Snapchat for Business - The basics for new Snappers

So you created yourself a Snapchat account because you have seen a lot of Snapcodes on social media and now you have no idea how to drive the ghostly app? 

I'm writing a series on SnapChat for Business and thought while I'm doing that and learning to drive the ghost myself... I might share some tips with anyone who would like a little help navigating Snapchat....so basically it's for anyone that isn't a Gen Y or younger!

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Username and Display Name 

Username is how you are recognised and once you create that name you cannot change it. It's your snapchat identity not to be confused with display name. The display name is how you appear on Snapchat to your friends so choose a name friends will recognise.  The name you give people if you want them to add you, is the username. Confusing hey.

To Add other Snappers

You can add from your contacts or you can enter the username in the search feature. If someone adds you, you can add them back, tap the yellow ghost at the top of the screen when they add you and tap the plus sign next to their name which adds them. You can even add snap chatters who are nearby with the 'add nearby' feature. Much easier than typing in a username.

selfie insructions
Did you know you can save and share your selfie, just tap your code once and in the top right corner the share icon appears, save or share away.

Snapcodes

One of my favourite features is the snapcode. Snapcodes make it easier for everyone to get more followers on the app. Not to mention, scanning a Snapcode is a piece of cake! 
Use it to add others and Vice Versa!
Snapcode works really well, just take a screen shot of any code and add it under the 'add friends via code' and voila! They are added, no typing in a name. 

Or just simply point your Snapchat camera at a Snapcode, and then press and hold on the screen. I also screen shot them if I'm on my phone and go to Add friends, add by snapcode and your camera roll will show any codes you took screen shots of, just tap them it will scan and add. Easy peasy. Who wants to type underscores and try spelling long usernames!
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Customise your Snap Code

Feel like getting fancy and want to at least look like you know what you're doing? Create your own Snap Identity. 
​Create your own snap code by going to snapchat.com and download a high resolution code you can print or share and change your code there too.
 
A Snapcode feature is available to customise your own scannable code, make it  unique to you and your brand. There are rules for changing your code. Don't touch the dot matrix part of the code but do whatever you want to the inside part of the ghost. As long as you stay within the lines you should be fine. Crossing the outline of the ghost or changing the dimensions of the Snapchat code will prevent it from working.

Friend Emojis

I didn't notice when first using the App but there are emojis next to my friends names, I had only seen the smile and the star. Here is an overview of some friend emojis:

😊 Smile: One of your Best Friends – This is a Snapchatter you send a lot of Snaps to (but isn't your Best Friend).
🌟 Star: One of your friend's Snaps was replayed by you or another Snapchatter within the last 24 hours!Oh and I have quite a few baby emojis as I have just added new snappers aka friends and we probably haven't snapped each other yet.
👶 Baby: You just became friends!
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You can even see when your friend's birthday is as a little cake emoji appears next to their names, what a great feature for businesses to wish their clients a happy Snappy birthday. 
Full list of emojis can be found on Snapchat Support Friend Emoji

The Trophy Case

The bit nobody that I know uses or cares about ....

The more you experiment and play with the App, the more opportunities you’ll have to earn these trophies. Lets say that you reach a high enough Snapchat score, or send a certain number of stories then you might earn a trophy! To see which trophies you have earned, follow these steps: Tap on the Camera screen. Tap trophy and you will see icons if you have won any trophies, tap them and it explains your snap milestone. It's a pretty boring trophy cabinet so far, I'm hoping it gets more interesting as I progress.

Snapstreak 101 🔥

If you are on a 'Snapstreak' you will see a flame emoji next to your name and your friends this basically means you have sent a lot of snaps to each other within 24 hour period. There might even be a number next to the flames indicating how many snaps were swapped. 

Whats my Snapchat "score"?

Your Snapchat score is a special equation combining the number of Snaps you've sent and received, stories you've posted, and other factors.

​My business SnapChat account as I write this post has a meagre 400 and something snaps. I say meagre because the Millennials (aka Gen Y) in my life have around 24,000-30,000 and some are around 100,000 mark!

Business and more tips

So that's a crash course for Snapchat beginners.  A word of advice. You will either love it or hate it but give it some time to practice and follow some others who know what they are doing in Snapchat world.  Business owners should experiment with their friends and family (probably the kids) first to get familiar with the App and it's limitations as well as the opportunities before launching a snapchat marketing campaign with clients or customers.

MORE?
Follow my Snapchat for Business Blog series, Part I can be found here and if you add me on Snapchat as a result of reading this Post please let me know (@beefreevbs).

We still haven't covered the actual chat  feature or Stories so watch this space for more tips and follow Bee's Blog on social media links and #BeesBlog or visit my Facebook Business Page and LIKE to follow.

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