Why has Snapchat become a serious business platform for creators?

• #Influencer
• #Social Media

When you think of successful content, do you think of TikTok or Instagram first? If not, it’s time to rediscover Snapchat. In 2025, it will take the creator game to a whole new level. Snapchat impresses with its official monetisation programmes, long-form video content, and tools that generate real engagement. While other platforms are becoming increasingly saturated, Snapchat still offers room for creativity and income generation. Are you ready to start using Snapchat?

Snapchat creator status in 2025

Snapchat has officially opened the door wide for creators. With a structured monetisation programme, you will now be rewarded for engaging content. Since 1 February this year, creators who meet certain requirements can earn money with their content. This is more than just a bonus; it is a clear step towards a creator economy on par with TikTok and YouTube.

What makes Snapchat so special?

You don’t necessarily need millions of followers. Instead, what counts are real interactions, posting frequency and the quality of your content. Snapchat is thus focusing on a more sustainable model that also offers real opportunities to micro-creators. Instead of relying solely on viral clips, the platform promotes continuous content production and authentic closeness to the community. The new Creator Programme replaces previous models such as Spotlight Rewards and Creator Gifts, which attracted attention but offered little in the way of predictable income. Now it’s all about recurring monetisation and how you can use Snapchat as a professional channel.

What are the requirements for the programme?

If you want to earn money with Snapchat, you have to meet a few clear requirements. The new programme is aimed at creators who are regularly active and have already built up a certain reach. Participation is not immediately possible for everyone, but with a well-thought-out strategy, you can meet the criteria.

You must meet the following requirements:

• Minimum number of followers: You need at least 50,000 followers on your Snapchat profile.
  
• Video views: Your content must have received a total of at least ten million views in the last 30 days.
  
• Watch time: Your videos must have been viewed for a total of at least 12,000 hours during the same period.
  
• Content length: Videos must be at least one minute long. Shorter content cannot be monetised.
  
• Video format: All content must be produced in portrait format (9:16), as this corresponds to user behaviour on Snapchat.
  
• Hashtags and trends: Content should be tagged with relevant hashtags and follow current trends in order to be displayed more effectively.
  
• Posting frequency: You should post regularly, ideally several times a week, in order to remain active in the algorithm.
  
• Community guidelines: Your content must comply with Snapchat’s guidelines. Violations may result in exclusion from the programme.

Is it possible to earn money outside of the Creator Programme?

Even if you don’t yet meet the requirements for the official Creator Programme, that doesn’t mean you can’t earn money with Snapchat. On the contrary, many creators use alternative ways to monetise their content, often even more successfully and independently. The key is a smart combination of community building, brand partnerships and entrepreneurial thinking.

You can start using these sources of income immediately:

• Sponsored content and collaborations: Companies are specifically looking for authentic creators to present their products in a credible way. Once you have built up an active community, you can implement paid collaborations directly via Snapchat Stories or Snaps.
  
• Affiliate marketing: With discount codes or affiliate links, you can recommend products and earn money per sale or click. This is particularly successful in combination with storytelling and personal experience.
  
• Sell your own products or services: Use Snapchat to promote your own business, whether it’s digital products, merchandise, coaching or physical products. The platform is ideal for direct and emotional sales pitches.
  
• Takeovers and cross-promotion: Temporarily take over the account of a brand or another creator to reach new target groups and expand your network at the same time.
  
• Create geofilters and AR elements for events or brands: If you’re creative, you can design and sell custom geofilters and AR experiences for local events or businesses.
  
• Use user-generated content: Encourage your community to create content with your branding. This not only boosts your visibility, but can also lead to lucrative brand collaborations.

How to win the Snapchat algorithm for yourself

The Snapchat algorithm is not publicly documented, but through observation and official hints, it is clear to see how content is prioritised. If you understand it, you can work specifically towards ensuring that your Snaps are displayed more frequently and perform better.

These factors influence how the algorithm evaluates your content:

Engagement is the most important lever: The more reactions, responses, shares or screenshots your content receives, the higher Snapchat ranks its relevance. Consciously incorporate interactions, for example through questions, surveys or calls to action.

Consistency is rewarded: Posting regularly signals to the platform that you are active. Continuity ensures that you appear more frequently in your followers’ feeds, ideally daily or on fixed days.

Dwell time matters: If your viewers watch your snaps or videos until the end or even watch them multiple times, that’s a strong signal. That’s why your content should remain exciting, e.g. through storytelling or cliffhangers.

Personalisation comes after interests: Snapchat increasingly displays content to users whose behaviour matches your content. Therefore, use targeted hashtags and create clearly recognisable thematic focal points.

Relevance at the time of posting: Content that responds to current trends, events or memes often has significantly higher visibility. Speed counts.

Technical quality: Even though authenticity is important, you should make sure your video quality is good. Blurry or poorly edited content performs worse.

Benefits for creators

By 2025, Snapchat will be much more than just a messaging app for young people. The platform has developed into a serious ecosystem for creators and companies seeking genuine proximity to their target audience. With innovative formats, a strong focus on engagement and unique technical capabilities, Snapchat offers advantages that other platforms cannot match.

• Extremely high user engagement: Snapchat users open the app over 30 times a day on average. This means you have numerous touchpoints to remain visible and be regularly remembered.
  
• Direct connection to Gen Z: Snapchat is one of the most widely used platforms among young target groups. Authentic content attracts a particularly high level of attention here and is ideal for community building.
  
• Little competition in German-speaking countries: While TikTok and Instagram are already saturated, Snapchat still offers space for creators to establish themselves organically and occupy niches.
  
• Long-term monetisation opportunities: With its new creator programme, Snapchat is creating stable sources of income that are not dependent on a single viral hit, but focus on regularity and quality.
  
• Strong community engagement: Direct messages, story reactions and exclusive formats create a close connection between you and your followers. This is perfect for sustainable brand loyalty.
  
• Creative tools: With AR filters, music integration, geofilters and interactive stickers, Snapchat offers particularly creative ways to stand out from the crowd.

Challenges and limitations

As many opportunities as Snapchat offers, it is important to view the platform realistically. In addition to its numerous advantages, there are also some hurdles that you as a creator should be aware of and actively plan for. Only those who are aware of these limitations can develop a successful long-term strategy.

These challenges must be taken seriously:

• High barrier to entry for monetisation: The requirements for follower count, video views and watch time are relatively strict. It can take months, especially for new creators, to meet the requirements for the Creator Programme.

→ Tip: Start by building your community, focus on long-form content, and try to build engagement early on through niche content or series formats. Also, use external monetisation methods (e.g. affiliate or product sales) until you reach the programme limits.

• Limited organic reach compared to TikTok: Snapchat content is less viral than TikTok or Reels. The focus is more on consistency and community engagement than explosive growth.

→ Work with interactive content such as surveys or Q&As, take advantage of current trends, and post at times of day when activity is high. Cross-promotion via Instagram or TikTok can also help drive more traffic to your Snapchat channel.

• Less sophisticated analytics tools: Compared to other platforms, Snapchat offers only limited statistics. Detailed insights into user behaviour or conversion data are often lacking.

→ Conduct your own A/B tests. Manually track which formats or topics generate more views and reactions. Additionally, use external tools for link tracking (e.g. Bitly, UTM parameters) to measure traffic.

• Short lifespan of content: Stories and snaps usually disappear after 24 hours. If you want to generate sustained attention, you have to continuously deliver new content. Recycling hardly works.

→ Develop content series or formats with high recognition value to keep users coming back regularly. Use Snap Memories to repurpose older content later or use it as a story highlight on other platforms.

• Content production is time-consuming: Since Snapchat prefers to display content in portrait format and in real time, good planning and production are required. Recycled content from other platforms only works to a limited extent.

→ Create content modules in advance (e.g. templates, snippet videos) and use content plans. Use tools such as Canva or CapCut to prepare content efficiently. Film in blocks to reduce your workload.

• Brand budgets in the DACH region are still low: Many companies in Germany are still hesitant to invest in Snapchat campaigns because they are not sufficiently aware of the platform’s potential. This can make it more difficult to secure paid partnerships.

→ Position yourself early on as a Snapchat expert in your niche. Create media kits, show concrete engagement data, and proactively approach brands to educate them; many companies are specifically looking for platform pioneers.

Why you should take Snapchat seriously in 2025

Snapchat is much more than a niche channel. With new monetisation models, long-form videos and a highly engaged audience, the platform offers exactly what many others have lost: proximity, authenticity and genuine community growth.

With features such as augmented reality, interactive formats and initial e-commerce integrations, Snapchat is developing into a future-proof platform for creators and brands. Those who position themselves now will benefit from less competition and long-term potential.