Snapchat Still Misunderstood by Creators

  • Desmond Goodwin

While Snapchat is an iconic app for communication, especially among the youngest users, it’s rather a messenger for the masses than a content paradise. The problem is about perception: creators don’t see Snapchat as a place to promote themselves. Paradox, but the platform where everyone can be a star struggles when it comes to creating its own stars.
 
Starting up as the safest place and the most secure messenger with self-destructing texts, Snapchat then introduced stories, AR filters, and many other things that made it extremely popular. But it’s the creators that every social media needs now to attract bigger audiences, and Snapchat didn’t ignore it.
 
Not only does it provide tools for video creating and publishing, like Star Public Stories or Director Mode. It also funds programs meant to motivate people to create public content, like Black Creator Accelerator Program (offering $10K to Top 25 emerging black creators) or Sounds Creator Fund for supporting musicians on Snapchat. There is also the Creator Hub embracing all the categories of creators. None of them, though, was successful in attracting creators that make public content.
 
Strangely, the original perception that Snapchat is the most private place may be the obstacle. “Most private” poorly combines with publicity, and it’s the publicity creators are after. It can be more important that advertisers share the same prejudice, which results in creators on Snapchat unsatisfied with their rewards. And their input is more significant for success than any funding by Snapchat itself.
 
While some creators still see the potential in Snapchat, they recommend other measures for making it a creator-friendlier space. Can it be more events and conscious efforts to bring the creators and the reps together? Or how else can Snapchat become a place where you can earn with your unique content? If you’ve got any ideas, you can share them with us in the comment section!

 

Leave a comment