Snapchat is more than just a Gen Z social media platform. In fact, parent company Snap has recently distanced itself from social media, pushing a focus on positivity. With ventures in AI and AR, the platform is innovating. But ultimately, Snapchat is still competing for social media dollars, at times struggling against giants like Meta and TikTok.

In this guide, we explore what marketers should know about Snapchat’s latest moves, who is using the platform, and how it is making money.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a messaging and social media platform owned by Snap Inc. Originally intended for photo sharing between users, Snapchat has evolved to include text, video, group conversations, and creator content. Snapchat has been an innovator in mobile-focused social media, disappearing Stories, and AR filters, but the platform has also struggled with monetization.

A brief history of Snap

2011: Snapchat launched Picaboo, an app for sending photos that would disappear after a few seconds.

2012: Snapchat introduced video, expanding the ways people could interact on the platform.

2013: Snapchat created Snap Stories, which allow users to post a series of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. Snap Stories became the precursor to Stories on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

2015: Snapchat branched out with Discover, a feed for viewing ad-supported content from publishers, and Lenses, AR filters that could be applied to photos and videos.

2016: Snapchat launched Spectacles, a pair of smart glasses that allow users to record video for Snapchat. Snapchat has since created AR Spectacles as well.

2017: Snapchat redesigned the platform, putting content in algorithmic rather than chronological order.

2018: After influencer Kylie Jenner posted a tweet criticizing Snapchat’s redesign, Snap stocks plummeted by $1.3 billion.

2022: Snapchat released Snapchat+, a premium tier with many customizable features.

Snapchat demographics: Who uses Snapchat?

Snapchat will have 692.2 million monthly active users worldwide in 2024, per our May 2024 forecast.

  • There will be 92.8 million US Snapchat users in 2024, or 13.4% of all users.
  • Most Snapchat users (303.9 million) live in Asia-Pacific, but user penetration is highest in North America (27.4%) and Western Europe (21.3%), per our forecast.
  • Snapchat had 414 million daily active users in Q4 2023, according to Snap earnings.

Snapchat’s target audience skews younger. Gen Z makes up 48.6 million of Snapchat’s US users, followed by millennials (30.6 million), Gen X (8.5 million), and baby boomers (3 million), per our forecast.

Snapchat had the highest share of Gen Z users in the US compared with other major digital platforms. That means there’s a major opportunity on the platform for advertisers looking to reach Gen Z. But Snapchat also has a smaller US user base (92.8 million) compared with the likes of TikTok (112.4 million) or Instagram (143.2 million), per our forecasts.

share o total US users on social media platforms, 2024
A chart showing the share of total US users on select digital platforms by generation, 2024.

How much time do people spend on Snapchat?

US adults will average 8 minutes with Snapchat per day in 2024, according to ĢAV’s June 2024 forecast. US users will only spend 8.9% of their time with social networks on Snapchat, which has dropped over the past three years.

Younger adults spend way more time on Snapchat than their older counterparts. US adults 18 to 24 will average 28 minutes per day on the platform in 2024. For people ages 25 to 34, that number is 15 minutes. And those 35 and older will spend less than six minutes on Snapchat.

User numbers are trending up on Snapchat, but those users are spending less time on the platform, averaging 27 minutes in 2024, down from a high of 30 minutes in 2021 and 2022.

Snapchat’s advertising revenues

Snapchat has had a rocky couple of years with advertising. Snapchat’s ad revenues worldwide will total $4.04 billion in 2024, up 10.5% YoY, per an ĢAV March 2024 forecast.

  • In the US, Snapchat’s 2024 ad revenues will total $2.079 billion, a growth of 8.7% over 2024.
  • In 2023, the platform’s ad revenues worldwide fell (-3.5%) during a year of economic uncertainty in advertising resulting from the geopolitical conflict in Ukraine and Russia, signal loss following the lingering effects of AppTrackingTransparency, and the potential deprecation of third-party cookies.
  • Snapchat’s ad revenues dropped by 9.7% in the US YoY in 2023.

Ad types on Snapchat

Snapchat for Business, Snap’s ad channel, offers several ad formats.

  • Single image or video ads: These ads appear in Stories and Spotlight and are ideal for brand awareness, driving website traffic, and retargeting previous visitors.
  • Story ads: These show up between Stories, in the Discover feed, and in Spotlight, and are ideal for driving engagement, providing product information, and promoting timely messaging.
  • Collection ads: These are images or videos in succession that users can tap through. They show up in Stories or Spotlights and are ideal for ecommerce ads and lower-funnel objectives.
  • AR ads: These use Snapchat Lenses, Snapchat’s interactive AR feature. These are best for brand awareness, engagement, and conversions.
  • Dynamic ads: These are personalized ads that leverage data and automated ad creation to optimize creative tailored to each individual’s engagement. These ads use the Snap Pixel, a piece of JavaScript code for measuring campaign impact, in order to target ads.

Campaign objective types on Snapchat

Snapchat allows for goal-based bidding, meaning advertisers can bid based on objectives like impressions, clicks, landing page views, app installs, video views, shares, Story opens, and more.

Advertisers can create Product Catalogs featuring relevant information for each product sold in order to advertise on Snapchat. They can deliver those ads to custom audiences, which reach users based on business- or product-specific data.

Snapchat monetization struggles

Despite its popularity with Gen Z, Snapchat struggles with ad revenues and monetization.

Snapchat is even more popular than TikTok among Gen Z when it comes to direct messaging, with 63.0% of US Gen Zers saying they used the platform for direct messaging in the past month, per our July 2023 survey. The platform is No. 2 only to Instagram. But messaging isn’t very easy to monetize, which presents a challenge for Snapchat.

gen z prefers instagram for DMs
A chart showing US Gen Z social media users who use direct messaging, July 2023.

for brands looking to engage with consumers and build community, but digital messaging interfaces like Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Discord aren’t places people are used to seeing display ads, and engagement via messages with brands is difficult for marketers to track. As a result, Snapchat has had trouble turning engagement into revenues.

What is Snapchat+?

Snapchat introduced Snapchat+, its paid subscription model, in 2022 in an attempt to diversify revenues beyond advertising. Snapchat+ includes exclusive features like special icons and badges, the ability to customize the app, enhanced Stories, and early access to features.

As of 2024, Snapchat+ allows their subscribers to:

  • Create custom digital houses that appear on the Snap Map
  • Add AI-generated pets that can be seen next to Bitmojis in chats
  • Edit messages within five-minutes after sending, but only if the recipient hasn’t viewed the message

Snapchat+ had over 7 million subscribers as of December 2023, up from 5 million in September 2023.

How are influencers using Snapchat?

In 2024, 23.1% of influencer marketers will use Snapchat for influencer marketing, per our March 2024 forecast. That’s much less than the 97.6% who will use Instagram, 71.5% who will use Facebook, 67.5% who will use TikTok, and 55.5% who will use YouTube.US influencer marketing spend is growing on Snapchat, albeit at a slower rate than on all other major social platforms, per our March 2024 forecast.

Snapchat users follow influencers on Snapchat the same way they might follow their friends: People with established followings have used Snapchat to stay connected with fans. Marketers partner with influencers to create user-generated content on Snapchat.

What are the features of Snapchat?

  • Messaging and sending pictures/video: The original purpose behind Snapchat and one of its biggest use cases to date.
  • Stories: A place where users can upload videos and images that will vanish after 24 hours. Other platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok now have Stories, but this feature originated on Snapchat.
  • Lenses: Filters that Snapchat users can apply over their selfies and images. These tend to have AR capabilities.
  • Snap Map: A map that shows users where in the country their friends are. It’s also a place where users can watch Stories associated with geographic locations and events.
  • Discover: Editorial Stories that allow publishers to post content in a specific feed.
  • Snap Spotlight: Snapchat’s vertical video content feed, akin to TikTok. Unlike TikTok, profiles are private by default on Spotlight.
  • My AI: A generative AI chatbot available through Snapchat.
  • Snapcode: A Snapcode is a QR code that allows users to share content through a real-time scan.

Snap marketing trends and innovations

Snapchat has moved from being a messaging platform for young people to being a major innovator in AR and AI and working with other businesses to power their AR and AI use cases.

AR innovations

Snap has a host of AR innovations for social media as well as for business. The company has an AR development platform called Lens Studio, which allows creators to design AR elements for everything from virtual apparel to interactive games. This is an area where Snap rivals TikTok, which is also an AR innovator.

Snap has innovated in retail AR in particular, offering a Shopping Suite of AR tools and AR mirrors where shoppers can try on and interact with products in stores.

AI innovations

Snap is also a major AI innovator. Its My AI chatbot is not “a daily use case yet,” as noted in our Social Network Ad Spending and Trends Q4 2023 report, but Snap is experimenting with incorporating ads into the experience.

Subscribers to Snap+ have more generative AI features than non-subscribers, which is helping to boost subscriber revenues.

Despite innovations in AI, Snap’s AI agent ad revenues worldwide are far lower than Meta’s, according to a New Street Research report from January 2024. Snap has engagement, but struggles to turn attention into ad revenues.

meta vs snap AI agent ad revenues worldwide
A chart showing worldwide AI agent ad revenues for Meta and Snap, 2023 to 2025. (Subscribers only)

Snap controversies

Like other social media platforms, Snapchat deals with teen safety concerns. Snapchat’s messaging interface and ability to share photos and videos can make it a dangerous space for teens. But Snap’s relative lack of controversy here has turned into a selling point.

As Meta faces criticism for not protecting young users, Snapchat has leaned into authenticity and positive connections on the platform in marketing campaigns. Its “” campaign emphasizes these values.

This article has been updated. Original was posted on March 27, 2024.