Instagram has been evolving in the past year, designing and introducing new updates and features that encourage better collaboration between brands and influencers. Features such as Eligible for Commission and Paid Partnership tags, as well as the ability for creators to tag a brand’s products when posting, increases the opportunity for brands to partner and collaborate with KOLs and influencers.
The most recent feature in their bid to bridge the gap further is the launch of the creator marketplace. Not sure what this creator marketplace is all about? Whether you are an influencer or a brand, discover more about it and how it can make a difference in your influencer marketing strategy here in this article.
What is Instagram Creator Marketplace?
As the name suggests, it is a place for brands to discover creators to partner with. Whether you are looking for famous influencers in Singapore or an industry-related social media creator, Instagram Creator Marketplace is the influencer discovery platform for Instagram’s creators.
Brands can now browse the marketplace to discover potential KOLs and influencers to work with. The platform allows them to manage the partnership and negotiate collaborative deals easily. It also increases the influencers’ efficiency and ease in managing their brand partnerships and content opportunities.
Through this platform, influencers and creators are able to set up their creator portfolios, which allows them to showcase their past and current work to potential brand partners.
Brands can join the marketplace by sending in their request to Instagram. However, do note that brands outside of the USA are currently not given the option to register their interest in using this platform yet. However, we foresee that this will be an essential tool for brands in Singapore.
What can you do on the Creator Marketplace?
Now that you are aware of the presence of Instagram Creator Marketplace, what are the specific features that you should know about? What can brands potentially latch on to improve their KOL marketing strategy? Here are some key features to help you see its potential.
1. Partner discovery
The creator marketplace allows brands to discover new influencers they might have known before. With a bunch of filters, brands can narrow their searches according to their requirements, such as age, interests, gender, and the number of followers. Brands may also filter the creators according to their audience demographics, such as audiences’ interests, city, country, gender, and age.
However, what sets it apart from other influencer discovery platforms in the market, such as TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, is the ability to narrow down KOLs and influencers who have been associated with their brand. For example, brands can filter their search for influencers who have expressed interest in working with them, follow them, or tag them in previous posts. Additionally, there is also another feature that helps brands to find influencers who share similar characteristics with other searched creators.
There is also a saved function in which brands can add their shortlisted creators to access whenever necessary quickly. Meanwhile, influencers will have to indicate their most relevant topics and brands correctly in order to be discovered for content opportunities easily.
2. Creator project
Once brands have found the influencer they want to work with, they can begin crafting a campaign structure for the influencer. The creator project includes crucial information, such as expected deliverables and campaign overview. It will also include information, such as compensation and other vital details.
Instagram has also added to this feature the ability for brands to let their creator projects be discovered. What it means is that creators who meet the brand’s campaign criteria can discover the project in the marketplace. They can then register their interest to work with the brand instead of having to wait for a brand to find them, encouraging proactivity within the space. This added feature is handy for younger influencers who are just starting out and might not have the experience or opportunity to partner with brands.
3. Portfolio (Creators only)
Instagram has made it possible for influencers to set up their portfolio. With them, they are able to share their past and current work with potential brands. This speeds up the partnership process as they can now position themselves easily for partnership opportunities rather than relying on their Instagram feed.
For brands, being able to view details about the influencer’s career makes it much simpler to narrow down prospective campaign partners. Long gone are the days of scrolling through thousands of posts to view the sponsored posts that the influencer made in the past. Now, they can find them easily on the portfolio.
4. Compensation
Another feature that the Instagram creator marketplace has is the ability to pay and receive payments. Brands can pay the partnered creator directly through the platform instead of using an external channel or app. Vice versa, influencers can now receive their due compensation directly.
Influencers are then given the option to access all their payment details on their creator’s dashboard, making it easier to track their earnings from multiple brands easily and efficiently.
Conclusion
Instagram creator marketplace is indeed the tool to look out for, especially for brands in Singapore. For creators, there are a few criteria to meet before you are eligible to join the creator marketplace, such as following the branded content and partner monetisation policies, as well as being compliant with the creator marketplace’s community guidelines and content monetisation policies. Once they are met, you can go to your account settings to see if you are eligible to join. If you are, you can easily join the platform through your professional dashboard.
With the Instagram creator marketplace narrowing down the process for you, you can now manage your marketing campaigns and relationship with your partnered influencer more effectively and efficiently. Until then, if you are looking to improve and boost your influencer marketing strategy, then do not hesitate to contact Kobe at https://www.getkobe.com/ today!
