A Guide to Snapchat Geofilters: All You Need to Know (2024)

Snapchat is a platform where it is possible to reach a large number of audience. This platform has more than 100 million daily active users. Snapchat allows people to capture and share their moments with more creativity and personalization.

Furthermore, since most Snapchat users are teenagers, it is possible to reach them through traditional marketing efforts. Here, Snapchat Geofilters is one of the best tools to use.

In this article, you will learn general details about Snapchat Geofilters and how they work for marketing and advertisement. Furthermore, you will also learn how to create and use Snapchat Geofilters for your marketing processes.

Apart from that, this article will also share with you how you can use this tool in different situations. Hence, to learn more, read on to the end of the article.

What are Snapchat Geofilters? – A General Overview

A HubSpot article defines – “A Geofilter is a location-based overlay you can find by swiping right on your Snapchat photo. It’s a particularly useful tool for promoting your business. If you create your own Geofilter, anyone on Snapchat in your chosen location can use that filter on their Snapchat images and videos — which means you’ll attract a large audience without much effort at all.”

Generally, if you buy out an ad space, you will not be able to spread your message organically. However, by using Snapchat Geofilters, you will be able to make the most out of Snapchat.

For example, if you use a national geofilter, almost six out of ten audiences can see the geofilter. Well, that number is close to 40,000 to 60,000 people.

Furthermore, there is a lot of scope to increase your business with geofilters. For example, a company called Bell Media used Snapchat geofilters for five hours at the University of Alabama. Here, with this short span of time, the post reached more than 19,000 people.

With a variety of features, the Snapchat Geofilters tool helps you transform your regular snaps into location-specific and visually engaging memories. This special tool from Snapchat has a lot of potential to ensure better marketing and advertising of your business and your products.

In general, Snapchat Geofilters are digital overlays that Snapchat automatically applies to your snaps on the basis of your location. Here, those digital overlays range from simple graphic texts to elaborate designs.

Hence, with the help of these overlays, it is possible to incorporate the name of the location, popular events, and landmarks.

How Do Snapchat Geofilters Work?

The Snapchat Geofilter acts as a personal filter for your snaps. With the help of these filters, Snapchat allows other users on the platform to connect and find an event on the app based on location.

Hence, this tool can help you to bring together your Snapchat friends to a particular area. Apart from that, this tool also enables you to personalize your images.

If your business operates on Snapchat, you can connect with more people with Geofilters. Furthermore, you can advertise through anyone who chooses to use your filters while they are at the location.

Moreover, the filter is available for free, and anyone with a Snapchat account can access Snapchat Geofilters. All you need to do here is take a picture through the app at a specific location.

Also, make the location available to everyone on the friends list. Apart from that, anyone who searches for the location on Snapchat will be able to see the snap, too.

The major advantage of Snapchat Geofilters is that they have the ability to integrate with the geolocation functionality of the platform. Once you create a snap on Snapchat, the platform detects your location and matches that location to the database of available Geofilters.

Say, if there are relevant Geofilters for a particular location, Snapchat automatically applies them to the snap you send. Hence, your personalized snap gets the local flair.

What are the Types of Snapchat Geofilters?

The following are the major types of Snapchat Geofilters that you need to learn about:

1. Community Geofilters

Here, Snapchat users can create Geofilters that are available to anyone within a specific location. These Geofilters contain designs that are related to local landmarks, popular culture, events, and more.

2. Branded Geofilters

Branded Geofilters are helpful for businesses and organizations that like to promote their brand, product, or event. These Geofilters mainly come with the logo of the brand, slogans, or even some branding elements of the business.

What are the Major Benefits of Using Snapchat Geofilters?

The best thing about Snapchat Geofilters is that they serve a variety of purposes. The following are some of the major beneficial purposes that Geofilters try to resolve:

1. Personalization

With the help of Snapchat Geofilters, you will be able to add a special touch to your snaps. These touches will make those snaps more memorable and shareable on the Snapchat platform.

Apart from that, Geofilters also helps you to create personalized snaps on the Snapchat platform. As a result, you can make your snaps more appealing to share with followers and friends.

2. Awareness of Location

With the help of Geofilters, Snapchat users are also able to connect with their local surroundings more. Furthermore, they are also able to express their location in a more creative manner.

Since Geofilters allow you to connect with your customers/ followers, you can encourage your users to explore and share their experiences from certain locations.

3. Better Branding and Marketing

One of the best ways that businesses on Snapchat can increase their brand awareness is through Snapchat geofilters. This is because the tool helps them to target audiences based on location factors.

As a result, businesses are able to promote their events better and also engage more deeply with their customers at their target locations.

4. Event Enhancement

With the help of Geofilters, there is more excitement and festivity when it comes to special events for businesses. Apart from that, enabling location also allows businesses to create a sense of community among their Snapchat followers.

Apart from that, this also helps to foster a sense of shared experience among the attendees of the events.

5. Sense of Community

As already explained, Geofilters can help your business to create a sense of community among your followers. Furthermore, you can also get access to users with similar interests in the exact location who are attending the same event.

Basically, the Snapchat Geofilters tool acts as a bridge between the digital and physical worlds. Here, it captures the essence of the place’s surroundings and improves the users’ connections to their current surroundings. For businesses, Snapchat Geofilters have become a strong element in the Snapchat experience

How to Create Snapchat Geofilters? – Steps to Follow

Snapchat Geolfilters are location-specific filters that you can apply to your snaps. These helps others to see posts on the basis of location. As a result, your post has a better chance of getting seen by your target audience.

The following are the major steps you need to take if you want to create Snapchat Geofilters for your snaps:

1. Enable Snapchat Geolfilters

Here are the steps to follow if you wish to enable Snapchat Geofilters:

1. Open the Snapchat app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile icon on the Snapchat app.
3. Go to the gear option (settings) on the top-right corner of the screen.
4. Scroll down the menu and go to the “Manage.” You will find it under the “Additional Services” header.
5. Make sure the “Filters” switch is on. This will help you to use Snapchat Geofilters and community filters. If the switch is green, that means that locational filters are on.
6. Enable locational services on your phone by tuning in GPS/location. The systems are different in iPhones and Android phones.

2. Apply the Geofilters

Here are the steps you need to take if you want to apply Geofilters on your snaps:

1. Take a snap with a photo or video by tapping the large round button at the center of the screen on the Snapchat app.
2. Swipe the left of the image, and it will display different filters on your snap based on your location. Here, you need to choose the filter that you like. (Generally, Geofilters display information like location name, altitude, weather, local events, etc.)
3. Once you find a Geofilter that you want to use, stop swiping. However, if you do not see any specific filters in your local area, it is highly possible that nobody in your area created one.
4. Once you set your Geofilter on your snap, tap the send button to publish the snap on your profile.
5. When you tap on the send button, you will get the option to choose your friends. Here, select those to whom you want to send the snap. Apart from that, you can also tap on ‘My Story’  to add a snap to your story. Furthermore, by tapping on ‘Our Story,’ you can add your snap to the snap map. This will make your snap discoverable by others.

Wrapping Up

Hope this article was helpful for you to give you a better idea of how Snapchat Geofilters work. If you are using Snapchat to promote your business, Geofilters can be a great way to connect to your local audience.

This will help you to increase your brand presence and raise your brand awareness. Do you have more information about Snapchat Geofilters? Consider sharing your ideas and opinions in the comments section below.