How's this for a snappy statistic (pun totally intended): 41 percent of teens use Snapchat, and it's the third most popular social network (after behemoths Facebook and Instagram). In the 18-29 demo—the ultra-coveted millennial age group— 26 percent cop to using Snapchat, and a remarkable 70 percent of those users are women. There are about 26 million Snapchat users in the U.S. alone, and they send a whopping 400 million snaps a day. So if your brand isn't already on Snapchat, now would be a good time to start! Here, we've got you covered with a few tips and tactics to for making the most out of it, whether you're jumping in for the first time or just want to grow your audience. Now, snap to it!

Geofilters

For whatever city you’re in, there is for sure to a filter to match your location. Think of it as Snapchat’s digital postcard that uses a cool filter to let all of your followers know where you are. Not only can Snapchat’s geofilter feature show artwork to match the city you’re in, but if you’re hosting a large event (concert, party, festival, conference, etc.), you can also add a geofilter for your event! With a geotag filter, its a sure ticket to have tons of people share about your event to all their followers on Snapchat.

Snapchat stories

The next level to Snapchat geofilter feature is having your own Snapchat story for your occasion. Just like every city has a Snapchat story, so can your event! Give everyone who is coming to your event a chance to add your snaps to the curated Snapchat story for a chance to be featured! Not only does this give a chance for your attendees to engage more in Snapchat, but it also allows people who were not able to come to your event see it on their Snapchat feed worldwide.

When your brand has exciting news, head to Snapchat and build up anticipation by announcing it in a series of snaps.

tweet this

Story lines

Do you have something exciting to announce or want to start a recurring series that lives on your Snapchat? Build up the anticipation by planning out a storyboard of how you want to announce your news in a series a snaps, and then put it into action. Not only will a story line project your message better than just a snap that lasts 10 seconds, but it will also increase your views after people see that a long series of snaps means there’s something exciting to announce.

Snapchat exclusives

When you give your followers on other platforms exclusives if they follow you on Snapchat, get ready for the views to come flooding in. Exclusivity always wins, so use Snapchat as a tool for that if you have some behind the scenes action going on, or create a promo code that's just for your followers. 

If you’re already experienced with Snapchat, what are some of the tactics that have worked best for you? Let us know below!

Priscilla Castro is Create & Cultivate's Director of Social Media and Community in Los Angeles. She also does social media client work at (No Subject), and was previously Editorial Director at BeautyCon. Follow her @kodeofkondukt.