Instagram’s New Video Channel Highlights Great Content for Influencer Marketing

The end of October marked the Halloween debut of Instagram’s new video channel, which borrows some purpose and format from Twitter’s Moments feature and maybe a bit of Snapchat. This curated video list is designed to be a “Best of” list of great videos uploaded by their community of over 400 million Instagram users. The choices draw upon both Instagram editorial opinions and user favorites. The quality of the content produced by the best Instagram has to offer makes one thing clear: individual creators succeed in a big way with short-form content. They can excite and generate thrilling material for a brief video on Instagram, Vine, or Snapchat that has an authenticity that branded content cannot expect to achieve.

While the relationship that this kind of short-form social creates can work well for many influencer marketing campaigns, it’s not a one-size-fits all solution for all brands. As VideoInk points out, when bigger ticket items are involved, including more expensive electronic equipment or automotive products, buyers want to spend more time engaging with quality content they trust before making a purchase decision.

So, how can brands more effectively harness the wealth of quality creators on Instagram?

• Find the right influencer first – If you connect with an influencer that truly meets your needs, you can work to develop content that respects their their work while incorporating your brand needs organically. There are a lot of different communities on Instagram, from makeup enthusiasts, gamers, lifestyle mavens and more.
• Collaborate to create content – “Organic” and “authentic” are words thrown around a lot in the world of influencer marketing. If you got the first item on this list down, you will be in a better position to collaborate with the influencer. Trust that the influencer knows and understands their audience intimately and that they know what will resonate best with them.
• Work with a network of influencers – With a group of influencers instead of a single one with larger social reach, brands have the opportunity to weave together content from a variety of authentic voices that can deliver a cross-section of brand-positive messages that play to the strengths and personalities of the influencers. This can help brands expand the scope of their influencer marketing campaigns with content of different formats, types, and channels without compromising the genuine feel of the content.

While the quality of content being produced by creators on social networks like Instagram, YouTube, Vine, and Snapchat may eventually eclipse content created by professionals (driving up their costs), there is still ample time for brands to link up with the right influencers (and groups of influencers) to activate audiences to connect with their products in an engaging way that will inspire more than just awareness, but action to buy.