Instagram’s new functionality will allow brands to turn influencer posts into ads, and it’s something we’ve all been waiting for.

By William Soulier,

Instagram has launched a tool that will let brands make influencer posts appear as if they are ads with the intention that they will reach a bigger audience.

Up until recently, brands who paid influencers to post sponsored videos or images have only been limited to that individual influencer’s profile and their following. However this new functionality will now allow brands to appear in the feeds and stories of a much wider audience (even in fact of those people don’t follow that influencer in question).

This is something we’ve all been eagerly waiting for here in the influencer marketing world. In our opinion the functionality will add more credibility to influencer marketing and enable it to be far more integrated into an overall digital marketing strategy, rather than a standalone one-off channel. All in all, this is great news for the industry as a whole.

It will also open up the doors for other amplification opportunities that brands may have been a little reticent to progress up until now. These opportunities, such as repurposing influencer content to digital out of home, or even repurposing this content as display ads, is something we’ve been working on with our clients recently with great success. Ultimately this new functionality will make this strategy even more appealing to brands and allow an even better return on investment.

Having the stamp of the influencer on an ad is always going to build more trust, authenticity and credibility for a brand. Notably it will also continue to put influencers even more at the centre of brand marketing strategies. With this in mind, it’s never been more important to ensure brands are working with the right kind of talented influencer to drive their brand forward. Fashion models, athletes, visual artists and other high-profile talent have real credibility and authentic value in their space. They can connect with a brand’s audience in a way like no other can. We would encourage brands to ensure they pick the right influencer that resonates with their customers.

Certainly the future is looking pretty bright in the influencer marketing world and given the industry is set to swell to over $10 billion within the next five years, we are certainly pleased to be at the forefront of that.

William Soulier is CEO and co-founder of influencer marketing platform Talent Village

Photo by courtney Hobbs on Unsplash