If you’re an avid Snapchat user, you’re familiar with Geofilters.
Throughout the past few months, the usage of Geofilters on Snapchat has skyrocketed.
It seems as though every city I’ve traveled to has their own set of Geofilters that you can utilize and engage with.
Currently, there are two kinds of Geofilters that Snapchat is offering to businesses and individuals:
- Community: designers and artists are encouraged to create and submit these free filters specifically intended for local landmarks, cities, universities and/or other public locations. Logos aren’t allowed on community filters.
- On-Demand: businesses and individuals are eligible to purchase these paid, on-demand Geofilters for specific locations, events and/or personal/business branding. Just like community filters, logos and trademarks aren’t permitted.
If you’ve used a Geofilter at a specific location on Snapchat, you’re likely using a Community filter.
These types of filters are being created like wildfire, and you should expect to see more and more pop up over the next few months.
Especially when you consider that the average Snapchat user is aged 18-25; millennials are fast-moving and tend to have more free time on their hands thanks to summer break.
If you’ve been following any social media influencers (like Gary Vaynerchuck,) you’ll see some great examples of on-demand filters.
These types of filters are being created by industry influencers looking to strengthen their brand; you can expect to see more and more of these pop up over the next few months as more industry influencers join the platform.
How they work
When you take a photo on Snapchat, there are a ton of options for “photo edits” that you can implement before sending the snap to a friend or uploading it to your story.
You can add text or emojis, draw on the photo and/or add face animations. You can also swipe right to access a number of filters such as temperature, motion, and geofilters.
Geofilters are designed by individuals in your community, and are meant to represent different areas.
Why they’re popular
Part of the reason why Snapchat Geofilters are growing in popularity is due to originality; these filters are new to the platform.
Not to mention, new ones are being introduced regularly; people enjoy utilizing new platform features as soon as they are introduced.
Take for example the popularity of Snapchat’s photo filters: these filters are being used like crazy by celebrities and brands alike. New features and functionality are quickly adopted and utilized on Snapchat.
Another reason why these filters are popular is because branding is important.
Industry influencers are catching on quickly that these Geofilters are a powerful way to set themselves apart from others and show that they are on top of new and emerging trends and technologies.
How to make one
You want to familiarize yourself with Snapchat’s guidelines so that you know you’re within the parameters when uploading your image for review.
Then, you’ll pick a time and set a geofence for the filter through the map tool that Snapchat provides. Once you pick your geofence, you’ll upload the image the answer a few questions that Snapchat prompts such as “why is this location meaningful to you?”
After answering the questions, you’ll hit the submit button. Once submitted, it’ll take about 24 hours to get approval or denial from Snapchat’s team.
Tips and tricks
In order to save time creating, and submitting, your Geofilter, you’re going to want to follow these tips:
- Submit a web-optimized, transparent PNG
- PNG should be 1080 x 1920 pixels
- PNG must be under 300KB
Now you’re all set to create your first Snapchat Geofilter!
Have you used Geofilters yet on Snapchat? What do you think about them?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
