How to Become a Snapchat Creator Who Lasts

0:00Tsvetta Kaleynska I know you work with everyone from averages on the block who leverages Snapchat and then becomes the next big thing to like really big stars.

0:11 The evolution of the program actually predates my time. Bitness blood gates have opened, I would say, like around me being hyper-focused on creator partnerships.

0:22Tsvetta Kaleynska What does it look like building the creator partner program at stack? What are the signals in creators that you see like a successful creator who's going to be there like probably long term versus someone who's coming for a viral moment?

0:37 The 360 vision of like, oh, can I utilize the AR? Can I utilize the catalog of music? That's like the 360 approach you want to take.

0:46Tsvetta Kaleynska Can you tell us a bit more about the type of brands that come to Snap and like the goals that they have when it comes to advertising?

0:53 Yeah, totally.

0:54Tsvetta Kaleynska So welcome to the Money Signal Podcast from Main Street to Wall Street. Today I'm joined by Vlad Litineetsky, who is on Snapchat's creator programs team. Vlad, welcome to the Money Signal Podcast.

1:12 Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

1:14Tsvetta Kaleynska It's amazing to have you. I know your office is actually not too far away from uh our podcast studio. And when we met last time at Snapchat's office, I was so fascinated by everything that you guys have. First and foremost, at the office, such a cool office. I love I do have to mention I love snacks.

1:34Tsvetta Kaleynska I love the snacks and I love the vibe. Um, but I was completely fascinated to learn more about Snapchat. So for background to you and some of our audience, I've been in social media, in social listening, since 2010. So this is 16 years into the social media and app space. And because of my age as a millennial, I think I uh moved away from Snapchat uh basically about a decade ago.

2:04Tsvetta Kaleynska Also when I became a mom and became too busy to send Snaps to my friends. And since my transition away from the app, uh and since coming to your office and learning more about Snapchat, I was so fascinated by all the changes that have happened at Snap, all the amazing things that you guys are working on, and of course, by most, I was fascinated by the fact that you guys have this creator uh partner program, which is literally transforming people's lives.

2:37Tsvetta Kaleynska Normal people's lives are being transformed by them becoming a content creator. I know you work with everyone from average, you know, kids on the block who leverages Snapchat and then becomes the next big thing to like really big stars, including I can actually mention Peter Tuckman, the Einstein of Wall Street, right?

2:58Tsvetta Kaleynska Who is part of the partner program? Yeah. I'd love to learn more about the journey and your role specifically, because I know you've been at Snapchat over the last few years since I believe 2021 when you joined. 2019. Oh, 2019. Okay. It's been a little while. So how what what did it look like building the whole idea and concept of building the creator partner program at Snap?

3:22 Yeah. So, you know, the evolution of the program actually predates my time. Having said that, the like the monetization side where like, you know, the business floodgates have opened, I would say, like around me being hyper focused on creator partnerships. So I would say like maybe like 2022, 2023, um, we rolled out our revenue share program, which is like really like what made Snapchat's business model super appealing.

3:54 Um, and that is an ads-based structure. So, you know, creators that are highly engaged and have a strong audience will be moved into this monetization program, and then they ultimately generate revenue through ad placements. Um and that's really opened it up. So I would say, like, you know, prior to that program, it was like kind of like the super users of Snapchat.

4:22 And with that program, it's really, you know, unlocked like almost anyone, even including Peter Tuppman, who, you know, has like a very niche background, will find uh utility and success on Snap. So if you are a creator with whatever, you know, primary business and you want to complement that um with any form of like either highly produced or behind the scenes content, Snapchat's a place where you can bring that and uh you know really allow it to thrive um in the Gen Z cohort.

4:59 I mean, obviously we we age up to millennials and even higher, but really Gen Z is where where we thrive.

5:06Tsvetta Kaleynska And I've seen that too. As a millennial myself, uh, I as soon as I rejoined Snapchat, I was so uh interested to see that a lot of my friends there are very active on it, yeah, uh, which was kind of cool. And then secondly, as someone who has family abroad, I was also super intrigued to see that, for example, Bulgaria is like a big hub for again that UGC and the like unique creators that are so niche.

5:33Tsvetta Kaleynska There are several categories that I identified. Nice. So I actually loved that. I loved seeing um the evolution of Snap, yeah, and then understanding more about obviously the benefits of the program. Totally. I mean, to me personally, again, I have to add, I know I'm interviewing you, but I almost feel like I have to add even more.

5:49Tsvetta Kaleynska But I love that what you guys have done over the last couple of years since I've been on it is really provide the opportunity to regular people, and especially that younger generation that is so creative, so highly engaging and so um ahead of trends, you're giving them you're the only platform. I can actually say this from experience as an expert in the field, you're the only platform that's giving them the opportunity to monetize on their creativity and on their time on the platform.

6:22 Yeah.

6:23Tsvetta Kaleynska So how did that come about? Like, how did you guys really uh see this opportunity? Um, especially being able to, you know, you you work with all these creators, like big time, like, but what what was that signal for that opportunity that you identified as a business?

6:39 Yeah, I it's interesting. So, you know, Snapchat's very much like democratized making money in a lot of ways, because traditionally, you what how could you make money when you're making a smoothie in the kitchen? And so, like, we we have always embraced like you know, the low lift to content. And so you can literally put your phone down, and you know, Snapchat notorious notoriously opens up to the camera.

7:11 You put your phone down, and you can be doing whatever you want in your apartment. You don't need to be on a private jet, you don't want to, you don't need to be in the Amafi coast, you don't need to be doing extravagant things to be making money. And it's Snapchat has developed a very like culty um, you know, super fan community.

7:32 So people that are engaging your stories every day, they genuinely want to know who you are as an individual. So this gives you kind of a diversified approach where you can, you know, open up the curtain and really show who you are. And so for some people, that's a little bit like, oh, I don't want to be a part of that because they're more introverted and they want to like keep their privacy, um, especially if you're like, you know, uh an actor, like a screen actor or any type of A-list celebrity, a lot of them aren't super comfortable.

8:08 Having said that, like Gen Z is very like has a huge appetite for that. And they love being extroverted and over-communicate and like being like kind of an open book. Um, so that's like where Snapchat has capitalized. And so if you are very, you know, authentic to who you are in the digital realm, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to kind of complement what you're already doing and giving people like the inside scoop.

8:38 Um, and even now we we actually just launched something called creator subscriptions. So that allows you to put a paywall behind a lot of that content. So if you have um, you know, a premium version of your behind the scenes, like hypothetically, if you and I shut these cameras off and then had like a private conversation with Peter, and that was like kind of like the next level to this podcast, you could put a paywall behind it on Snap.

9:05 But it's all always intended to be uh low lift, it's depend intended to be in the moment, very raw, organic content. Um, so you know that's that's kind of the vision and the ethos that's always been part of the you know the community.

9:21Tsvetta Kaleynska So basically the less edited versions of what other platforms are carrying. Like I I can tell you as someone I'm not a content creator yet, although I'm very influenced by Peter and his him being a fin fluencer. Yeah, I see a lot of the content that tends to perform well across all platforms but Snapchat is like the super highly edited.

9:43Tsvetta Kaleynska And my team always says, Oh, can you record this? And then we're gonna edit it at music. And as you know, like that takes so much time. It does. I mean, as a CEO, I run several businesses, so my whole and sole focus every day is to run the businesses, so I don't even have time to do it. Yeah, so I love that Snapchat has really just opened the gates in terms of providing the opportunity to just show a normal day-to-day just by putting your phone in front of you and like not having to edit anything.

10:12 Totally.

10:13Tsvetta Kaleynska I I really appreciate that.

10:15 Yeah, and I mean, look, some people like again, it's not that's not an approach everyone wants to take. So you will have people that just take what they're already building, their existing catalog, and they will just publish it to Snapchat. And there's room for that for sure. You know, like there are like very high quality, you know, premium episodes or, you know, highly produced videos of any like, you know, any the anything they're doing throughout the day that's more like, you know, this type of setup with the cameras and everything like that.

10:50 But um, I think generally the more you can, you know, scale it down a little bit and kind of show the real authentic version of yourself, um, I think the more you will thrive in the in the program and in the community.

11:03Tsvetta Kaleynska What signals do you personally look for when deciding whether someone has real long-term staying power?

11:10 Staying power?

11:11Tsvetta Kaleynska Yeah, staying as like a creator, like so or basically what are the signals in creators that you see like a successful creator who's gonna be there like probably long term versus someone who's coming for a viral moment?

11:26 Yeah, that's a great question because I actually think that has been an interesting challenge to solve for Snapchat, the idea of retention. And like when we unlocked this monetization program, it's like you had obviously the like get rich quick creators coming in, and they were like, How do I like blow this up, pump and dump, make a bunch of money, and then like once I got what I could, I'm out of here.

11:55 So, like there was obviously a big load of people coming in from that perspective. And then you had a lot of like the I want to nurture them, they are super aligned with you know the values of Snapchat, what you know, sustainable content looks like, and how do they really grow their presence in a way where the community holistically cares about them?

12:20Tsvetta Kaleynska Even providing the opportunity is it's just amazing as a platform because it does provide. I mean, I know several people from the influencer world who depend on their living paycheck from obviously creating content. So I just love that there's the opportunity to make money in so many unique ways. And again, as someone I I keep on thinking, if I'm a younger kid, what would I do?

12:44Tsvetta Kaleynska If I'm in high school right now and I'm trying to figure out my path in life and what it would be, it's amazing to have those tools in your toolkit and be able to say, I'm gonna try to become a snap creator and share whatever my experience during my internship or something like that. You actually mentioned a word which then triggered another thought in my in my head, which is more about um the categories of content.

13:10Tsvetta Kaleynska Like I love analysis, as you know, I analyze consumer data day in, day out. And when I look at signals for basically good performance, bad performance of my customers, when you guys look at some of the kind of like content categories, do you see and can you share what are some interesting categories that uh our younger generation is interested in?

13:34Tsvetta Kaleynska Is it the environment? Is it fashion? Is there one category that seems to like dominate?

13:41 You know, it's that's actually like a big uh was a big initiative of mine. It was I really ramped up comedy on the platform. So I brought it to like the second most engaged category on the platform. Um I was trying to identify a way to bring traditional talent over to Snapchat. And the vertical that seemed to stick early on was comedy because comedians are, you know, they're they're performers, they're super extroverted and they're like incredibly entertaining, like on the fly, they're very clever, they're always like walking around with their journals and trying to like take notes of things that are going around.

14:25 So they're almost like vlogging, but you know, or journaling, but like how do you take that activity and convert it into like Snapchat? And it actually converts perfectly because we are a digital diary. And so, like, that was a really big category, I think, that like really proved out how like you can bring all types of talent to Snap because you know, obviously there was like the man in the street, there were the skit comics, and those guys have been around, you know, for as long as digital has been a thing.

15:00 Um, but how do you get like the more traditional entertainers to really leverage Snapchat to benefit their on-stage performance, their podcasts, their movies? Um, and you know, like a really fun one that I personally got to work with uh on was Sebastian Manascalco. Um, because you know, he's like much more traditional.

15:23 Even like the guy he presents on in his movies is he's like this old school Italian. So like embedding Snapchat into his vision and understanding was really funny and interesting. Um, but I got to do a whole behind the scenes with him when he took over Barclays and sold out, and it was just incredible.

15:42 I think it was part of his ain't it ain't right tour, I believe. Um, and so like you know, you get people like him like really being like, oh wow, like it is cool to get someone in the audience capture a joke of me in like a very seamless uh way, or like it's really fun for me to be walking out uh from the tunnel to go on stage and like talk to the camera and not really care about the how high quality it is, uh, but rather capture the raw moment.

16:15 Um, you know, other like really cool things that have come about is a comedian named Morgan J was like, how do I leverage Snapchat's AR? And so he has uh, you know, embedded like uh our you guys have probably seen it in like um sport sporting events like baseball, basketball, uh, the lenses that go onto the Jumbotron, and then they'll pick a random person out and put like a funny face.

16:41 So he did that only to like kind of like roast his audience. So like his crowd work was facilitated through that. Um, and he would put like a random face on someone in the audience and start communicating to them that way. Um, so it's it's really, really powerful how some people have leveraged our technology to just enhance the experience with their audience.

17:04 Um, I'm trying to think like of a few others. I mean, it's been pretty cool. I mean, and then like, of course, there's always like paid media opportunities. Um, so like, you know, recently like Hulu's been leaning in with their um, you know, their talent that have specials coming out on the platform and just coming up with creative opportunities to promote to Gen Z.

17:27 Um, because ultimately, as you grow, you need to resonate with young consumers and make sure that your brand has a lot of you know um holistic impact and not just like super targeted to one demographic. Um, so yeah, there it's it's really been cool. And um, to answer your initial question, I think that's how you uh build out categories is like you really think about like the 360 vision of like not just like, oh, here's the monetization program.

17:58 Like, I'll make a bunch of money here and then like we'll see what happens. It's really like, oh, can I utilize the AR AR? Can I utilize the catalog of music? Can I utilize the camera function to optimize what I'm already doing? You know, can I get more brand deals on here? So that's that's like the 360 approach you want to take.

18:18Tsvetta Kaleynska And I think that's a genius approach. I mean, not that you're asking me for advice, but people pay me a lot of money to help them uh identify signals mostly and what they need to change and transform in their business. And I think that you may have unlocked, and probably you guys are working on it, unlocking a completely different niche, which is, I'm sure, very closely tied to your HBO um and prior background.

18:43Tsvetta Kaleynska So over the top, you know that obviously linear and traditional broadcasting is dying, it's been dying for a while now, but it's on the way out, right? Whatever number of decades, and I'm sure Nielsen would probably disagree. Um, but people and brands are all watching over the top. So your traditional, I can name a few, Hulu, obviously, Prime.

19:08Tsvetta Kaleynska Uh, you have different ways that people consume media, but the only way that the media is consumed and actually converted into what we call attribution and marketing, which is basically buying a product, is through your phone, which means you actually consume your media on your social media platform, right?

19:30Tsvetta Kaleynska Because that's you can click a link and then it takes you out to a new window and then you can go shop. And it sounds to me like you guys have unlocked a completely different stream because it's almost like you're you're thinking about over the top and like how people watch, and that's why where the long form I think is very interesting, which I as a creator myself or a semi-creator myself, wannabe creator, let's call me.

19:56Tsvetta Kaleynska I uh across all other media, you don't really have that, you're not prompted. If anything, you're prompted to make your message and your content in like a really quick, catchy format, like energetic, right? And I find it fascinating, what I call the money signal that you guys are actually um opposite because you're providing that opportunity to almost create like a complete independent channel as over-the-top content, totally where I'm sure you can serve ads and where creators can happily make money because they don't necessarily have to partner with a brand.

20:35Tsvetta Kaleynska They can just serve their content and the ads are inserted within their content. Exactly. So I love that. And I was gonna say I I as a marketer, I think that that's such a genius way to do it. Yeah as a creator and as a talent manager, yeah, I love that um you guys are not prompting or urging creators to have necessarily an affiliation with specific brands, which is you know, for a creator that's genius.

21:03Tsvetta Kaleynska It's like a no-brainer.

21:04 Yeah.

21:05Tsvetta Kaleynska Now, because I talked for so long, and this is actually an interview of you, I wanted to ask you more about if you had advice for the future creators or the current audience. How do you how can anyone become a creator on Snap? Like, what does it really take to become a creator? And then are there any signals or anything that you can point audiences to in terms of like how to be a successful one?

21:31 Yeah, no, totally. I would say the name of the game, and this is for Snap, but I would say in general, and honestly, this is probably like like top line wisdom for anything is consistency. And so, like I think if you can really um you know ensure that you are pumping a supply of content on snaps, but like Snapchat is a very dependent.

22:00 So, like the beauty is it's low lift, but on the other side, it's like if you're taking days off or if you're not building a cadence and a strategy, it's really, really hard to succeed. So that's like kind of almost like it's antithetical to some other platforms because other platforms are like a little bit more clout focused.

22:21 So like if you're doing cool things, that translates to more engagement. Whereas with Snap, you can be literally in this room for like six months doing all kinds of activities. It's more about building cohesion and telling a story and really driving a good supply of content on a day-to-day basis.

22:41Tsvetta Kaleynska Yeah.

22:41 So that that's kind of like step one is identifying who you are and what your story is. So it's kind of building an identity for the digital kind of domain. And then really it's about developing a consistent, consistent playbook. Um, you know, in the world of AI, how easy is it for us to do that now?

23:03 So now it's like you really have no excuse. It's just a matter of not being complacent. But if you have an idea, literally go on any model and type it out and it'll create a schedule for you. So, you know, it's it's really now about um, you know, identifying the X factor, building out a really cool niche for yourself, or it, or it could be something even in a more saturated space, it's totally fine.

23:30 Like everyone has a podcast, everyone does fitness, like, you know, so you can add to that, but the more you can disrupt that uh category with something interesting, and the more um, you know, authentic you are and like raw, and you know, all of that is start starts to translate to your audience. Things that are super performative and you're kind of not really um, you're just playing things by the book too much.

23:57 Um, you know, the audience is smart. So like think about yourself when you're consuming content. If you don't feel like, you know, that you can resonate with it instantaneously, it's really hard to stick around and watch. Um, so that that you wanna you wanna really identify who you are in this domain and then ultimately build a consistent playbook um that you will continuously to you know build on.

24:25Tsvetta Kaleynska So over the last few uh months that we've gotten actually a chance to work with Snap uh through Peter, I've noticed one pattern, because again, I love signals, I love patterns, and uh that is that you guys not only work with really cool creators, like Kid Super is one of them, but you also work with really cool brands.

24:46Tsvetta Kaleynska Can you tell us a bit more about the type of brands that come to Snap and like the goals that they have when it comes to advertising?

24:54 Yeah, totally. So uh, you know, we have all types of advertisers. You have enterprise advertisers, and then where my team gets to lean in a lot more is like finding cool activations with, you know, next gen brands or emerging brands. Um, I've really enjoyed leaning into like New York City's community and like what does it mean to be a successful?

25:22 Really, like streetwear is kind of like where I've been like more focused just because I actually had my own streetwear brand. Love it uh a few years ago. So I've just like have a natural affinity for that stuff, but um, you know, recently we last or sorry, two quarters ago, I did a collaboration with Siegelman Stable.

25:44 So I have uh his merch here. Um, and that was cool because we got to activate his space, and so you get to figure out like, okay, like they are really leaning into some form of like creator or influencer marketing. How do we bring our ecosystem and combine it with his? And that was just really cool because they they had a so uh Soho pop-up and we like really turned it into like a Snapchat uh collaborative environment.

26:12 Um, and so we hosted a dinner right in the store. That was really cool. Um, and now recently, like most recently, we've built up a relationship with Kid Super, which is another really notable streetwear brand. Um, and now we've started to like figure out cool ways to partner with them. Obviously, they are building a um kind of a narrative on Snapchat through their public profile, but then also, you know, we're exploring um, you know, different talent in our ecosystem that can go onto their podcasts.

26:44 Um, you know, we're exploring doing an event with them. Um, and then, you know, ultimately a lot of that stuff does translate into like these partners being super interested in our ecosystem and starting to spend on on in our ecosystem. Um, so you know, those two examples may not convert into that specifically, but a lot of like brands like Clinique or whatever will, you know, really get excited about our creator community and our creator programs, and then really again lean into that 360 model where it's like, oh, we should, you know, run ads on here, or we should do paid media deals with creators here.

27:22 Yeah, or we want to do partnered events together, or we want to go on, like, you know, when there's major tent poles around the world, major events, like maybe those are opportunities to partner together. So it's really gotten cool how like the creator programs or the creator community is the impetus for bigger things.

27:43 Um, and yeah, those specific examples for me like have been really exciting because I like to really try to embed like, you know, we're a small team, so you can only have such a global impact. I really want to focus on New York City, and I I really want to own this market um and really make Snapchat the most uh you know utilized uh platform for storytelling uh in in this market.

28:12Tsvetta Kaleynska And I think you're doing a tremendous job at it.

28:14 Yeah.

28:15Tsvetta Kaleynska Vlad, thank you so much for this refreshing and energizing conversations. It was so cool to understand a bit more about Snapchat and the creator program and all the cool stuff that you guys are doing.

28:27 Yep.

28:28Tsvetta Kaleynska For all of our listeners, we'll make sure to link information on Snapchat and uh make sure that regardless of your age, you go back on Snapchat because it seems like a pretty cool platform. Yeah, thank you guys so much for being with us in the Money Signal podcast. I'm your host, Sveta Kalinska, and I was joined by Vlad Letinetsky, full mouth here for an amazing episode.

28:50Tsvetta Kaleynska Stay tuned for more cool updates.