Influencer marketing is becoming more transparent.
Instagram announced in a blog post that they’ve added the option for brands to promote organic Influencer posts as feed ads, identifying these with a ‘Sponsored’ tag. Creators make their posts and toggle a setting that allows business partners to boost them, amplifying the post to make it a part of the brand’s marketing campaigns and target audiences. In other words, an Influencer could create a post for a brand, send it out to their audience, and then have that brand use it in their marketing campaigns as if it’s one of their own assets.
With this shift, retailers can fully integrate Influencer marketing as a part of their campaign and overall marketing strategies. Not only will brands be able to amplify Influencer content to their audience, as well as in any campaigns they run, but they’ll also be able to track and measure the impact of those Influencer posts. This connection creates more transparency, improved communication, and a deeper understanding of what the reach of Influencer really is. Considering how important trust is in today’s digital economy, this move helps brands improve their relationship with consumers.
The Big Winner: Brands
Extending the reach of Influencer content is a fantastic opportunity for brands to take a more authentic approach to their Instagram presence. (Yes, we see the irony in this.) Whether it’s product reviews, ads, or a more creative post, this gives brands more content to use in paid campaigns. These posts could potentially act as a social-proof tactic, helping improve conversion rates. Branded content ads will also be great to target a wide range of demographics and audience types like Lookalikes, while being a useful tool for prospecting strategies. Overall, we see this development as a way for brands to improve reach and measurement.
The Other Winner: Influencers
This one’s pretty simple: Influencers get to share their content with more people. In doing so, they attract more followers and build their communities. These metrics make up some of the main KPIs brands look at when choosing which Influencer to partner with. Creators that deliver content that cuts through the noise and resonates with users have a chance to grow their brands and stand out in a crowded field.
Wait and See: Users
We’ve noticed the frequency of ads have risen lately on Instagram. This may result in people getting fatigued with the content, and seeing the ‘Sponsored’ tag is going to make some users skip past no matter what’s happening in the post. It remains to be seen whether best practices will develop when it comes to which types of content end up being best deployed in these assets, and what insight gaps will rise as a result of how people interact with them. As Instagram continues to explore ways to improve engagement, this step could help audiences find more Influencers who align with their values.
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See the Pieces of the Puzzle
Brands integrating Influencer content into more of their marketing campaigns can bring insights from these assets in-house. By learning more about the performance of these posts and Stories, retailers can create a more nuanced marketing approach. Make sure to map ad targeting audiences with an Influencer’s audience, which can both deliver more conversions and build your overall following.
Know Your Worth
Influencers taking part in these campaigns should be excited, but they also have to understand how these ads function in a marketing strategy. By being served to a wider audience, there’s a natural tendency for efficiency metrics to fall off. The key here is to identify the gaps in your content and the brand’s target market, so that you have a keen understanding of how your assets are best used. This will not only engender you to your brand’s audience, but also to your brand, who will be able to better deploy what you create.
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