Guys, I'm super excited because I am releasing my Influencer Accelerator Masterclass so soon, and I'm making it completely free to everyone. Which means that you watching this video right now, you can go and register for a slot of one of my masterclasses and watch the whole thing for free. I literally am so excited about the content of this masterclass. For those of you who don't know me well already, you won't know that I have actually hired hundreds of influencers and content creators in my time. Whether it was for my own brands or on behalf of major international companies, so I have the real insider scoop on what it takes to get noticed by brands, how to negotiate paid deals, all of that good stuff, and I'm going to be spinning it all in my masterclass.
So now that the plug's out the way, let's get to today's video. You may or may not have seen that Instagram has released a bunch of new creator features recently. Now, Instagram is releasing features basically every other minute. It's getting quite overwhelming. And if you want to know more about their other features that they're in the process of releasing, things like Instagram favorites and stuff like that, I recommend watching this video because I talk about those features in a lot more detail.
So let's just get straight to the features, okay? So one of the most exciting new features is called the Partnership Messaging Folder. And I don't know if that's the official name because it doesn't have the best ring to it, but that's what I'm calling it. So the Partnership Messages Folder is basically this new feature which has been made available to brands. And what this feature allows brands to do is to message creators and influencers directly. So basically, it's a new feature which allows them to bypass that requests folder and just get straight into the influencer's inbox and it will give them priority placement. So what this means for you as a creator or an influencer is that if a brand wants to reach out to you and you're one of those popular people who have hundreds of thousands of DMs all the time, if a brand wants to reach out to you, you no longer need to worry about you missing out on this brand's messages because essentially, if the brand has used this feature, their message should appear at the top of your inbox, right? So it's basically priority placement for brands.
In addition to this, Instagram has also released a feature which allows brands to identify creators and influencers basically easier than they were able to before, which is really interesting. So essentially what it is is that brands now have the option to actually filter through accounts, filter potential creators or influencers based on a few different things. At the moment, brands can only filter potential creators or influencers based on their following count, age range, gender, and location. Now, I could only assume that these filters are in relation to the influencer's audience. So when I say the age range, the location, all of that, it should be in relation to your audience's age range, your audience's location, and that kind of stuff because when a brand partners with an influencer or content creator, they are doing so because they want to get access to your audience. So it's not just about you, it's about your audience.
Another one that I've got to throw in there just because it's important to everyone and it's been released recently, and I was like I can't do another video on some form of Instagram updates and not mention this. The Link Sticker is, of course, now available to everyone. So in case you weren't aware, previously the only way that you could link to an external website from your stories was by using the swipe-up feature. Now, the swipe-up feature was only made available to accounts that had over 10,000 followers. The reason why it was only made available to them is that Instagram feared that people would be using that feature for spammy activity, right? And for some reason, they thought if you've got over 10,000 followers, then you won't spam people. But if you have under 10,000 followers, then apparently, we're more likely to spam people. In some ways, I get the logic, in other ways, I'm offended. I'm not quite sure.
Now, there's another update which I've actually mentioned before, but I felt like it'd be weird for me not to mention it in this video too, and it is all around affiliate tools. And as I mentioned, this has been rolled out and tested for a little while now, but it's continuously been updated and continuously been rolled out. And what it basically is is the ability for creators to basically create their own shops. So what happens is a creator like yourself can actually recommend products from other brands. So if other brands are selling products which they are making available to purchase via Instagram, so via their Instagram shop, for example, if other brands are selling products which are available on their Instagram shop, if you have an affiliate agreement with these brands, you can actually recommend these products on your own profile.
Two more left. Another one is that brands will now be able to create content ads, like paid ads. You know when you're scrolling on your home feed and you see a post from someone who you don't follow yet and it says something like 'shop here' or whatever? That's a paid ad. Brands will be able to create paid ads from your content. Of course, there will need to be some kind of agreement in place and you would need to approve this. But essentially, soon there will be new account permissions which will allow you to grant brands access to repurpose your content as an ad.
And the last one, which is kind of a boring one, that's why I saved it for last. The last one is basically branded content reels. So you might remember a while back when they introduced a feature where you could share a sponsored post and you could actually tag a brand in it so that on the top, it said like 'brand partnership with ASOS' or 'brand partnership with Nike.' They're basically allowing you to do the same thing with reels now. So now if you do a branded piece of content for your reels, you can tag a brand in it. It will say sponsored, it will say what brand you've partnered with.
So what do all of these updates mean for you? I feel like we are entering a new age of like content creation. Obviously I'm sounding as dramatic as ever, but I honestly really believe that. I feel like we're really moving into almost like the stage two of content creation and influencer marketing. Like we the whole industry has evolved from being this new thing that people are trying to figure out how to use into being something what's a lot more advanced and a lot more of a stable career option for people, which is so exciting for so many of you. Because it really means that there is so much opportunity for you to really make a career out of this, right? So if you've dabbled in becoming a content creator in the past, if you've always wanted to be an influencer, maybe you do it part-time and you're really good at it but you don't know how to make it full-time, all of that stuff. If you've ever had any inkling which made you think that this is what you want to do, then please please register for my masterclass because I'm going to be providing so much value in there, which is really going to help you actually turn this dream into a reality.
Q: What is the Influencer Accelerator Masterclass about?
A: The Influencer Accelerator Masterclass is about helping influencers and content creators understand what it takes to get noticed by brands, how to negotiate paid deals, and providing insider tips on working with brands.
Q: What are some of the new creator features released by Instagram?
A: Some of the new creator features released by Instagram include the Partnership Messaging Folder that allows brands to message influencers directly, enhanced discovery and collaboration opportunities, accessibility to the Link Sticker for all influencers, empowering creators with affiliate tools, advantages of brands creating content ads, and introduction of branded content reels.
Q: How do brands benefit from the Partnership Messaging Folder feature on Instagram?
A: The Partnership Messaging Folder feature on Instagram allows brands to message influencers directly, giving them priority placement in the influencer's inbox. This ensures that important messages from brands are not lost in the requests folder and have better visibility for influencers.
Q: What is the Link Sticker feature on Instagram and who can use it?
A: The Link Sticker feature on Instagram allows users to link to an external website from their stories without the need for the swipe-up feature. This feature is now available to all users, making it easier for creators to direct their followers to external websites.
Q: What are the advantages of brands creating content ads using influencers' content?
A: Brands can create content ads using influencers' content to reach a wider audience. This allows brands to repurpose influencers' content as paid ads with their approval, creating new opportunities for collaboration and promotion.
Q: How has content creation and influencer marketing evolved with new updates?
A: New updates in content creation and influencer marketing have opened up new opportunities for creators to make a career out of content creation. The industry has evolved into a more advanced and stable career option, providing more opportunities for influencers to turn their passion into a successful full-time career.