Snapchat is launching a new mechanism for content creators to make money. Mid-roll advertising are now being tested in the Stories of a small set of US creators, with a wider rollout expected in the coming months.
When a Snap Star’s Story contains an ad, Snapchat will split the earnings with the creators. According to the firm, the revenue split is calculated using a formula that considers factors such as posting frequency and engagement. Snap Stars, who are creators or public figures with huge followings who have been verified on Snapchat with a gold star, have access to the feature.
Snapchat has implemented different options for creators to monetize their appearance on the platform in recent years. Snapchat users are currently seeing advertising between friends’ Stories and in the Discover section, but this is the first-time creators will be paid a portion of the ad revenue on Stories.
Read More: TikTok rolls out new Creator Next monetization program
This comes after Snapchat announced that users were preferring TikTok-style content to Stories. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel recently told shareholders that consumers are spending less time creating and viewing stories and instead choose to watch content on Spotlight, Snapchat’s TikTok equivalent.
Previously, the firm said that it would pay out $1 million each day through the end of 2020 to encourage people to create more vertical video content for Spotlight. Snapchat now claims to pay millions of dollars each month to producers who create popular Spotlight videos. The image editing application also introduced Spotlight Challenges last year, which awarded cash prizes to users who created outstanding videos utilizing specified lenses, noises, or topics. In 2021, the corporation claims to have paid out more than $250 million to creators.
