Without a doubt, 2016 was the year of Snapchat. Moving from millennial plaything to serious platform, Snapchat's successful features often "inspired" similar offerings from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

But can Snapchat translate all that traction into cold hard cash? 

Oh Snap

Snapchat's audience isn't the biggest, but they're very attractive to marketers. With a "modest" daily user count of 150 million, Snapchat can't compare to Facebook's 1.18 billion.

However its audience is incredibly engaged. Snapchat now boasts 10 billion video views every day, compared to 8 billion on Facebook. Expect this figure to surge in 2017.

Copycats

Instagram got Stories, Facebook got a new camera, Messenger got self-destructing messages, and WhatsApp got Status.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, than Facebook and its extended family heaped much praise on Snapchat this year indeed.

While Snapchat's features have been a hit with users, it will be challenging to maintain its point-of-difference when Facebook's properties offer similar services.

Unless Snapchat continues to offer something different, it risks being a victim of its own success.

What a spectacle

This year Snapchat has been the place for exploring more innovative ways to market. We've seen 8 Bit computer games celebrating Serena Williams, and zombie lenses.

Marketing on Snapchat is a brave new world, with far more scope that the linear approaches of the larger players. Creative brands set to benefit from Snapchat's greater flexibility in marketing.