Creating Branded Organic Posts on Instagram with Influencers

If you use Instagram to market your business, you’ll be glad to know the platform has just launched a new feature that lets you run organic posts as branded ads.

Marketers have been turning to Instagram in recent years, working with influencers to make the right impression on their target audience. The platform now has a billion monthly active users. Collaborating with influencers can help these ads feel more natural and authentic, as opposed to traditional commercials and product placements. With branded ads on organic posts, you can now promote your influencer’s organic branded content posts as Feed ads on Instagram, helping you reach new audiences.

Learn more about this new feature and why you should incorporate it into your social media marketing strategy.

Why Branded Ads on Organic Posts?

Marketers have been able to advertise on Instagram for years. Sponsored posts traditionally appear in the user feed with the label “Sponsored” for more ad transparency.

But consumers are becoming increasingly wary of traditional ads, which is why so many marketers turn to influencers when it comes to winning over new audiences. This means getting real people, or those with large followings, to incorporate a company’s products and services into their organic posts.

67% of marketers already promote content with the help of influencers. As more companies begin working with influencers, Instagram is releasing new features to encourage even more collaboration.

Considering 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations, you can use this tool to have your products endorsed by people that consumers actually trust.

As Instagram writes on its website, “We’ve heard feedback that branded content delivers significant value to brands…businesses want to share their brand story from the creator’s point of view and use that authentic content in their ad strategies.”

How It Works

Collaborate with your influencer to come up with an idea for an organic post. This means the post will appear in the influencer’s feed and be a part of their profile. In the coming months, you’ll be able to promote your influencer’s stories as well.

To get started, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Setting Up Access Permissions

Login to the Instagram app and head to your advertiser profile. Select the “Edit Profile” option and select “Business Settings.”

If you see the “Require Approvals” option is on, select “Approved Accounts.” If the “Require Approvals” option is off, you’re ready to go. Type in the influencer’s handle you want to work with, select their profile and then select “Done.”

Now, tell your influencer that you’ve added their account. When they login to post your organic content, they’ll need to tag your business, and then select the “Allow Business Partner to Promote” option. Once they do, you can start promoting their organic post as a branded ad.

Step 2: Setting Up and Using Ads Manager

If you’ve already been using Ads Manager on Instagram, you should already be familiar with this process.

First, head to the Ads Manager tab and create a new ad. Pick one of the listed objectives for your ad, including Reach, Brand Awareness Objective (BAO), Video Views, Engagement, or Traffic.

Create your custom “audience” and target Instagram users based on age, geographic location, interests and other identifying factors. In the Ad Placement section, choose “Feed Ad.”

When choosing your ad, select the “Use Existing Post” option. Then click on “Select Post/Change Post.” In the Select Post window, head over to the “Branded Content” tab and click. You’ll see the list of the branded content posts that a creator has given you permission to promote. Choose the branded content post that you want to promote on Instagram.

Check the preview of your ad before confirming.

You can now track the results of your branded ad using Ads Manager.

 

Instagram has been one of the leading influencer marketing platforms for years. But now you can use the app to further collaborate with your influencer, promoting their organic posts as feed-style ads. When users click on the ad, they’ll see the organic post as part of the influencer’s profile, making your content a central part of the user’s browsing experience.

This feature will be available in the coming weeks. You will also be able to use this feature for stories in the coming months as well.

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