As our CEO Nadia Jones predicted for influencer marketing in 2019, more brands are partnering with influencers for sponsored Instagram posts. Engagement is high measurable there. Influencers are creating photography and video content that’s on par with marketing companies. IGTV and Instagram video continue to provide more opportunities to showcase the content your audience is craving. As USA Today reported about the growth of paying influencers for Instagram posts, “TV commercials aren’t reaching millennials and Gen Zers who long ago cut the cable cord. Phones, influencers’ native habitats, are everything.” Our community Member Dawn Lopez of Cutefetti.com is an Instagram master with more than 40,000 Instagram followers (as of August 2019). We asked for her insight on how to make a sponsored Instagram post stand out.
Sponsored Instagram Post Tips
Be Yourself
When you scroll through the feed for Dawn Lopez’s Instagram Cutefetti profile, you’ll notice something immediately. Her style is all her own. Her photos are bright. Crisp, white backgrounds are her aesthetic.
Dawn recommends that when a brand partnership includes a sponsored post on Instagram, “I make sure the post (image or video) fits my branding style. It’s really important to give my audience an organic feel by making sure it really makes sense for me. The content should seamlessly fit in with my feed.”
That’s crystal clear in the branded partnership with our client, Vidalia Onions with Dawn of Cutefetti.com. She created a delicious grilled sausage sandwich with the Georgia-grown onions.
Plan Ahead
While many of the post you see on Instagram look like they’re capturing “a day in the life,” Dawn advises influencers to plan their sponsored Instagram posts and stories ahead of time. This brings value to your work and the brand’s messaging.
Dawn told us “I plan my photo ideas in advance by selecting all of the right complementary props to make the sponsor truly pop and to give my audience something to remember when they are making shopping decisions later.”
Video, Video, Video
To get more reach on IG, I’ve been doing more video. Even if it’s a quick slideshow video made using still images. My best posts lately have been uploaded videos (one minute or more) to IGTV and then allow it to preview on my feed.
RELATED TOPIC: 4 Instagram TV (IGTV) Facts You Need to Know
Bonus: Disclose & Use Hashtag
Our final tip is to disclose a paid partnership with the #AD hashtag and the campaign hashtag provided by our influencer agency.
Comment below: What are you noticing about brand partnerships and their interest in Instagram?
