Many people think of Snapchat as a social media hub for teenagers and 20-somethings. But even marketers can’t ignore the fact that the mobile-only app has more than 300 million daily active users worldwide. Today, Snapchat is one of the most important online platforms for advertising.
Snapchat’s selling point is its uniqueness. Users can post and share stories to their and their friends’ feed for 24 hours—a feature that Instagram and Facebook have incorporated into their platforms as well.
The beauty of Snapchat’s stories is that they don’t simply stop at taking photos or videos. Users can customize them using a plethora of Snapchat stickers, which they can even create themselves. For brands, this is a distinct way to reach a wider audience in a more personalized way.
It can be as easy as it sounds. This guide will show you how to add stickers to your snaps, identify the different types of Snapchat stickers, and how to use them in your marketing campaign.
The Ultimate Guide to Snapchat Stickers: How to Create and Use Them for Your Marketing Campaign:
What Is a Snapchat Sticker?
Snapchat stickers are images that you can add to pictures (“snaps”) or videos that you share on the Snapchat app. These can be graphics that either Snapchat has provided or users have created. There’s a variety of Snapchat stickers to choose from, including SnapChat emojis, GIFs, and Bitmojis.
Why Should You Use Snapchat Stickers?
Long before social media, people have been using stickers to communicate with others. Stickers express personality, creativity, and thoughts. Fun and cost-effective, stickers have helped big and small companies gain new customers and start conversations around those brands.
Social media stickers create the same effect. Instagram’s Support Small Business sticker, for example, has helped build emotional connections among users. Meanwhile, Facebook Messenger users send almost 400 million stickers a day. Kim Kardashian has even launched her own Kimoji, grossing $1 million a minute on its launch.
From 2D images and GIFs to Bitmojis, Snapchat has all the sticker categories that you can think of. This ultimately makes it the perfect platform to launch your sticker campaign. Snapchat stickers not only enhance your snaps but also offer you an opportunity for self-promotion by creating your own stickers in the app.
Moreover, 48% of 15 to 25-year-old online users in the US use Snapchat. This means that using and creating Snapchat stickers would make your brand more accessible to a younger demographic, whose tremendous spending power has been attracting more and more companies.
So how do you get started? First, familiarize yourself with the variety of Snapchat stickers.
Types of Snapchat Stickers
Snapchat’s sticker drawer categorizes stickers according to type. You can change the sticker category by simply swiping on the icons.
The types of Snapchat stickers include:
- Recent searches or stickers that you used not so long ago
- Suggested stickers
These are stickers that Snapchat recommends based on when and where you took your snap. It also includes stickers that display current information, like time, temperature, or location. Suggested stickers include 2D and 3D stickers, GIFs or animated images, and Bitmojis.
- Bitmoji stickers
A Bitmoji is a digital avatar or a virtual image of yourself, which you can personalize from head to toe. Bitmojis allow you to choose outfits that best represent your personality. These stickers can either be static, 3D, or animated.
To make a Bitmoji sticker:
-
- On the sticker drawer, choose
, then tap “Create My Avatar”. - Customize your avatar using the menu at the bottom of the screen. You can choose your avatar’s outfit, hair, face, and even body type.
- Once you’re happy with your avatar, tap “Save”. Then tap
again to see your avatar in different poses.
- On the sticker drawer, choose
, then tap “Create My Avatar”.- Cameo
Similar to a photo stand-in, a cameo is essentially your selfie on an animated GIF. Cameos can even be created with others. The goal is to create a unique sticker that would make other users laugh or even turn yourselves into a meme.
Creating a cameo is easy:
On the sticker drawer, scroll right to 
. This will open a selfie mirror.
Follow the instructions on the app when taking your selfie. Choosing ? allows you to take a selfie with another user.
Once you’re happy with your selfie, click “Save”. You’ll be able to see all your cameos under . You can send it to your friends and even choose which of them could see your cameos.
- Customized stickers
Snapchat allows you to create customized stickers by simply cutting an object from a snap. The cut-out object automatically saves as a sticker, which you can reuse in the future.
To create your own stickers:
- Take a snap by tapping ? at the bottom of your screen.
- Select ✂️ on the right side of your screen.
- Use your finger to outline the object that you want to turn into a sticker. This will eliminate the unwanted background.
- Once your finger lifts off the page, the image that you have cut out will automatically stand alone as a sticker and save under ✂️.
- Emojis or standard icons on your smartphone and other social media platforms
Now that you know the different types of Snapchat stickers, here’s how you can add them to your snap.
How to Add Stickers to Your Snap
- Take a photo
Simply open the app, and tap ? at the bottom of your screen. To take a selfie instead, tap ? at the top right corner of your screen.
- Choose a sticker
Once you’ve taken your photo, tap 
on the right side of your screen. This will immediately open Snapchat’s suggested stickers.
Finding the right sticker may take time, depending on the message that you want to convey through that image. To help you browse faster, use the search button at the top and type any keyword or caption that would go well with your snap. Here, we searched for the word “cozy,” which quickly suggested representative stickers.
Can’t settle on just one sticker? Add two or more! Other sticker functions to enhance your Snapchat sticker include:
- Resize. Use your thumb and finger to pinch it to your desired size.
- Move. Press your sticker, and drag it to your preferred location in the photo.
- Delete. Drag then drop your sticker to ?️, which will appear at the bottom part of the toolbar.
Here’s our snap with our chosen sticker:
- Send Your Snap
If you’re happy with your snap, just tap
at the bottom of the page to quickly send it to My Story. This will post your snap to your and your friends’ feed for 24 hours.
If you want to simply send your snap to someone on your contact list, tap the “Send To” button at the bottom right corner of your screen then select a recipient.
Knowing how to add stickers to your snap is only half the battle. You also have to identify various strategies on how to use Snapchat stickers to up your marketing game.
How To Use Snapchat Stickers for Your Brand
Create Sticker Packs
There’s no better way to deliver a message than with a digital sticker. Brands create social stickers across platforms to raise awareness on social issues. Snapchat itself has launched stickers that honor varying causes, such as International Week of the Deaf and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month.
Utilize Bitmoji for More Engaging Experiences
70% of the Snapchat population use Bitmoji, making it an attractive marketing investment. Through Bitmoji fashion, businesses can gain traction with users, letting them experience the brand in the digital space. Ralph Lauren and Levi’s are two of the biggest fashion names that have brought their apparel to the app.
Currently, it’s mostly big brands that can offer this experience to Snapchat users. However, this opens up the possibility that perhaps sometime in the future, users will be able to try on products from brands of all sizes through Bitmoji. In the meantime, you can feature your Bitmoji in Snapchat convos for personalization and to show a lighthearted side to your brand.
Provide an Out-of-This-World Opportunity with Cameo
An alternative to Bitmoji, Snapchat Cameo is another great way to express what your brand is all about. Sports entertainment company WWE, for example, used this Snapchat feature so that fans could “become” WWE Superstar Sasha Banks for one day.
Meanwhile, “The Me and You Show”, a 10-episode sketch-comedy by Saturday Night Live’s Zack Bornstein also leveraged Cameo. Users were able to play any role in the show alongside one of their friends.
Source: twitter.com
Use Custom Stickers
Perhaps the easiest way to promote your product is by using your own custom sticker. Simply taking a picture of your product and using it as a sticker in your snaps creates recall and builds your brand better. Use them when promoting a product or thanking customers for a review. Adding a Snapcode can also help users access your profile faster and view your custom sticker better.
