
Section 3: Using other social media platforms
Using Facebook
Run Facebook ads of your Snapcode which ask people to add you on Snapchat. Facebook ads allow you to target your ideal follower. You can target by sex, age, location and personal interests.
Search for Facebook groups in your niche or generic ‘add me on Snapchat’ groups.
Niche Facebook groups are a great way to start interacting with your ideal audience. Interact with group members and help them out. If you give value to the group then the members shouldn’t mind if you share your Snapcode. Especially if you give members a good reason to add you.
‘Add me on Snapchat’ groups are where anyone can add anyone on Snapchat. This can be good but beware the wrong kind of followers.
On your profile Facebook gives you the option to pick up to 5 ‘featured photos’. Instead of picking 5, only pick one, that of your Snapcode. This way it’ll show up bigger. Alternately, you can make it your profile or header photo. To avoid losing your brand identity you should use a customized Snapcode. Get a custom Snapcode here
Add your Snapchat username to your profile intro text.
Put your Snapcode at the end of any video content you post.
Post your Snapcode asking people to add you. This works best if you go dark on all channels except Snapchat for a day. This way people have to add you on Snapchat to follow your updates.
Bonus Tip:
Add the phone numbers of your current Facebook friends into your phone contacts. On your phone tap Settings > Facebook > Update All Contacts. Then open Snapchat, swipe up and tap Add friends > Add from contacts. This adds any Facebook friends you have that are using Snapchat.
Using Instagram
Add your Snapchat username to your bio
Put your Snapcode at the end of any video content you post
Post your Snapcode asking people to add you. This works best if you go dark on all channels except Snapchat for a day. This way people have to add you on Snapchat to follow your updates.
Run Instagram ads of your Snapcode which ask people to add you on Snapchat.
Using YouTube
Add your Snapchat username to your about section
Make your Snapcode your profile photo or banner photo. To avoid losing your brand identity you should use a customized Snapcode. Get a custom Snapcode here.
Put your Snapcode at the end of any video content you post
Using Twitter
Add your Snapchat username to your bio
Make your Snapcode your profile photo or header photo. To avoid losing your brand identity you should use a customized Snapcode. Get a custom Snapcode here.
Put your Snapcode at the end of any video content you post
Post your Snapcode asking people to add you. This works best if you go dark on all channels except Snapchat for a day. This way people have to add you on Snapchat to follow your updates.
Send an auto direct message to new Twitter followers’ inboxes with a link to your Snapchat URL. We can get this set up for you.
Post your Snapcode and use #Snapcode
Share your Snapcode to Twitter groups similar to https://twitter.com/SnapcodeShare
Using LinkedIn
Add your Snapchat username to your LinkedIn Summary
Make your Snapcode your profile photo or background photo. To avoid losing your brand identity you should use a customized Snapcode. Get a custom Snapcode here.
Put your Snapcode at the end of any video content you post
Post your Snapcode asking people to add you. This works best if you go dark on all channels except Snapchat for a day. This way people have to add you on Snapchat to follow your updates.
If you aren’t on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn we recommend you build a following on them as they are a great place to find relevant Snapchat followers. It isn’t hard. For content you could post videos you make on Snapchat. The number one thing you should do is make your profile or cover photo your Snapcode. To avoid losing your brand identity you should use a customized Snapcode. Get a custom Snapcode here.
Section 4: Using Customer Email and Phone Number Lists
Using customer phone numbers you have collected
Import any customer phone numbers you have to your phone’s contacts.
Then tap Add Friends > Add From Contacts, to see if any of the numbers you have are linked with Snapchat accounts. Add as many as you want. Often they return the favour.
Using email lists
Email your followers asking them to add you. Give them an incentive.
Add your Snapchat username to your email signature.
If you use email newsletters then include your Snapcode and an incentive in them.
Section 5: Using a Website or Blog
Your website is where you send out communications to customers to encourage them to take action. Make sure you leverage this highly visited asset to promote your Snapchat account.
Add your Snapchat link or Snapcode to your site in a place that makes it easily visible. Everyone has a personalized link to their Snapcode: snapchat.com/add/yourusername.
It’s worth getting a website or blog if you don’t have one. Even if it’s only purpose is to direct followers to Snapchat.
It’s not hard or expensive to create one. You can use a site like Shopify or Wix.
Section 6: Taking advantage of a Physical Premises
One of the things you have to bear in mind when growing a Snapchat following is that not all followers are equal. If you have a premises then any visitors you have will be more likely to buy from, talk about and engage with you than any other group. Therefore, it’s important to get them as Snapchat followers. It’s also relatively easy to do this.
Make sure you get your Snapcode in sight of as many visitors to your premises as possible. If you can’t afford anything right now then why not use your printer to print out a big Snapcode that you can stick up.
If you want something more professional looking then you can get your Snapcode printed on coasters, vinyl stickers, mini cards and more.
If you don’t have a physical premises then think of where your potential followers would like to hang out. Once you think of some likely places get yourself some Snapcode stickers or mini cards made up and leave them at the relevant places. You could even stick some on your car.
Section 7: Exploiting Events you Attend
Think of the events you attend. Parties, Nightlife events, Festivals, Networking events/ Conventions/ Seminars, Exhibitions, Trade Shows etc. How could you use Snapcode promotion techniques at these events? Consider using:
Snapcode Business cards
Snapcode stickers
Snapcode phone cases
Snapcode T-Shirts (these should be worn by you and anyone representing you)
Mini square cards with your Snapcode on (scatter these around)
Section 8: Offering Incentives
Exclusive content
Post some interesting content on Snapchat and only on Snapchat. Tell those outside of Snapchat that this is happening. Many will add you to make sure they aren’t missing out.
Product giveaways/ coupons/ extra product benefits
These are a great way to incentivize people to share your Snapchat account with others or incentivize potential followers to follow you.
Competitions are a great way to grow your following. To run successful competitions you need prizes. These would work great.
Ask your current followers to share your account in return for a chance to win a prize.
Alternately, you could run a competition exclusive to those who watch your Snapchat. Let everyone outside of your Snapchat know that they need to follow you on Snapchat for a chance to win.
3 Extra Tips
If you are mentioned in any blogs then ask them to put your Snapchat username in brackets next to mentions of your name.
Ghostcodes- use this free Snapchat discovery app to get discovered on Snapchat. Post your Snapcode on it and people will follow you. We can grow your profile on Ghostcodes so it gets you 10x the adds you usually get through it.
Takeovers- these are when you swap Snapchat accounts for a day. Find people with more followers than you and ask if you can do a takeover. This gets you exposed to their audience. If you want guidance on doing these then let us know.