Snapchat Adds New Developer Tools for Spotlight, Providing New Creative and Promotional Options

With the extension of its developer tools, Snapchat's TikTok rival Spotlight is moving to the next level of development. Developers may now incorporate their apps into Spotlight clips. Users will be able to use these extra creative tools to make Spotlight videos, which will then be instantly published to the Spotlight stream.

It will also provide Snapchat's development partners more promotional value. There are now more ways to link into the Snap ecosystem for app promotion and usage thanks to Snap's developer tools - and with 280 million daily actives and a large presence among Gen Z users, that could provide a lot of exposure, giving Snapchat more creative tools and options, and developers more direct linkage into this key market subset.

Lightricks, Splice, Powder, and Piata Farms, among others, have released initial Spotlight integrations, enabling a new range of creative alternatives for the feature, which is already utilized by over 125 million Snapchatters each month.

While it still has to catch up to TikTok in terms of popularity, Snapchat has traditionally depended on innovative techniques to increase awareness and usage. And, with Snap still paying top Spotlight creators to encourage adoption, this will add to the company's incentive mechanisms to make Spotlight a more viable option.