New Creator Marketplace Will Help Brands Activate Gen Z 

Snapchat has announced a new way in which brands can partner with creators to help drive visibility on the platform.

Creator Marketplace will make it easier for marketers to leverage the power of prominent Snap stars by providing a platform for businesses to search and find Snapchat influencers to partner with.

Team Snap, Snapchat

“The Creator Marketplace integrates Creators directly into our advertising ecosystem for businesses to connect with Lens Creators, Lens Developers, Lens Partners and eventually Snap Stars to help elevate their marketing presence on Snapchat.”

AR is the future

Creator Marketplace will initially focus on augmented reality (AR) creators using Snap Lens but will be broadened out in time to include the full range of Snapchat creators. Brands will be able to search for influencers by region, creator category, topics and language.

This will give brands and marketers the option to embark on exciting new AR campaigns which could help boost Snapchat reach and engagement. As the brunt of users are between 13 to 25-years-old, this won’t suit every business. However, it will open up opportunities to those who target that age group.

The Creator Marketplace could help facilitate the creation of organic, unique adverts that boost traction.

Snapchat is joining the party

Snapchat aren’t the first platform to try this:

Facebook have something called Brands Collabs Manager. Users can utilise it to discover paid partnership opportunities with influencers with the aim of increasing engagement across the platform.

Brand Collabs Manager provides a useful analytics data and audience insights to help brands and creators link-up on new deals. It can be accessed within Facebook Business Manager.

TikTok also calls its influencer platform Creator Marketplace, which is marketed as ‘the official platform for brand and creator collaborations on TikTok.’ Brands can pick creators based on data and can browse TikTok’s best creators to find the best match for a brand.

YouTube’s brand connect does the same thing – except it’s only available for those based in the United States presently, although this will inevitably open up in time to other markets.

Instagram is also working on something similar, according to Mark Zuckerberg, although why they do not just expand Brand Collabs Manager is anyone’s guess.

Snapchat is fighting against the odds

Despite the rise of TikTok, Snapchat has been able to hold its own throughout Q1 2021.

It now has 280 million daily users – up 22% year-on-year. Snapchat increased its userbase throughout the world but has performed particularly well in India. Could this be down to TikTok’s ban there?

Thanks to these features

Snapchat’s growth has been strong in three main areas:

• Original stories. Snap have been creating their own original content, starring famous celebs like Ryan Reynolds. Over 20 million people have watched his new series.
• AR Lenses. This feature has grown at a phenomenal rate – views have been up 40% over last year’s numbers. AR is becoming super important for Snapchat, which is working on a new, AR-enabled version of Spectacles.
• Spotlight could have been Snap’s great white elephant. Giving away up to $1 million per day doesn’t seem to make great business sense, but when it gets the best creators making premium short content on the platform it has its worth.

Despite those Spotlight pay-outs, Snapchat still posted a 66% year-on-year revenue increase. Impressive stuff.

Influencer marketing is becoming more important. Nearly 70% of US companies with 100 employees or more will use them. The rise of social commerce has lined influencer’s pockets very nicely, and social media platforms are positioning themselves to make the most of this.

Sponsored posts and brand partnerships are now an incredibly important part of how brands market themselves. The rise of creator marketplaces and the social media-fication of young society means that businesses can no longer afford to ignore it.