You’ve probably noticed on your Instagram app that there’s an increased number of influencers using the “paid partnership” tag. In 2017, the platform launched the paid partnership feature to boost transparency on sponsored posts.
During this time, the Federal Trade Commission started taking measures against influencer posts that didn’t let the public know anything about the paid relationship between the brand and the influencer.
The paid partnership feature offers consumers transparency, provides access to insights, and cuts out the risk of negative consequences from sponsored posts. But what exactly is the paid partnership on Instagram? Let’s find out!
A paid partnership on Instagram happens when a brand advocate or influencer shares a story or post on the platform, tagging a business account as a Business Partner. When used correctly, the paid partnerships tag can be seen at the top of the story or post, where the location or area normally sits. You and anyone else who sees the post or story will see “Paid partnership with [Business Partner]” right under the account’s username. If you click on it, a hyperlink will send you to the business page.
When should influencers use this feature?
All influencers should use the paid partnership feature for all story or feel posts that have been sponsored by a partner of some type or brand. Even if the brand isn’t paying specifically for that post but there’s a general sponsorship arrangement in place, its name should be mentioned in relevant stories or posts to ensure the influencer provides transparency to their audience. Obviously, the details of this arrangement should be brought into discussion and agreed upon between the brand and the influencer at the start of the engagement.
However, it’s important to note that there are situations where it’s not appropriate for an influencer to tag a brand in an Instagram story or post using the paid partnership feature. This applies especially when a brand hasn’t engaged the influencer for a paid campaign or as a brand ambassador. Or when the influencer is sharing information or images about a product or service that has been offered for free or as part of a previous campaign.
Again, the details related to this arrangement should be discussed and established between the brand and the influencer at the beginning of the engagement.
What are the advantages of using the paid partnership feature? Influencers, brands, and audience.
Influencers
As an influencer, the paid partnership feature helps create a more transparent and trusting relationship with your followers on Instagram through the disclosure of sponsored posts. It also offers influencers the chance to collect more data, allowing them to make better and more informed decisions on what brands and business partners to engage with.
This Instagram function can also work as an indication to other businesses that the particular influencer takes part in paid partnerships, which may boost the number of sponsorship opportunities they get.
Brands
For brands, the paid partnership feature offers direct access to insights on the influencer and the online engagement they’re bringing to the brand. This feature helps the brand gather statistics and information on how the sponsored content campaigns carry out on Instagram, giving them the opportunity to make better decisions for future online marketing campaigns.
Access to this kind of information can help the brand figure out which influencers are more effective for their services or products, allowing them to estimate the ROI they can predict from individual influencers taking part in the campaign strategy.
Specific elements for brands to pay attention to here are reach and engagement on posts, such as comments and likes, as well as taps backwards, taps forwards, replies, and exists on Instagram stories (keep in mind that brands only have 14 days to analyze the performance of story posts when they are tagged as a Business Partner).
The paid partnership feature also allows brands to activate the “Partner Approval” function. This gives businesses the power to disapprove or approve any sponsored content partnerships before the influencer publishes a tagged post to make sure that their Instagram marketing content is on-brand.
Audience
As an audience member, it’s great to know whether a post is sponsored or simply a genuine recommendation. This feature gives you transparency before you consider engaging with the service or product being recommended.
