Instagram has started testing Facebook’s Brand Collabs Manager with a select group of influencers. Under the experiment, the marketplace tool enables chosen content creators to source new deals, manage partnerships, and share campaign data. Brands are able to see insights when they’re tagged in branded content in both Brand Collabs Manager and the Instagram app as part of the test.

We don't yet know how large the test sample is, where the selected influencers are located in the world, or the speed at which the test will become a permanent feature. Potentially, though, the move could have far-reaching implications for influencer marketing.

Instagram wants influencer marketing revenue

The reason all of this is happening? Instagram wants 'in' on influencer marketing revenue. Our industry is forecast to be worth $15 billion by 2022. Currently, the B2C powerhouse platform for influencer marketing doesn't see a penny of that income.

Creator profiles, branded content ads, Checkout on Instagram, and Shop from Creators have all been designed to woo both brands and influencers and make them 'sticky' with the platform, gaining indirect value from branded content. The Brand Collabs Manager, though, becomes an immediate two-way street for brands & creators to connect through.

Brands get to select influencers based on their audience's geographical location, gender, age, number of followers and interests. Influencers get to share their portfolios, previous brand collaborations and engagement metrics. On the surface, it seems to muscle in on some of the traditional territory of the influencer marketing agency.

During the activation, brands also have the option to promote influencer content in their feed as if it were an ad. This is the added kicker for Instagram. It’s another route to promote advertising revenue from post amping. It also further paves the way for a reduction in organic reach on the platform, in the future, giving Instagram much more of control of what content gets seen by who, and why.

Brand Collabs Manager is actually good for influencer marketing agencies

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So has Adam Mosseri, Instagram's head, just signed the death warrant of all influencer marketing agencies? No. Not by a long chalk. The thing is, successful influencer marketing demands more than a data-only matchmaking process between brand and influencer. That’s always been the case, but last month’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) crackdown on vaping products really emphasises this.

The ASA ruled against advertisements for four vaping companies in December. Singer Lily Allen worked with British American Tobacco (BAT) to front one campaign, along with a model from fashion brand, House of Holland.

Importantly, there were three parts to the complaint against BAT:

1. Promotion of e-cigarettes

2. Appealing particularly to people under 18 years old

3. Featuring someone pictured with an e-cigarette, who appeared to be under 25 years old.

The ASA's ruling said the posts featuring singer Lily Allen and fashion brand House of Holland contravened a 2016 ban on marketing nicotine-containing e-cigarettes online or in print media. Additionally, brands are only permitted to publish factual information on vaping devices, and only on their own websites or where customers come to actively seek out the information. The ASA found that the Instagram posts went beyond factual claims.

The age issue is more interesting. The ASA found that Lily Allen appeals to people aged older than 18, so this element of the complaint was not upheld. However, the ASA agreed that the model photographed in the campaign looked younger than 25 years old, which definitely put it out of bounds.

This is an important point when vetting potential influencers to work with, and creative ideas to run. And it’s a nuanced point. The kind that pure data matching cannot understand. Influencer marketing professionals know to consider both an influencer’s apparent age and the age of their audience. And successful, high-quality influencer marketing management is filled with issues like this.

Professional influencer marketing practitioners understand compliance issues at a regulatory level and at a platform level, too. The ASA will not tolerate advertisements for vaping companies. Instagram’s current community guidelines, however, do permit the promotion of vaping products. Vaping, they say, is okay. Tobacco advertising, however, is banned. Influencer marketing practitioners know this, and can advice over complex situations quickly and insightfully. Data alone from the Brand Collabs Manager won’t help here, or in a lot of other situations.

Powered by data. Guided by insights and intellect

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Increasingly, influencer marketing will be governed by long-term relationships which resonate through creativity. The selection workflow will continue to start with data, but it can’t end there. It must also take note of an influencer’s values. And their creative tone-of-voice, and their world view. And any past misdeeds, and whether they Photoshop their images, and whether they actually like your brand or have mentioned it disparagingly in the past. And whether they’re nice to work with - or at least professional - and… and… and…

Influencer marketers know how to write creative briefs. They know how to write and negotiate contracts. They understand that whilst Instagram is currently the powerhouse platform, the best influencer marketing programmes are integrated across multiple platforms and other creative channels. These programmes may mix earned media with shared and paid. They might include magazine features and Out of Home billboards, YouTube vlogs, and blogs.

The seasoned influencer marketing practitioner understands the benefits and potential pitfalls of our industry. These people add value to the process to both brands and influencers. Of course, we must be powered by data. But we must also be guided by insights, intellect and human instincts.

Opening up the Brands Collab Manager on Instagram will add transparency around data. Transparent, accurate data will help further professionalise our discipline. Outfits such as Q-83 have been providing this service for a while now, including influencer media kits with real-time data.

But identifying the most appropriate fit between influencer and brand goes far beyond the data. Seasoned influencer marketers understand this. Those working within influencer marketing agencies often lead the way in this knowledge, and pitfalls like those suffered by the aforementioned vaping campaigns will only ever serve to highlight the importance of the human, insightful touch.