Activate Instagram Branded Content through CreatorIQ

CreatorIQ is delighted to announce we’ve integrated with Meta’s Branded Content API, unlocking your ability to activate branded content on Instagram directly within our platform. With this latest update, leveraging the power of a single branded content experience has never been easier for both you and your creators. 

Our solution allows you to grant any creator the ability to tag you as a paid partner directly within CreatorIQ, and in turn creators can easily give you permission to boost their post as a Partnership Ad.

What is branded content?

Meta defines branded content as any creator or publisher's content that features, or is influenced by, a business partner for an exchange of value, such as monetary payment or free gifts.

Meta’s branded content policies specifically require creators and publishers disclose the commercial nature of their content using the Branded Content Tool. The Branded Content Tool facilitates disclosure of partnership content by giving a creator the ability to toggle on the “Paid Partnership” label, and if able to, to tag their brand sponsor. 

Proper disclosure via the Branded Content Tool will result in “Paid Partnership with Brand Name” displayed under the creator’s handle on their Instagram post.. 

Why use the Branded Content Tool?

It’s important to know that disclosing branded content via the Branded Content Tool is the only recognized method Meta uses to denote branded content on their platforms. While you may use #ad, custom keywords, or additional hashtags to disclose the commercial nature of content and to capture content within CreatorIQ campaigns, these should be additive and be used alongside the Paid Partnership label. 

Disclosure via the Branded Content Tool helps ensure:

• Compliance. Ensure adherence to Meta’s Branded Content Policies,
• Transparency. Maintain the trust your creators have established with their audiences by clearly disclosing branded content. 
• Efficiency. Grant access once, and creators can tag you as a Paid Partner on any post moving forward. Combine this with #Ad or a custom hashtag in your post requirements to easily track sponsored content in CreatorIQ. 
• Reach. Creators can grant you permission to promote their content to wider audiences as a Partnership Ad without adding additional steps to their workflow. 

You can learn more about how proper branded content disclosure can benefit your brand here.

How do I activate branded content through CreatorIQ?

Our new solution means you can give creators the ability to tag you as a paid partner without ever having to log in to Meta’s Business Manager. And because it’s integrated, easy, and streamlined, you can make this process a regular part of your program.

1. First, a team member with access to your owned and operated brand handles will simply authenticate your brand account in CreatorIQ. If this is someone outside of your team or organization, you can quickly generate a shareable link for them to connect the accounts.
   
   
2. When all of your preferred brand handles have been connected, you can select the creator or multiple creators who you want to grant access to, make sure you’re choosing the correct brand account and creator account, and click send! It’s that simple.

Once you grant a creator access, they don’t need to do anything at all to accept; they’ll simply see your brand account appear as an option when uploading branded content. When posting, they’ll just need to toggle on the Paid Partnership label, add your brand, and it’s done! 

What are Partnership Ads?

Partnership Ads are created from a partnership between a brand and a creator, and are run from the creator’s handle. They allow you to amplify your branded content by reaching beyond a creator’s organic audience.

In the same process by which a creator is uploading and tagging branded content, they can also give you permission to boost their post. All they need to do is click over to their next screen and toggle on the “Allow brand partner to boost”. This will give you access to create a partnership ad directly in Ads Manager.

By being nested under Branded Content, it’s never been easier to get ad permissions from creators and tap into the benefits of partnership ads. 

Why should I run Partnership Ads?

Running Partnership Ads help you extend the reach of your creator-led content and increase your return on creator spend, made possible by a unified branded content experience. Partnership Ads are also the easiest way to create an ad using creator content. 

Employing Partnership Adss has been proven to lower your CPA (cost per acquisition) and drive improved performance overall. When scaled through CIQ’s solution,Partnership Ads can help you:

• Increase your reach and ROI
• Access a massive amount of high-quality creative produced by creators
• Maintain integrity with built-in sponsorship disclosures
• Make the overall process more streamlined and efficient 

In addition to the potential for additional reach and ROI, creators may be more likely to grant you permission to run Partnership Ads because: 

• The built-in sponsored disclosure can help put your creators’ minds at ease when discussing using their content and likeness for paid advertising. 
• Granting permission to boost doesn’t create any additional friction on the creator’s part, so there’s one less reason to turn down the opportunity!

This improved experience for creators helps you boost your paid strategy by removing barriers to activation, reducing your time-to-value, and increasing your ability to scale.

How do I get started with Partnership Ads?

The Partnership Ads permission lives right within the branded content workflow for creators, so when considering a partnership ads strategy, we encourage you to start thinking of branded content as holistically. The more branded content is tagged using the Paid Partnership label, the more partnership ads can be created, and your potential ROI increases. 

Here are some helpful tips for getting started with a partnership ads strategy:

• If you intend to run partnership ads, include granting this permission as a creator requirement and as a clause in your contracts.
• Identify who has ownership of your brand’s owned Instagram account, whether an internal or external party.
• Discuss the benefits of partnership ads with your creators and your paid counterparts who operate in Meta’s Ads Manager.
• Begin by running a hybrid strategy using partnership ads and your business-as-usual ads to test performance.

Learn more about partnership ads on Instagram’s help site. 

Have questions? Don't hesitate to contact us.