Snapchat is giving influencers and AR mavens the opportunity to partner with businesses on branded content and Lenses. The company is rolling out a new “Creator Marketplace” to augmented reality creators throughout this year and will expand the feature to its entire creator community by early 2022.
In essence, the new tool is a directory of the platform’s top movers and shakers (celebs and influencers and AR Lens makers behind some of the app’s most popular graphics). Businesses can search for creators based on their location, language, specialities, Lens category and — most importantly — budget.
According to Snap, the new marketplace gives brands the chance to team up with Creators “who know the Snapchat Generation best” on advertising campaigns and sponsorships. While, the creators themselves can use the database to “build their own business on Snapchat.”
The company has been focusing on compensation for top creators for a while now in the hopes of retaining talent amid fierce competition from Instagram and TikTok. Snapchat already offers ways for Lens makers to connect with brands and has also been paying users who make it to Spotlight, the feature it launched to highlight viral snaps. Crucially for creators, Snap told Adweek that it won’t take a cut of the transactions made on the platform.
However, it remains to be seen how the marketplace will apply to Snap Stars (read influencers). By now, most people are accustomed to browsing through sponsored Instagram posts of fast fashion and skincare items. But, you’d expect Snapchat’s inventive and close-knit community to churn out more, um, creative sponcon.
Notably, Snap’s new marketplace follows Instagram’s announcement of its own suite of new money-making tools for influencers, including creator shops, affiliate commerce and a “branded content marketplace.”
Snap is also succeeding where Quibi failed. The company revealed that it has created over 128 made-for-mobile original series, which were watched by “over 85 percent of the Gen Z population” in the second half of 2020. Snap has tapped rapper Megan Thee Stallion and TikTokers Charli and Dixie D’Amelio to headline its upcoming shows. A total of nine new orginals are in the pipeline including unscripted, docuseries and scripted series.
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