Snapchat Has A New Plan To Make Money (And It Involves America's Presidential Candidates)

Snapchat has a new strategy to make some money. And it ain’t great!

Last week, it was revealed the company’s valuation had dropped by $US4 billion (at least, according to one of its major investors).

It was widely believed the mutual fund who said Snapchat was now worth $US12 billion rather than $US16 billion took into account the social platform’s inability to generate revenue.

Politico has now revealed Snapchat’s big plan to monetize its fleeting photos.

Snapchat has reportedly begun courting America’s Presidential candidates and encouraging them to buy political advertising to be played in-between regular posts.

Many of the current Republican nominees are using the service to share “behind-the-scenes” videos from their campaign trail, but now Snapchat wants the would-be contenders to start paying them for ad placements.

There’s evidence to suggest Snapchat is an effective platform for political advertising. The company shared with Politico data that indicated two-thirds of its millennial user base is likely to vote in the 2016 Presidential election.

Approximately 63 million millennials are active daily users of Snapchat. That’s a hefty number.

The thing is, will they be inspired to change their vote based on an ad that appears during their Snapchattery, or will it only seek to drive users away from the social media app (in conjunction with the controversial new terms and conditions that seeks eternal ownership of all uploaded photos and videos)?

Right now, only two running candidates – Rand Paul and John Kasich – are giving Snapchat their ad dollars.

But if more come to the table and this gambit works, expect to see your favourite Aussie politicians popping up when the next federal election rears its head.