How To Grow Your Business on Snapchat: 3 Steps To Get Started

The first step to grow a business on Snapchat is to create a Public Profile. This is the face of your brand on the app, and it enables your customers to find you through Snapchat’s search functionality. On top of that, those who discover you through public stories or Spotlights (more on that later) will be able to  keep in contact with you on Snapchat.

To create a public profile, visit Snapchat’s signup page, enter some basic business information, and hit “Next.” Then, you’ll have to create your profile, which is what your customers will see when they visit your account. Here, you’ll need to add the following for your business:

• Username
• Bio
• Website (this is optional, but I’d recommend adding it so customers know where to find your products)
• Profile photo

It’s great to have a public profile, but you need to start crafting a public presence. There are two ways to post on Snapchat, each with different benefits for businesses:

Public Story

Your public story is a collection of pictures or videos posted and pushed to your subscribers within the “Following” section of their Stories tab. If your Stories garner impressive views, shares, and interactions, they have the chance to appear in the “Discover” section on Snapchat. This is where they can be viewed by potential new customers.

Spotlight

The “Spotlight” tab is a discovery newsfeed for user-generated content (UGC) with a similar format to Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels. You’ll have to submit posts to be added to this page, and you’ll know within a day or two whether it made the cut by a small “Live” label attached to it. If you can get featured, Spotlights are best for growing brand awareness and building a subscriber base.

The Spotlight feed prioritizes UGC, so for the best chances of being included, reuse influencer collaborations and past UGC content. Another tactic is to encourage your subscribers to submit Spotlights that review your brand or products by offering incentives, such as a shoutout or discount codes.

If you’ve created a recognizable account and are posting regular, high-quality stories and content, you’ve already done the hard work! To make your work really sing, you need to hone your profile.

Snapchat allows you to give your Story and Spotlight posts a permanent home by pinning them onto your profile. Regular Snapchat posts are only visible for 24 hours, so this is a great way to promote and market products to maximize their reach.

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And that’s the basics to start growing your business on Snapchat! Remember to monitor the “Insights” tab on your profile, where you’ll be able to see important metrics on the views and reach of your Spotlight or Story posts, as well as information about your subscriber demographics.

Once you get comfortable with the basics, there’s a whole host of features and tools to check out, such as advanced advertising and branded filters called “Lenses.” Let us know if you’d like to see us cover these areas by leaving a comment!