Snapchat Just Launched Spotlight and They’ll Pay You to Use It

Calling all Snapchat lovers! Everyone’s favorite disappearing act just launched Spotlight, the latest attempt by a social media platform to rival TikTok for the attention and clicks of worldwide users. The new feature launched in eleven countries last week, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.  Here’s what else we know so far. 

Spotlight will feature vertical content from creators with a scrollable function that closely mimics TikTok. It also, like the Gen Z-skewing video content app, operates on an algorithmic system, meaning the more videos you like about a certain topic, or the longer you watch it, the more similar content you’ll receive.

Snapchat’s Spotlight is not the first to try and compete with TikTok. Instagram Reels launched over the summer and Twitter Fleets debuted just a few weeks ago. However, Snapchat is sweetening the deal by offering a payout of $1M a day to users who trend on the app’s new feature. 

The catch? It’s not as easy to trend as you might think. 

For starters, there’s no public comment section on Spotlight. That means engagement on your video will be entirely based on likes and the amount of time a user spends watching your content. On top of that (to protect users’ privacy on the app), most profiles will be private. 

So while your Spotlight can be seen by many, your personal page and information will not be, which is good news for those who wish to remain private. Still, bad news for influencers – you’re essentially starting from scratch unless you allow followers to add you on Snap! 

Furthermore, while Instagram Reels allows users to upload TikTok videos to their profiles (including the TikTok watermark), Spotlight will only allow users to upload content without a watermark. That means that even Addison Rae herself will have to create new content if she hopes to trend on Spotlight. This was smart on Snapchat’s behalf – it’s basically mandated that users create brand new content for Spotlight, rather than reusing old content. Of course, there are ways to work around this, but it means no free advertising for the ‘Tok on Snapchat’s watch.

Let’s circle back to what this means for influencers. Spotlight has private likes, there’s no possibility for the re-sharing of videos among users, and displaying follower count is optional. On almost any other platform, those metrics are an influencer’s lifeline in landing brand deals, selling their sponsored content, gaining followers for their other platforms, and more. 

With this in mind, is it worth it for influencers who are just starting out to hop on Spotlight? In short, if you’re after followers or brand partners, probably not – at least not yet. But if you want to try your hand at nabbing a few bucks, give it a whirl!

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