Snapchat Spotlight is a feature within the Snapchat app that showcases the most entertaining and relevant Snaps submitted by the Snapchat community. Spotlight aims to surface the most engaging Snaps from across Snapchat, allowing users to discover new creators and content. But what exactly determines which Snaps show up in your personal Spotlight feed? There are a few key factors that impact what you see on Spotlight.
Popularity and Engagement Metrics
One of the main factors that determines which Snaps appear in Spotlight is popularity and engagement. Snaps that receive high numbers of views, shares, comments, and other engagement will be promoted higher in Spotlight.
Snapchat uses advanced algorithms to analyze engagement metrics on every Snap submitted to Spotlight. Snaps that exhibit rising popularity numbers and high engagement rates get prioritized for the Spotlight feed. This system rewards creators who make content that resonates with the Snapchat community.
Some specific engagement metrics that are analyzed include:
- Number of views
- Screenshots
- Shares
- Comments
- Time spent watching
Snaps that perform well across these engagement categories have a greater chance of appearing toward the top of Spotlight. Trending, viral Snaps tend to bubble up based on their overall engagement and momentum.
Usage Patterns and Preferences
In addition to popularity metrics, your personal Snapchat usage patterns and preferences also impact the Spotlight feed you see. Snapchat leverages data about your behavior to curate a Spotlight experience unique to you.
Some factors about your Snapchat activity that influence your Spotlight include:
- The types of Snaps you view and engage with
- The creators and publishers you follow
- Your interests based on the content you consume
- The topics and keywords in Snaps you view
- Your location and demographics
By analyzing your usage history, Snapchat can identify trends about the types of Snaps you prefer. This allows Spotlight to showcase content that aligns with your tastes and interests. For example, if you frequently view comedy Snaps, you may see more comedy content in your Spotlight feed.
Content Quality and Guidelines
Spotlight also prioritizes showcasing high-quality Snaps that meet community guidelines. Low-quality, offensive, or clickbait content is suppressed in Spotlight. Snapchat content reviewers screen all Spotlight submissions to enforce standards.
Snaps need to meet the following quality standards to be eligible for Spotlight:
- Interesting, entertaining, or informative
- Visually appealing
- Appropriate for a broad audience
- Vertical orientation
- Adheres to Snapchat guidelines
Snaps that don’t meet these quality criteria will rank lower in Spotlight, regardless of their popularity metrics. This ensures Spotlight features Snaps aligned with Snapchat’s brand safety standards.
Creator Verification and Reputation
For established Snapchat creators and publishers, their reputation and verification status may also influence Spotlight eligibility and ranking. Creators who are verified and have a strong reputation tend to enjoy some preference in Spotlight.
Verification is Snapchat’s process for confirming genuine and authentic accounts for public figures, celebrities, and brands. Verified accounts are denoted with a verified badge icon. Snapchat may give slight priority to verified creators in Spotlight, as their content is presumed reputable.
Additionally, Snapchat keeps track of creator reputation based on account standing and violations. Accounts with low reputation scores are less likely to have their Snaps featured in Spotlight. Maintaining a good account standing improves a creator’s chances of ranking in Spotlight.
Timing and Pacing
The timing of when a Snap is submitted also affects Spotlight placement. Newer Snaps generally have a better chance of ranking higher than older Snaps. Snaps expire after 24 hours, so staying current improves visibility.
Spotlight is designed like a newsfeed, with constant turnover of new Snaps being cycled into the top spots. This gives all creators a fair chance of having their content featured. If an older Snap is still gaining steam, it may remain in circulation longer. But in general, recency is a bonus.
Snapchat’s Discretion
Finally, Snapchat reserves some discretion over Spotlight rankings to align with their evolving business and editorial objectives. On occasion, Snapchat may promote certain Snaps or creators in Spotlight to highlight new initiatives, monetization opportunities, or partnerships.
So in some cases, Snapchat may override popularity metrics to give special preference to certain Snaps. But typically, the metrics and criteria outlined above serve as the primary signals dictating Spotlight rankings.
Maximizing Views and Engagement on Spotlight
Now that we’ve covered how Snapchat determines Spotlight rankings, let’s discuss some tips for creators looking to maximize their reach on Spotlight. Here are some best practices to improve your chances of going viral:
- Follow trending topics and challenges: Create timely Snaps about current events, holidays, pop culture, or trending meme formats.
- Post consistently: Build an engaged audience by posting new Snaps daily.
- Understand your audience: Create Snaps that appeal to Snapchat’s key demographics (teens and young adults).
- Create high-quality Snaps: Record Snaps with good lighting, HD video, stable framing, captions, visual effects, and music.
- Encourage interactions: Add captions that spark comments and encourage followers to engage with your Snaps.
- Cross-promote: Promote your Spotlight Snaps through other social media channels to gain momentum.
Leveraging trends while making engaging content optimized for the Snapchat platform is key to getting noticed. As you build a loyal following, you’ll notice your Snaps organically performing better on Spotlight. Patience and persistence are important!
Spotlight Submission and Moderation Process
To dive deeper, let’s overview the full process for submitting Snaps to Spotlight and how moderation works:
Submitting to Spotlight
Any Snapchat user can submit a Snap to Spotlight through the mobile app. Simply post a Snap as usual, then tap “Spotlight” instead of sending it to your friends. Users have the option to add #topics to help categorize their Snaps.
Content Moderation
Once submitted, Snaps go through the following moderation process:
- Automated Moderation: Snaps are first scanned by AI-assisted moderation technology to review for policy adherence.
- Human Review: Snaps flagged by automation are sent for manual reviews by Snap’s moderation team.
- Category Tagging: Approved Snaps are tagged with relevant #topics and keywords to improve discoverability.
- Spotlight Feed: Vetted Snaps become eligible to display in the Spotlight feed based on relevance algorithms.
This multi-layer moderation aims to catch policy-violating Snaps while allowing freedom of expression.
Moderation Criteria
Specific criteria Snap’s human reviewers evaluate includes:
- Legality: Snaps must not depict unlawful conduct per local regulations.
- Dangerous Content: Snaps cannot promote dangerous or illegal activity.
- Harm: Snaps must not target, harass, or harm individuals or groups.
- Objectionable Material: Snaps cannot contain obscene, sexual, or offensive content.
- Integrity: Snaps must align with community standards and Snapchat’s brand safety.
Snaps violating these standards are removed from Spotlight contention. Policy enforcement ensures Spotlight reflects Snapchat’s content ideals.
Monetization Opportunities on Spotlight
Succeeding on Spotlight can open up monetization opportunities for creators. Top performing Snaps may become eligible for Snapchat’s Spotlight Challenges that award cash prizes.
Snapchat Spotlight Challenges
Spotlight Challenges periodically reward the creators of top Snaps with cash bonuses:
- Challenges focus on different themes, hashtags, topics, or formats.
- Hundreds of thousands in cash prizes are awarded daily to the most engaging Snaps.
- Prize amounts vary based on the level of engagement achieved on the Snap.
- Challenges allow creators to monetize their best Snaps through bonuses.
Challenges incentivize creators to craft viral Snaps around popular subjects for a chance to earn.
Gifting Revenue Share
Beyond challenges, creators can also monetize Spotlight Snaps by enabling Snapchat Gifts. When fans send Gifts on Spotlight Snaps, creators receive a portion of the revenue:
- To receive Gifts, creators must enable Gifting in Profile Settings.
- Fans can send virtual Gifts on Snaps using Snapchat’s in-app currency.
- For each Gift sent, Snapchat shares revenue with the creator.
- Popular creators can earn significant income from Gifts sent by supporters.
Gifting provides another Stream for active Spotlight creators to monetize their audience.
Paid Brand Partnerships
Lastly, creators with large Snapchat followings may work directly with brands to create sponsored Snaps. Brand partnerships represent the most lucrative monetization method for top Snapchat influencers.
Conclusion
In summary, Snapchat Spotlight aims to showcase the most relevant and engaging Snaps to each user based on calculated metrics and individual preferences. While popularity and current trends are major drivers, Spotlight also considers content quality, creator reputation, and timing to curate the ideal feed. Succeeding on Spotlight requires creativity, persistence, and understanding Snapchat’s core audience. For creators who consistently make viral Snaps, opportunities exist to earn money through Snapchat’s incentive programs and fan engagement.