This post was updated in December 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

Instagram Branded Content Ads: A Direct Link to Influencer Communities

The Instagram influencer community isn’t just made up of mega influencers like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio or Addison Rae, who boast tens of millions of followers. 

In fact, micro-influencers (10,000–100,000 followers) and nano-influencers (1,000–10,000 followers) are the preferred choice for 70% of brands. Why? These smaller creators are often more cost-effective and drive higher engagement, making them a better fit for targeted campaigns compared to big-name influencer communities.

With Instagram Partnership Ads (formerly Branded Content Ads), advertisers now have a direct link to tap into these influencer networks, leverage authentic user-generated content (UGC), and reach highly engaged audiences. It’s a strategy no brand can afford to overlook.

The Appeal of Instagram Influencer Advertising for Modern Brands

Social media influencers offer unique advantages that goes beyond traditional paid ads on Instagram. By tapping into their distinct niche audiences, Instagram influencers connect with followers who are already engaged and highly likely to become loyal patrons of the products or services they promote.

It’s no surprise that 47% of brands are already leveraging Instagram Branded Content Ads to amplify their campaigns. Here’s why the Instagram app remains the go-to platform for paid influencer marketing:

1. Up to 230% more follower reach than the average Instagram user 

Instagram’s visual-first platform makes it the ideal space for industries like fashion to thrive through influencer marketing. Even globally recognized brands, such as Zara, have found immense value in Partnership Ads.

By collaborating with micro-influencers like Teesh Rosa, Zara launched an Instagram Partnership Ads campaign that resulted in 4.6 million new followers. This success demonstrates how influencer marketing campaigns can tap into new audiences—far beyond what sponsored ads alone could achieve—delivering up to 230% more follower reach than the average Instagram user.

2. 41% of consumers discover products through influencer content weekly 

Instagram Branded Content Ads have the power to make your products feel relatable and accessible. By showcasing your brand through influencers, your product is presented as something used and trusted by “everyday” individuals, not just celebrities or big names.

When users scroll through their feeds and see their favorite influencers featuring your product, it creates an instant sense of trust and authenticity. This organic connection often gains traction even before you launch it as sponsored content on Instagram. It’s no wonder that 41% of consumers discover new products through influencer content on a weekly basis.

3. 69% of consumers trust influencer reviews and recommendations 

By featuring your product through Partnership Ads, Instagram influencers act as both brand advocates and trusted consumers.

This trust pays off—93% of influencers ensure their partnerships align with their personal values and audience expectations, reinforcing credibility and brand trust.

Beyond promotion, the authentic reactions and feedback from Instagram influencers can provide valuable insights to improve your product. Their close interactions with their community also give you a clearer understanding of how your brand is perceived, opening up opportunities for growth and optimization.

4. Influencers and content creators drive the growth of short-form video content

Short-form video has become a dominant force across social platforms, with Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube leading “the big three” for this content format.

Brands and influencers alike benefit from short-form videos, which generate 2.5x more engagement than longer video ads. Instagram Reels users spend an average of 53 minutes per session watching bite-sized content, offering brands a significant opportunity to reach audiences quickly and effectively.

5. 82% of leads from influencer marketing are better quality than other campaign types

Instagram Branded Content Ads are not just effective for boosting reach—they excel at driving results for lower-funnel campaigns like lead generation. Aside from better quality leads, influencer marketing also brings about 4.87x ROI—a great return on investing in quality content creation from top influencers on Instagram. 

Eligible Formats for Instagram Branded Content Ads

While Instagram offers a range of advertising formats, only a select few are eligible for Partnership Ads (formerly Branded Content Ads). Here’s a list of the available formats and their requirements:

• Feed Ads
  • Feed ads provide prime visibility within the Instagram app. These ads appear on the influencer’s profile feed, users’ home feeds, and even on the profile feeds of other related content creators. Your selected Instagram partnership ads can be in image, video, or carousel format (multiple images or videos).

• Stories Ads
  • Stories are another popular format for Instagram branded content ads. To ensure your ad meets all requirements, follow these guidelines:
    • Video length must be 60 seconds or less
    • Music must be from Instagram’s royalty-free music collection or original audio

While considering the interactive elements, the content creator must also make sure that CTAs or texts are well within the safe zones, abiding by the ad specs on Instagram. By the aspect ratio, find the recommended safe zones for branded content ads on Reels here:

• 9:16
• 4:5

Are You Eligible to Launch Instagram Partnership Ads?

Launching Instagram Partnership Ads requires meeting specific eligibility requirements for advertisers. Unlike standard paid ads on Instagram, which can be easily started with a verified Meta business account and a fully set-up Meta Ads Manager, Partnership Ads come with additional criteria that must be met. Here’s what you need to know:

• Content must be shared from a professional Facebook page and/or Instagram professional account. Personal accounts are not eligible to run Partnership Ads.
• Content must comply with Meta’s Community Standards and should not contain hate speech, calls for violence, and sexualized content. Additionally, the content must avoid any misinformation or false news to prevent disapproval of the ad.
• Your Instagram profile must have a genuine follower base and an established presence to be eligible for Partnership Ads.
• Currently elected or appointed government officials, political candidates, political parties, political committees, and government agencies are not permitted to run Instagram branded content ads.
• Meta reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate access to its content monetization features, including Partnership Ads, at any time. 

How to Generate Instagram Ad Codes for Partnership Ads

For a Meta advertiser to use a creator’s content for an Instagram Partnership Ad, you need an Instagram ad code. Each ad code is unique to a specific advertiser and can only be used once.

Proper content-level and account-level permissions must also be arranged to ensure the influencer’s content can be used effectively for Instagram Partnership Ads.

Steps to generate ad code for Instagram influencers:

1. The Instagram influencer must choose the post they want to use for your branded content ad.

2. The influencer clicks the three dots on the post to reveal options. From there, they select Partnership label & ads.

3. The influencer toggles the option for Add paid partnership label.

4. The influencer clicks Add brand partner and selects your Instagram username from the list of potential advertisers. They then toggle the option for Allow brand partner to boost to allow you to use the content for sponsored ads.

5. The influencer clicks on Get partnership ad code, then copies the code and shares it with you for use in your Instagram campaign.

6. The influencer clicks Done to save and confirm the updates.

Steps to create Instagram branded content ads with ad code:

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click +Create.

2. Choose your campaign objective and click Continue.

3. Customize your campaign and ad set settings, including budget, audience targeting, and placement preferences. You can either use Advantage+ placements or manually select your placements.

4. In the Ad level, toggle the option for Partnership ad. Then click on Enter ad code or post info.

5. Paste the ad code you received from your influencer partner. A preview of the content will appear, allowing you to confirm that you’re boosting the correct post. Select the Instagram accounts you want to tag with the content as a sponsored ad. Once confirmed, click Done.

6. Finish setting up the rest of your Instagram Partnership Ad and click Publish to launch the campaign.

Instagram Influencer Marketing Made Easy

Revolutionary social media has transformed how brands connect with their audience. Influencers and content creators are the newest sought-after marketing strategy. Instagram is a top-tier influencer marketing platform, and with the addition of Instagram Reels, the dominion has expanded even more. 

Digital creators and influencers are adding their best content to Instagram’s inventories. For advertisers looking to capitalize the whitelisting opportunities, Instagram Branded Content Ads offer an effective and cost-efficient solution to activate an elevated ad experience to target audiences seamlessly.