How to Grow Your Snapchat Following: Spotlight, Snapcodes and Collabs
How to grow your Snapchat following: Spotlight videos people watch to the end, your Snapcode and profile link everywhere, cross-promotion and creator collaborations.
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To grow your Snapchat following, you need people who have never seen you to find you, and a reason for them to follow you once they do (Snapchat has also called this subscribing to a public profile). On Snapchat, most discovery comes from Spotlight, your Snapcode and profile link, cross-promotion from the networks where you already have an audience, and collaborations with other creators. This guide covers each, plus how to tell which ones work.
Where new Snapchat followers come from
Snapchat is built around friends and private messages, so new people rarely stumble onto your profile by accident. Growth comes from a few specific routes:
| Route | How people find you | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Spotlight | Your short videos appear in Snapchat’s feed for people who do not follow you | Reaching new viewers at scale |
| Snapcode and profile link | People scan your code or tap your snapchat.com/add link | Converting followers you have elsewhere |
| Cross-promotion | Your audience on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other networks sees a reason to add you | Moving an existing audience |
| Collaborations | Another creator introduces you to their followers | Borrowing trust from someone with a similar audience |
A public profile ties these together. It is where Spotlight viewers land when they tap your name, so make sure your bio says what people will get and your best saved Stories and Spotlight videos are visible.
Make Spotlight your discovery engine
Meet Spotlight’s basic requirements
Snap’s guide to submitting to Spotlight sets out one firm rule and a few recommendations:
- Vertical video with sound. This is the requirement. Still photos, horizontal Snaps, blurry Snaps and text-only Snaps will not appear in Spotlight.
- A topic. Add a #topic on the Send To page so people exploring that subject can find your Snap and join in.
- Creative tools. Captions, Sounds, Lenses and GIFs help a Snap stand out. Sounds include licensed song clips as well as your own original audio.
- Profile visibility. “Show Snap on Public Profile” is on by default when you submit to Spotlight. Leave it on so viewers who like one video can see the rest.
Post original content. Reposting other people’s videos is not a route to a loyal following, and it can break Snapchat’s guidelines.
Make videos people watch to the end
A Spotlight video has a second or two to stop someone from swiping. A few formats work across most niches:
- Start with the result. Show the finished dish, the trick landing or the before-and-after first, then show how.
- Ask a question in the first line of text. “Would you try this?” gives viewers a reason to stay for the answer.
- Keep one idea per video. If you have three tips, make three videos.
- End with a reason to follow. “Part two is on my profile tomorrow” turns a viewer into a follower more often than a generic “follow for more.”
Build a series
One viral video brings a spike; a series brings followers who stay. Pick a format you can repeat, such as a weekly challenge, a numbered list or a day-in-the-life, and give it a consistent title in your captions.
Post consistently and learn from your numbers
Post on a rhythm you can keep for months, not days. After each Spotlight video, note its views and how many followers you gained in the days after. Within a few weeks you will see which topics and formats bring followers, not just views, and you can make more of those.
Share your Snapcode and profile link everywhere
Your Snapcode is the scannable code tied to your Snapchat account. Snapchat’s help center explains that you can get your Snapcode from snapchat.com/add/ followed by your username, and the same address works as a link to add you.
Put that link and code wherever people already meet you:
- Your bios on other networks, or your link in bio page.
- Your other content, such as a YouTube video description or a pinned post.
- Print: packaging, posters, event signage or merch.
- Live moments: on screen during a stream or on a slide at an event.
If people find you in many places, a single page can hold your Snapchat link alongside everything else. A Linkme page holds featured links to any site, so your Snapchat profile can sit next to your other channels, and the page’s own QR code opens it. Use your Snapcode when the only goal is a Snapchat follow, and your page’s code when you want people to choose where to follow you, buy or sign up.
Cross-promote from your other networks
Followers on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube have no reason to add you on Snapchat if they will see the same thing. Give them something they can only get there:
- Behind the scenes of what you post elsewhere.
- Daily, unpolished updates that would not fit a polished feed.
- Early looks at announcements, drops or releases.
- Direct replies, since Snapchat is where you answer people one to one.
Then tell your other audiences about it, more than once:
| Network | Where to mention Snapchat |
|---|---|
| Bio link, a Story with your Snapcode, the end of a Reel | |
| TikTok | Bio link, a short video teasing the Snapchat-only version |
| YouTube | Video description, end screen, a pinned comment |
| X and Threads | A post linking your snapchat.com/add address |
Linkme’s Post to All does not publish to Snapchat on the web, so post your Snaps in the Snapchat app. It does publish the teaser that sends people there, to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads and LinkedIn from one upload.
Grow through collaborations
Collaborate with creators your audience would like
The best partners have a similar or slightly larger audience in a related niche. A fitness creator and a meal-prep creator share an audience without competing for it. Ways to collaborate:
- Story takeovers or shout-outs, where each of you introduces the other to your audience.
- A shared challenge you both post to Spotlight with the same topic.
- A joint video filmed together and posted on both accounts.
Agree who posts what, when, and what you each ask your audience to do.
Use Remix
Snap’s Spotlight privacy overview notes that other Snapchatters may be able to Remix Spotlight Snaps, for example by layering their reaction over the original. Remixing a larger creator’s video with a genuine reaction or answer can put you in front of their viewers. Remixes of your own videos are a signal that a format is worth repeating.
Disclose paid partnerships
If a brand pays you for a collaboration, label it clearly. Snap has given public creators an in-app Paid Partnership tag for branded content, so use it where it is available to you, and remember that advertising rules in many countries require disclosure either way.
Know when you are growing, not just getting views
Track these each week:
- Followers gained after each Spotlight video, not just its views.
- Which route they came from: Spotlight, your Snapcode, a cross-promotion or a collaboration.
- Profile visits that turn into follows.
If your Snapchat link sits on a Linkme page, Analytics shows profile views, link clicks and the sources and places they come from, so you can see whether people tap through to Snapchat. Use Snapchat’s own insights for in-app numbers. For creators building across several networks, the Linkme setup for creators and athletes brings the page, posting and sign ups into one place.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get more followers on Snapchat?
Post vertical Spotlight videos with sound and a topic, ideally as a series viewers want to continue. Share your Snapcode and snapchat.com/add link on your other networks with a reason to follow, and collaborate with creators who share your audience.
Does posting to Spotlight get you followers?
It can. Spotlight shows your videos to people who do not follow you, and with “Show Snap on Public Profile” on, viewers can tap through to your profile and follow you. A clear reason to come back, such as a part two, makes that more likely.
How do I share my Snapchat profile?
Share your Snapcode or the link snapchat.com/add followed by your username. Put it in your bios, video descriptions, pinned posts and anything you print.
How many followers do you need to make money on Snapchat?
Snap sets its own eligibility rules for creator monetization, including follower and activity requirements, and changes them over time. Check Snap’s creator resources for the current thresholds before you plan around them.
Snapchat growth comes from a few habits repeated over months: make Spotlight videos worth finishing, make it easy to find you and give people a reason to stay.
