Snapchat is quickly becoming the hottest social network for marketers, but figuring out how to get more Snapchat friends is a major challenge! Snapchat is only on mobile, and just posting your Snapchat QR code to your social profiles isn’t very effective. Since you’ve already invested so much in growing your Instagram communities, so why not start there first? Here are 6 strategies to help you get more Snapchat friends using Instagram:
1. Tease your Snapchat story on Instagram
A great way to get more Snapchat friends is to tell your Instagram followers about your Snapchat story! Instead of just asking them to add you, provide a reason for them to add you by teasing your content on Instagram and telling your followers what you’ll be snapping today. Bloglovin‘ plans weekly takeovers with bloggers on their Snapchat and then shares it in the caption on an Instagram post. If you have set days of the week for Snapchat content, like Bloglovin’s takeovers or Everlane’s “Transparency Tuesday,” you can easily schedule Instagram posts in advance and write about today’s Snapchat story in the caption.
2. Don’t post the QR code
Simply posting your Snapchat ghost on your Instagram profile and asking people to follow you isn’t going to help you get more Snapchat friends. These days, teens (and adults!) have a lot of Snapchat friends, and they’re not necessarily looking to add more friends on Snapchat. Instead, think about how you can use your product in a weird or interesting way that will get people’s attention. If you entice your Instagram or Twitter followers with something unique and creative that’s exclusive to your Snapchat channel, then they will come over to watch it, and you’ll get more Snapchat friends!
And honestly…at this point, the yellow ghost QR code is not only redundant, but it’s starting to become annoying and spammy. Read more about the 3 Mistakes Businesses Make on Snapchat here.
3. Add your Snapchat handle to your Instagram bio
This one might seem obvious, but an easy way to get more Snapchat friends is to add your Snapchat handle to your Instagram bio! There’s two ways to do this: you can either write “Snapchat: latermedia” or “????: latermedia” (most people understand the ghost emoji to mean “Snapchat”). If you’re looking for other ways to improve your Instagram bio, check out 5 Ways Brands Can Use Instagram Bios here.
4. Link your Snapchat URL to your Instagram bio
Did you know that Snapchat has a URL that’s perfect for sharing your profile? Instead of using a QR code, you can direct your followers to your profile URL and if they open that link on a mobile device, it will instantly open your Snapchat profile in the Snapchat app. So cool! Want to try it out? If you’re reading this on a mobile device, just click here to add us to Snapchat!
Unfortunately, Instagram has blocked ‘add me’ deeplinking for some other social media services within the app, so if you try to add your Snapchat “add me” URL directly to your Instagram bio, it won’t work. But, I recently realized that if you shorten your Snapchat URL using a link shortener like Bit.ly first, and then paste your Bit.ly link into your Instagram bio, it will work! You might not want to have this in your bio all the time, but it’s a great strategy for when you are launching your Snapchat and want to get more Snapchat friends, or have an exciting story that you want to promote. Just post a photo to Instagram, and tell your followers to click the link in your bio to add you! See how I did it on my Instagram profile here.
5. Post Snapchat content on your Instagram
There’s nothing wrong with double dipping your content! In fact, by posting some of your best Snapchat content to Instagram, your followers will get a taste of what your Snapchat style is and what they can expect from adding you. If they see your snaps on Instagram and like what you post, they’ll be more inclined to add you! Take a cue from the Instagram queen Kim Kardashian, who also adds her Snapchat username to her caption to entice her Instagram followers to add her on Snapchat too.
6. Offer deals and exclusives on Snapchat
In the end, the easiest way to get more Snapchat friends is to offer something that you can only get on Snapchat. Whether that’s doing a giveaway that’s exclusive to your Snapchat friends, sharing a sneak peek of an upcoming product, or even just creating and posting a discount code that you can only find on Snapchat. People love free stuff! So much, in fact, that Snapchat influencer @Shonduras hosts his own “Free Stuff Fridays” each week to engage his Snapchat following and get more Snapchat friends.
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