Prior to expanding brand UGC sourcing capabilities, Instagram also updated its policies around affiliate marketing, while also renaming its Branded Content Ads to Partnership Ads instead to better communicate it’s evolving approach on this front. It’s a good setup by Instagram to start leveraging off of the currently growing trend that is UGC (User Generated Content).

Halt! That’s Branded

As explained by Instagram’s new pop-up, along with the new name change, Instagram will also now enable brands to promote more types of user content in the app, and not just posts that use the Paid Partnership label. According to Instagram:

“Advertisers can now boost more types of organic Instagram content as partnership ads, including branded content with the paid partnership label, Instagram Collab posts, @mentions, people tags, product tags, and other content without the paid partnership label.”

This will provide a new range of ways for brands to earn profit from and monetize UGC, while simultaneously giving creators more opportunities for business partnerships and collaborations by expanding the pool of potential ad partners that can connect with them based on their posts.

The permission process for Partnership Ads remains the same – creators can now switch on the ‘Allow brand partner to boost’ option which will give businesses the capacity to use their posts for ads if they choose. Brands will then be able to initiate the campaign process, with creators able to approve selected partnerships on whatever content the brand has chosen to use in a paid promotion.

To add to this, there are also account-level permissions, which allow brands to create Partnership Ads from a creator’s handle without a pre-existing post. This leads to a more defined partnership, likely established through a broader agreement with the creator. This updated process is part of Instagram’s renewed push on UGC, with the platform also testing a new process that’ll help brands feature User Generated Content (UGC) in their Instagram shop to better promote their products.

The Wrap

Instagram’s been working to establish more opportunities for creators, especially Reels stars, to keep them posting, with short-form video proving harder to monetize because of their inability to accommodate or insert pre and mid-roll ads. This update aims at expanding creator opportunities, while also giving businesses more ways to boost brand awareness through UGC.

People logically trust other people’s real-world experience, and the capacity to use real examples, based on Instagram posts, can be an effective promotional tool, especially as DIY content grains traction in the app.

Read up more about Instagram’s updated Partnership Ads process here.

Sources

https://bit.ly/3oZ8Env