Have you ever wondered how some Snapchat accounts blow up overnight, racking up friends, views and followers? Well, wonder no more.
Snapchat has rolled out Public Profiles – a new way for Snapchatters to get their content, products and brands in front of a huge audience. As an online privacy advisor who has coached many clients on optimizing social media for growth, I‘ve seen firsthand the explosive impact public Snapchat profiles can have.
In 2022 alone, Snapchat grew over 57 million daily active users – now totalling 365 million people engaging on the platform every day.
Of those millions of users, over two-thirds are now following public personalities, brands and creators. Having a Public Profile allows you to tap into this massive, highly engaged audience looking for great new Snapchat content daily.
But what exactly is a Public Profile on Snapchat and how do you create one? What benefits can you expect to unlock? This definitive guide will teach you everything you need to know, from Snapchat experts.
Defining Snapchat Public Profiles
Simply put, a Public Profile allows any Snapchat user to make their profile – where you share your Snaps and Stories – visible and accessible to everyone on Snapchat globally.
Rather than just your contacts, anyone can follow, view and engage with a Public Profile freely. Snapchat officially rolled out open access Public Profiles in January 2022 to all users.
Public Profiles are separate from the previous "My Story" feature which could only be viewed by your existing friends list. They represent a whole new public-facing side of your Snapchat presence.
As of 2023, over 200 million Snapchatters now have Public Profiles actively sharing content, according to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.
Why You Should Make Your Snapchat Profile Public
So why make your account public in the first place? What do you gain from allowing universal access?
Having a Public Profile unlocks serious benefits for growth, analytics and monetization.
Reach Exponentially More People
The #1 advantage is massive audience expansion beyond just friends. Your Profile and content will surface across Snap Map, Spotlight challenges and more. Over 200 million people could potentially discover and subscribe to you!
Fans can also easily share your Profile. One share can equal hundreds of new followers. Social media advisor Gary Vaynerchuk calls this "building an army" where followers drive exponential organic growth.
Get Insights into Your Followers
Public Profiles give you detailed analytics on subscribers: locations, ages, gender breakdowns, views by Snap, overall audience growth charts and more.
Having rich insights helps you fine-tune content that better resonates with your followers. You‘ll know exactly who engages most so you can tailor your Snaps accordingly.
Unlock Highlights, Lenses and Spotlight
Public creators gain access to exclusive Story features like Highlights and creative tools like Lens Studio for making personalized AR lenses. Fans can then engage with these directly on your Profile making it infinitely more interesting.
You also qualify to have your top performing Snaps featured on the coveted Spotlight global feed – like getting free placement in Snapchat‘s "Explore" page.
Spotlight broadcasts your Snap to millions of people that don‘t even follow you yet. It‘s an incredible source of new followers.
Now that you know the immense value unlocked by a Public Profile, let‘s get into how to actually create one for yourself…
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Snapchat Account Public
Here are the exact steps you need to take according to Snapchat:
Step 1) Tap your Profile Icon
Step 2) Select the ≡ menu next to “Add to Snap Map”
Step 3) Choose “Create Public Profile”
Step 4) Review and continue
Step 5) Click “Get Started”
Step 6) Confirm & click Create
Once you hit Step 6, your Profile has officially become public! But we‘re not done yet…
Now the fun begins customizing your Profile to stand out. This is where you can get really creative in showing your personality – or brand – to subscribers.
Customizing Your New Public Snapchat Profile
To maximize subscribers and engagement with your Public Snapchat Profile you have to optimize aesthetically and functionally.
Here are proven customizations from leading social media experts:
- Add an intro – Show some personality upfront so people relate to you
- Specify your location – Help fans feel connected and local
- Choose a topical category – Align with a broader Snapchat interest community
- Link your website – Drive traffic to your own online properties
- Create Highlights – Make memorable Snaps permanent parts of your Profile
- Design Lenses – Increase interactivity and uniqueness with AR
Little personal touches go a tremendously long way towards delighting new visitors.
Make thoughtful customizations that provide value, inspire curiosity, and compel fans to subscribe for more over time from you specifically.
Expert Answers to Common Public Profile Questions
As you build out your Public Snapchat Profile, some frequently asked questions may come up:
Can you see who views your public profile?
Unfortunately Snapchat doesn‘t have visitor tracking capabilities. You can only see total general subscriber numbers. If you want to see who engages, a good workaround is posting polls!
What do follower milestones like “5K” mean?
Once your subscriber count tops 5,000, Snapchat displays the exact number publicly on your profile. So 5K = 5,000+ subscribers. It‘s an elite milestone!
I can’t switch to public – help!
Double check your Profile meets the minimum age requirement. Also be sure your account is over 24 hours old. New profiles have a waiting period before going public.
If you still have issues, reach out to Snapchat‘s Support for personalized troubleshooting assistance.
The world of Snapchat content creation, influence and even fame is now wide open thanks to Public Profiles.
Use this definitive guide to seamlessly switch your personal account over to public access. Then implement the profile customizations that‘ll wow fans into subscribers.
Before long you can realize massive growth across the hundreds of millions of daily Snapchatters!
I‘m rooting for your success unleashing creativity and connecting with communities far and wide. Please reach out if you have any other questions on the journey!