How to Use Snapchat Like a Boss
Ever since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has been completely unique in the features it provides, and the type of content users expect to find there.
Updated
On this page
Updated November 2026. This was first published on 15 May 2020. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- Ever since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has been completely unique in the features it provides, and the type of content users expect to find there.
- Now, with more than 300 million active users on the platform, it has turned out to be a highly authentic, personal, and engaging medium for brands to connect with their audiences.
- To be able to market successfully on Snapchat, all you need is a foundational understanding of how the app works and a strong strategy for creating engaging content on the app.
Ever since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has been completely unique in the features it provides, and the type of content users expect to find there. Now, with more than 300 million active users on the platform, it has turned out to be a highly authentic, personal, and engaging medium for brands to connect with their audiences.
To be able to market successfully on Snapchat, all you need is a foundational understanding of how the app works and a strong strategy for creating engaging content on the app. All of this information and more will be covered in this basic guide on how to use Snapchat like a boss.
How do I create an Account? #
After you download Snapchat from the Playstore or the iOS App Store, all you need to do is sign up to start using the app.
Enter your first and last name into the screen that appears. Once youere done, click on the ‘Sign Up & Accepte button. You can always come back and change the name later, so donet worry if youeve added the wrong name here.
On the next screen, select your birthday on the calendar that appears. Snapchat will remember your birthday and wish you every year. Note: You need to be at least 13 to use Snapchat.
The app will generate a username from your first and last names for you. You can edit the username or proceed with the same. Remember, your username needs to be unique, so be creative with it and feel free to use any special characters if you want to. It is always better if you create a username around your brand name so that people can recognize your business easily.
Now you need to create a password for your account. Make sure that the password is at least eight characters long, or the app wonet accept it.
Once youere done with all this, you will need to put in a mobile number, and a verification code will be sent to that number to verify the creation of your account. You could also use an email address in place of the mobile number. the verification procedure will be the same.
Put this code back into the app, and you will proceed to a robot-check screenea small test to make sure that youere not a robot. Complete the test, and your Snapchat account will be ready for use.
If youere creating an account strictly for business, you should consider using the Snapchat Ads Manager. You can create an account there by simply adding your business name, country youere operating in, and the currency youere going to use.
How do I recover an old account? #
Recovering your old account does not need a lot of effort. Here is how to get access to an account youeve lost.
After clicking on the Login button on the initial screen, click on ‘Forgot your password?? Select whether you want to recover the account through Email or Phone Number and add the relevant details. The account recovery information will be sent to you via email or phone, depending on the method you selected.
How do I set Up My Profile? #
Once youeve created your account, you need to set up your profile in such a way that it reflects your brandes message and represents your business effectively.
You could set a profile picture by tapping on the ghost icon on the top left corner of the screen. This will allow you to take a series of 5 images. When youeve taken photos that you find useful enough, complete the process to set them as your profile picture.
Snapcodes are another way to share a link to your brandes page and can come in handy in promotional campaigns. They can be easily scanned by another phone to land on to your page. To set one up for your account, Tap the ghost icon on the top left. Click on the settings button on the top right of the screen that appears.
Select the ‘Snapcodese option and then proceed to ‘Create Snapcodee from the menu that appears.
Enter your business URL and click ‘Create.? You can also add the logo of your brand in the next step or just skip if you want to.
Your Snapcode is now ready to be shared in any promotional campaigns.
How Do I find a friend? #
Finding friends on Snapchat is fairly simple. You can find someone one in three ways; by syncing your phone contacts, by directly searching their username, or by scanning their Snapcode.
Tap on the ghost on the top left corner of your screen. Tap on ‘Add Friendse right below your profile information.
Confirm that you want to sync contacts to find contacts. A pop-up will appear, asking you to allow Snapchat to access the contacts on your phone.
Finding friends by their username is even simpler.
Tap on the search bar and type in the username of your friend. The search results will show all profiles with similar usernames.
Lastly, you could scan Snapcodes to find your friends on Snapchat.
Go to the camera mode in Snapchat and place the code you want to scan in front of your phonees camera. A picture of the code would also work here.
The camera will automatically scan the code and locate the specific account.
How do I invite a friend? #
Once youeve found your friends on Snapchat, you can invite them to be friends with you. This way, youell be able to share your stories with them. As a brand, it is better if you create a public profile so that everyone can view your stories, even if they are not friends with you. To add friends, simply click on the ?+Adde button in front of their username once you have found their account.
How do I message a friend? #
You can communicate with your friends through private messages or simply post stories for everyone to view. Snapchat has a unique feature of disappearing messages. tend to create a candid feel of communication and are one of the main differentiating factors from other social media apps.
Tap on the square chat button at the bottom of the main screen or just swipe to the left to get to the Chat screen. Tap on the name of the friend you want to send the message to.
Besides text, you can also send pictures and videos as messages or even do an audio or a video call. Once your friend receives the message, they can either view it once or save it. If they donet save the message, it will disappear once they close the chat box.
How do I follow a publication? #
Just like yourself, there will be thousands of other brands and public pages on Snapchat open for the public to follow. You can follow their accounts to stay updated on their daily stories or directly get in touch through messages. You can follow someone the same way you add them as your friend. Search for their username in the search box, and once they appear in the results, click on the ?+Adde button to follow them.
How do I create a Story? #
Now that you have your account completely set up, you will need to create regular posts to keep your audience engaged. Posts on Snapchat are called Stories, which stay on your public profile for 24 hours and then automatically disappear.
Take a picture of whatever you want to post or upload one from your phone gallery. You could also take a video of a maximum of 60 seconds by holding the capture button. Once your picture or video is ready, you can edit it by adding text, emojis, or stickers to it. You can also draw something over it through the freestyle pen. Click on the ‘Storye icon on the bottom. This will add the image or video to your story.
As a brand, you can run promotional campaigns with your stories. will then reach a wider audience than they usually do.
How do I share a story? #
Besides posting images and videos on your stories, you can also share them as Snaps with your friends.
Create the story in the same way as you would normally do. Click on the blue arrow at the bottom right. This would open options to share the story. You can either share it to your public story or individually with your friends through the menu that appears.
How do I use a Filter? #
Snapchat allows you to add different effects and filters to your Snaps and Stories. These filters add different virtual objects to the pictures and videos and help create engaging content. To use filters, simply open up the camera mode on Snapchat and press and hold your finger over your face on the screen. Different filters will pop up with simple instructions on how to use them. You can follow these instructions to get them to work.
Once youeve applied these filters, you can share the stories in the same way you did before. You can post as a public story or send it as a Snap to your friends.
Snapchat also allows you to share these stories to other platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. Simply navigate to the ‘Discovere option in the app and hold down a story. This will reveal the sharing options which you can use to share them to other platforms.
How do I create my own filter? #
You can also create your own filters with Snapchat. These filters could include any artwork, names, designs, or logos, that people would put on their stories and share them with the world. As a brand, this can help you get even closer to your audience since it encourages the users to promote your business through their stories.
You can either create free community filters that represent a public location (a city, college, park, etc.) or a particular event (a game, concert, etc.). As a brand, you can also go for paid filters that could include your logo, a special occasion, or any other promotional stuff. These filters are a little costly but Snapchat does offer different packages for businesses which you can avail to create your filters.
Open up Snapchates ‘Create Your Owne page and select ‘Create a Filtere from the left side of the screen. Choose a design from the designer that opens up and complete your filter. Once the design is complete, draw geofence on the map and schedule the filter for a specific time. Now confirm the details and proceed to payment.
You can use either the default templates, or upload your own images and designs to create filters for your business. All images you add need to be PNGs with transparent backgrounds. The resolution must be either 1080 x 1920 pixels or 1080 x 2340 pixels.
These filters can be fairly expensive but as a business, if youere able to use them smartly, you can generate a decent ROI. The prices mostly depend on the size of the geofence and the time you want to run your filter for. The price is charged per filter created. The average cost of covering around 22,000 sq. For a little higher (around $30), you get up to 25 hrs.
Success Metrics for Brands on Snapchat #
Running marketing campaigns on any platform makes no sense if youere not able to see how well they did. Every platform has some performance metrics specific to it that help see if the campaigns did any good. Here are some you can track on Snapchat to get an idea of how effective your campaigns have been and how much of an ROI they have generated.
This measures the number of users that viewed your content for at least one second. This metric is particularly useful since it gives you an accurate count on the number of views without repeating any user for multiple views.
Some users might open your stories but leave without watching them till the end. The completion rate tells you the percentage of people who viewed your stories from the start to the end without leaving mid-way.
Fallout rate simply measures the percentage of people who left after watching your first story. If you have high a high fallout rate, your content is simply not engaging enough to keep the attention of the audience for long.
Questions and answers #
How do I create an Account? #
After you download Snapchat from the Playstore or the iOS App Store, all you need to do is sign up to start using the app. Enter your first and last name into the screen that appears.
How do I set Up My Profile? #
Once youeve created your account, you need to set up your profile in such a way that it reflects your brandes message and represents your business effectively. You could set a profile picture by tapping on the ghost icon on the top left corner of the screen.
How Do I find a friend? #
Finding friends on Snapchat is fairly simple. You can find someone one in three ways; by syncing your phone contacts, by directly searching their username, or by scanning their Snapcode.
How do I message a friend? #
You can communicate with your friends through private messages or simply post stories for everyone to view. Snapchat has a unique feature of disappearing messages.