How to get sponsored on Instagram [what 500+ social media marketers are looking for]

At my job at Nickelodeon, I’m fortunate enough to get to work with a variety of influencers and creators — from family influencers focusing on parenthood to beauty influencers to comedy sketch creators. You’d be surprised to see that they don’t all have millions of followers; many are macro and micro-influencers with anywhere from 10,000 to 999,000 followers.

It’s because there’s more to getting sponsored and growing your brand partnership opportunities than just having a large number of followers. Instagram is popular for influencers looking to partner with businesses while posting branded, unique, and authentic content.

I‘ve put together this guide to show you how you can get brand deals on Instagram. Read on for actionable tips that’ll help you land your first sponsorship.

Table of Contents

• What’s a sponsored Instagram post?
• How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
• How to Get Brand Deals on Instagram
• Using #ad and #spon Hashtags
• Things to Consider Before Accepting an Instagram Sponsorship
• Pros and Cons of Instagram Sponsorships

Paid Promoted Posts & Ads

Instagram has a native ad management platform, similar to X, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Advertisers can use this tool to customize a target audience — using attributes like age, gender, location, and interests — and invest a specific budget to get the post in front of Instagrammers who identify with this audience. These posts will appear as normal posts in a user’s Stories or feed, but will have a “Sponsored” label.

The key point here is that the advertiser creates and publishes the post on their own account. They’re paying Instagram for the audience they want access to, but the post is theirs.

Paid Influencer Sponsorships

Conversely, paid sponsorships happen between a brand and an influencer on Instagram. The creator will have a brand and an audience relevant to the business.

This format is essentially social media product placement. Just like a business might pay a TV show to have its brand of soda on the countertop in the series finale, it can also pay a person on Instagram to hold that same soda in a picture on their Instagram feed.

In this model, the influencer owns the content, typically with brand approval, and natively promotes the product or service with a #ad or #sponsored hashtag, or “Paid Partnership” label.

Now that we understand the differences in sponsored Instagram posts, let’s dive into how to start getting these sponsorships.

1. Define your brand.

A niche determines the subject matter around which your content revolves. Do you want to post food and health-related content or focus on fashion? Establishing your brand starts with committing to a niche.

In addition to the type of content you post, branding depends on your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What’s the key messaging? Is the content designed to be informative or entertaining? To further solidify your brand, consider creating a cohesive feed theme (use these feeds for inspiration).

Beyond that, consistency is key. When researching influencers to work with at Nickelodeon, I like to scroll down their grid and, at random, select several posts from the last six months to compare the content styles. I want the posts to continuously feel recognizable, authentic, and consistent with the influencer’s personality and brand.

To further enhance the consistency of your brand, I recommend connecting your Instagram brand with any other online presence.

Creating a website with a similar aesthetic and messaging is a good way to do this. The more you unify your social media accounts, the easier it will be for brands to distinguish how you can help them.

Pro tip: Consider using Linktree for a menu of links to your other accounts. This way, you can use one link in your bio to provide users access to all your socials. (Linktree offers a free and paid plan.)

2. Know your audience.

29% of social media marketers listed brand awareness and reaching new audiences as a top goal for 2025. This is exactly why it’s essential for influencers to deeply understand their audience — an ability to articulate a strong brand and audience opportunity is a huge selling point to a business looking for a sponsorship.

On the reverse, influencers who know their audience can also correctly identify which brands will succeed most from sponsoring them and pitch that back.

I look for influencers for Nickelodeon who authentically create comedic, colorful, aspirational, and appropriate content that appeals to our kid audience demographic on kid-friendly platforms, like YouTube. On the flip side, I also look for parent and family influencers who post relatable, humorous content that targets parents of Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. kids.

For example, I’ve worked with an influencer family who specializes in arts and crafts. While there isn’t a direct correlation between this niche and Nickelodeon, their audience is incredibly engaged, positive, and supportive of the mom’s tips. Therefore, we knew the family would be someone who could authentically incorporate some of our characters into a craft while remaining authentic to their beloved followers.

So, as an influencer, I recommend you gather the following basics to strengthen your understanding of your audience:

• What’s the gender, age, and geographical location of your core demographic?
• What category of influencers do you feel most affiliated with, and what can you learn from their types of content?
• Which of your posts do they like the best, between Reels, carousels, Stories, and Live Videos?
• What times of day do they respond best to content, and what can you infer from this?

With this demographic information, you can start pitching partnerships to brands. After all, brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you.

A proposal such as “You’ll be reaching married, thirty-something, working women, primarily from New York, who often use Instagram first thing in the morning and prefer food-related content” will be more meaningful than “You’ll be reaching married women.”

Pro tip: You can tell what kind of content your audience likes by keeping an eye on how they engage with your posts, and engagements consist of more than likes and comments. Look for posts with many saves (bookmarks) and shares, as well, to deduce what content users are coming back to.

3. Post consistently.

The more the merrier, right? Not always. I’ve found that influencers who try to post too much come across as insincere. Their priority seems to be just maximizing engagements, rather than posting intentional, thoughtful content.

It’s therefore beneficial to strike a balance between posting enough to develop a strong presence on Instagram and attract brands, without posting so often that your audience grows bored, engagements decrease, and the quality of content drops.

Instagram is algorithm-based, so a high frequency isn’t as defining a factor as sharing quality content, especially since the algorithm ensures that users don’t see too many posts from one single author at once.

It’s recommended to post three to five posts per week on Instagram, with a mix of carousels, Reels, and static posts. While it typically feels easier to post Stories more frequently, due to the casual and spontaneous nature of the feature, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri suggests posting two Stories per day.

Pro tip: While data varies on this front, the best times to post on Instagram are weekdays at lunchtime (12-3 PM) and post-work (6-9 PM). The best day is considered Saturday, with Friday coming in second place.

However, I advise referring to your profile analytics to note when you receive the most interactions and overall engagement, as this will also help determine your best Instagram posting schedule.

4. Optimize your profile.

It may seem obvious, but certain aspects of your profile can make or break a brand taking you seriously and wanting to work with you.

For one, if you currently have a personal Instagram account, switch to a professional creator account. By doing this, you can then select a category that best aligns with your content (such as digital creator or influencer) and showcase this category on your public profile for brands to see.

I also recommend writing a bio that best aligns with your content. Many influencers list the city they’re located in, a short description of their niche, links to other accounts or content (such as a blog), and contact information.

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To me, the above influencer bio is perfectly scripted. You know where @kalememaybe is based, and get a brief but informative description of what kind of content she posts. In addition, she includes a Linktree with her Substack newsletter, TikTok account, and Shop My account. Lastly, brands can easily find the email to contact for partnership opportunities.

Pro tip: I recommend using Story Highlights to convey any information you’d like sponsors to see about yourself. Whether it’s past brand collaborations, rates, or outreach rules, it’ll help weed out any sponsors not willing to meet your demands.

5. Use hashtags and geotags.

Instagram hashtags make your content discoverable to a wider audience, so they’re necessary for growing your following. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but we recommend using an average of seven hashtags per post. Using too many can make your account appear spammy.

I appreciate when influencers reuse the same hashtags with each post, as this shows me their content remains relevant and on-brand, and that the influencer is dedicated to expanding their reach. However, if you’ve been using the same hashtags for some time, try to frequently perform checks to ensure they’re not broken or banned.

I understand the desire to use broad, popular hashtags using easily recognizable words and phrases. But branching out can help your content stand out. For instance, a search for #nycfoodie revealed the following results:

That hashtag has 2.3M posts, so using it won’t necessarily guarantee a significant audience. After all, anyone scrolling through the “For you” page with that hashtag will have a hard time picking your post out of the crowd. Instead, using hashtags like #nycfoodieadventures will offer a similar theme, yet only 500+ posts to compete against.

On the brand side, I often search for influencers using hashtags like #Nickelodeon, #NickKid, #SpongeBob, and #Dora. If I see someone is already interested in the brand and its characters, it’s a good sign they might be someone worth partnering with.

Location tags are similarly important because they help users find your account if they’re interested in a specific location. This can also appeal to brands interested in reaching a specific niche within a particular demographic, like New York City.

Pro tip: Using banned hashtags ranks your content lower in the algorithm. To avoid this pitfall, enter the hashtag in the Instagram search bar. If you receive a message that recent posts are hidden or unavailable, or about a community guideline violation, don’t use it.

Social media blogs like Skweezer regularly update lists with current banned hashtags. I also suggest tools like MetaHashtags to check and remove banned hashtags from your hashtag list and find similar hashtags instead.

6. Tag brands in your posts.

Okay, now you‘re officially ready to begin reaching out to brands. You’ve defined your brand and audience, optimized your profile, and created high-quality, authentic posts. Now, you should have a pretty good idea of what types of businesses would benefit from a partnership with you.

It‘s important to start small. If you’re interested in makeup, don‘t go straight for Rare Beauty. Instead, try tagging smaller makeup start-ups you’ve seen across Instagram in your posts to build awareness and work your way up.

Smaller brands can benefit from a dedicated voice with a following of any size supporting and promoting them, and you can benefit from gaining experience with brand sponsorships. Add these to your portfolio and use them as practice for how to authentically incorporate a brand’s products or services into your content.

When posting a makeup tutorial video, tag the brands and products you used. If someone comments asking a question like, “Where can I get one?” tag the brand and have them answer.

I know our Nickelodeon social team loves interacting with influencers who post about Nickelodeon series or who create unique content like PAW Patrol cakes or SpongeBob nails. But continued interactions can also eventually turn into the brand seeing you as a viable sales partner.

Pro tip: I occasionally see influencers lightheartedly write things like, “This isn’t a sponsored ad, but tag the brand in the comments so I can work with them!” in their captions. Many followers are loyal to their influencers and will do exactly that.

And with 28% of marketers stating that brand mentions are a key metric for measuring the effectiveness of an influencer campaign, you definitely want to get as many of those as you can.

7. Build a media kit.

A media kit is a professional portfolio or website that showcases an influencer’s brand identity, personality, audience information, stats and metrics, and past collaborations. This is a great thing to share with brands who may be interested in partnering with you, to showcase your work history and the services you can offer.

I recommend including the following in your media kit:

• Description of your niche and personal brand. Focus on specifics to set yourself apart from similar accounts.
• Stats on your audience, including age, gender, location, and interests.
• Metrics, such as the number of followers, engagement rate, reach, and impressions. This is a great place to showcase your growth by sharing the year-over-year increase in these metrics.
• Examples of some of your best content that received high engagement, as well as past brand sponsorships. This will give brands a taste of what they can expect if they work with you.
• The services you’d be willing to offer. For instance, some influencers are only willing to do sponsored Stories to keep their feed as authentic as possible.

Once your media kit is complete, consider linking it directly to your Instagram bio for brands to easily access. Otherwise, DM or email it directly to any brands you are interested in working with.

Pro tip: The best media kits are well-designed, eye-catching, and professional. I recommend using software like Adobe Spark or Canva, or HubSpot’s free media kit template to create yours.

8. Pitch paid sponsorships.

My favorite method of influencers gaining sponsorships is reaching out to brands and offering their services. After all, my life mantra is “don’t ask, don’t get.” With the right pitch, you might be able to land some gigs without waiting for brands to find you.

First, make a list of brands that you’re interested in working with. Then narrow down from here. Does the brand align with your content and audience? Do they have a meaningful social media presence? Have they partnered with similar influencers recently? Do they appear to allow influencers the freedom to post authentically in their content style?

Another reason why it’s great to start with smaller brands is that they’re more likely to let influencers take the reins in terms of content creation. After all, you’re the expert. So don’t write off a brand just because it has a small following or low engagement — you could be the one to turn that around.

If the brand has multiple avenues of communication, I recommend first direct messaging them on Instagram. Send a brief, personalized pitch on why you want to partner with the brand and why you think you’d be a good fit for them, and link your media kit.

If the brand doesn’t respond within a few days, consider emailing them a longer, more professional note. Here, you can talk more about yourself, your content, achievements, past sponsorship deals, and your social media metrics.

Pro tip: If you find your messages getting lost in the crowd, consider commenting on the brand’s Instagram posts and Reels, expressing a unique opinion about the post and interest in working with them. The right brands will value your dedication and perseverance.

Also, I recommend customizing your pitches to each brand’s individual needs, the way you might do with a cover letter. Doing this shows initiative and willingness to do the work that moves the needle for that specific brand.

9. Know your worth.

Make sure you know how much you’ll charge when brands contact you or before you pitch your platform. Marketers typically pay between $5K and $10K for nano, micro, and macro influencers, and more than $10K for mega influencers.

While you‘ll want to have a minimum rate, you can negotiate to encourage brands to pay more. Perhaps your rate is $300 for an average deal, but for $500, you’ll throw in an extra three Instagram Stories and a link in your bio to their website for 24 hours. You can use other Instagram features to sweeten the deal. As you grow, you’ll be able to charge more.

Pro tip: There’s no doubt that knowing your worth is essential. However, fixating on money isn’t always the point. Sometimes working with a popular, beloved brand can counter a smaller compensation, if it offers opportunities for greater reach and engagement, and opens future doors.

How to Get Brand Deals on Instagram

Both B2B (24%) and B2C (31%) planned to increase investments in Instagram in 2025, presenting numerous opportunities for sponsorships. This is especially true if you use Instagram Creator Marketplace.

Initially rolled out in 2022, the Creator Marketplace’s explicit purpose is to connect influencers and brands on Instagram. That means the platform puts the spotlight on you, so all you have to do is prepare to make the best of it.

Here’s how.

1. Activate your creator account.

The Creator Marketplace is a public tool, meaning you and I can access it as long as we have Instagram accounts and meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Be in a region where the marketplace is available (refer to the eligibility criteria for regional information).
• Convert your account from a personal to a Creator or Business account.
• Develop an authentic, established presence and a sufficient follower base. Accounts with fake followers, excessive reposting or spam, low engagement, or incomplete bios can be denied.
• Be compliant with Instagram’s Community Standards, including their policies regarding intellectual property, authenticity, and user safety.
• Adhere to the Branded Content Policies and Partner Monetization Policies.

You can go to Settings > Account > Account Status on Instagram to check if your account has any violations that would unqualify you from joining the Creator Marketplace.

2. Optimize your profile for discovery.

After activating your account, you can start optimizing your profile to make it more discoverable by brands.

My suggestion? Be as thorough as humanly possible. The more details and labels you provide for what you do, the higher the chances that brands will find you.

On the brand side, these are some of the ways I search for family and parent influencers using Instagram’s discovery feature:

• Using keywords or hashtags. I often search for phrases like “parents,” “parenting,” “kids,” “family,” and “mom” as both keywords and hashtags to narrow down my results. So, I recommend using a variety of highly relevant keywords, phrases, and hashtags, especially if your peers are using them.
• Using filters. I can refine my search results for a campaign using filters such as age, gender, location, interests, and follower count. This is why knowing who your Instagram followers are comes in handy, so you can ensure you show up in my searches for a specific demographic of parents.
• Following recommendations. When I like an influencer and follow them, Instagram serves recommendations for similar accounts, which is a great way for influencers to make themselves seen. The algorithm analyzes factors like the content type you post, your interests, and the brands you work with.
• Browsing categories. Sometimes, when I’m looking for influencers within a precise category (i.e., travel family influencers), I simply search through influencers in that category on Instagram. This is why you must select the most appropriate category when switching to a professional account.

After discovering an influencer, I comb through their posts to ensure they utilize thoughtful, storytelling captions and post valuable, distinct content, especially for brand sponsorships. I recommend all influencers optimize their posts in these ways and by using some of those same keywords, phrases, and hashtags.

3. Set up a portfolio.

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Instagram Creator Marketplace’s portfolio feature allows influencers to create an in-app showcase of their work. While it’s still beneficial to have a portfolio in an external location so you can use it for other social platforms, the Instagram version allows for a seamless representation of your resume within the app’s ecosystem.

Here are some features of the Creator Portfolio:

• Describe yourself, your niche, and your influencer experience.
• Display a curated sample of posts and Reels that best demonstrate your style and capabilities, including brand sponsorships and posts with high engagement.
• Depict audience insights, performance badges, and engagement metrics
• Easily message your portfolio to brands.

I love this feature because it adds professionalism to what can be misconstrued as a casual, informal app. Tools like this empower influencers to present themselves in the best light and take better control of future brand opportunities.

4. Keep an eye on the Partnership Messaging inbox.

The Partnership Messaging inbox is a dedicated folder in your Instagram DMs for brand collaboration invitations. This keeps communications with brands separate from your regular DMs with users. If you don’t see this feature yet, don’t fret; it only appears once you’ve received your first message from a brand.

Brands should specify their needs in these invitations (i.e., the kinds of content they expect from creators, posting frequency, and when they expect you to post), so you can easily vet invites and choose to accept, negotiate, or reject the offer.

This is an incredible feature for users of the Creator Marketplace because it helps you avoid the risk of losing business by missing important brand messages. The messages are highlighted in your Partnership inbox to help them stand out as high-priority.

I recommend responding to brands within a few hours of receiving a message to present a good first impression and to ensure you don’t miss out on a time-sensitive opportunity. It’s okay if you need more time to think about the offer, but you can let them know you appreciate the outreach and will get back soon.

If you’re going on vacation or otherwise can’t immediately reply to messages, make sure to set up automated responses to let brands know any important information and that you will respond as soon as possible.

5. Browse projects.

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I mentioned that brands can create projects and send them directly to influencers they wish to work with. But there’s more to it. Brands can also make those projects publicly available to any creator on the marketplace.

You can browse projects and indicate interest in the ones you‘d like to work on by tapping the “I’m interested” button. This way, you can take more initiative and avoid waiting around for brands to contact you.

What‘s more, you can show interest in joining multiple projects simultaneously. This feature is useful for creators who are just starting and are open to a variety of opportunities on their journey to landing their first deal. It doesn’t hurt to express interest in as many projects as possible.

Think of it like browsing for jobs on LinkedIn. The more you apply, the higher your chances of landing an interview, right?

Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

According to the Federal Trade Commission, influencers and brands must disclose brand partnerships that involve monetary payment, gifts, or sponsorships. Even if a brand doesn’t ask for the mention, influencers must still disclose it.

Many brands have come under fire for disobeying these requirements. For instance, wellness brand Teami was sued by the FTC in 2020 for paying well-known influencers to promote its products without disclosing that they were compensated. The FTC ordered Teami to return more than $930K to deceived customers.

Using #ad and #spon hashtags on Instagram helps protect consumers. They should be made aware if you post about a product because you genuinely use and recommend it, rather than due to a brand sponsorship. Ethics aside, misleading reviews or false claims can destroy your account’s credibility and lead to a drop in followers and future brand collaborations.

In 2017, Instagram released a paid partnership feature to combat this issue. If you tag a brand in a post and the brand confirms the relationship, the post will be marked at the top with a “Paid partnership with [brand name]” label. This also helps the brand gather data regarding how well the campaign is performing.

If you don’t want to use #ad or #spon, communicate with the brand. Many brands have been adopting #[brand]partner hashtags since they feel less spammy while remaining transparent. The Reel below from @healthfulradiance shows a brand sponsorship with @beyondmeat, which uses #BeyondPartner instead of #ad or #spon.

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Whatever verbiage you use, make sure it’s clearly displayed in your caption in an easy-to-read way. When in doubt, adhere to Instagram‘s policies. You can read Instagram’s branded content policies in full here.

How to Disclose Paid Partnerships on Instagram

It’s best practice to disclose paid partnerships to followers so they know that you and your partner will profit from the engagement you bring them.

Here’s how you can easily disclose partnerships with brands for Feed, Stories, Live, Reels, and videos.

Note: This feature is only available for business and creator accounts, and the steps are the same for desktop and mobile devices.

Add a Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Feed Posts

1. Create a new post. Upload your content, add your preferred caption and any filters or effects, then tap Next.
2. Tap Advanced settings at the bottom of the screen, then scroll to the Branded Content section.
3. Toggle the Add paid partnership label option.
4. Tap Add brand partners to search for the brand and add them to your post. You can add up to two brands per post.
5. If required, request approval from the brand. They will need to approve the tag before the label appears.
6. Optional: If your agreement with the brand allows them to use your content to run ads, toggle on Allow brand partner to promote.
7. Tap Done to post your content.

Add a Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Stories

1. Create a Story. Upload your content and any elements like text or a filter, and tap the tag icon at the top of the screen. You can also tap the More option.
2. Toggle on Add paid partnership label.
3. Tap Add brand partners, and search for the brand you’re working with. You can add up to two brands per Story.
4. If required, request approval from the brand. They will need to approve the tag before the label appears.
5. Optional: If your agreement with the brand allows them to use your content to run ads, toggle on Allow brand partner to promote.
6. Tap Done to post your Story.

Add a Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Reels

1. Create a Reel. After you’ve uploaded your content and edited it to your choosing, tap Next.
2. Tap Advanced settings at the bottom of the screen.
3. Toggle the Add paid partnership label option.
4. Tap Add brand partners to search for the brand and add them to your post. You can add up to two brands per post.
5. If required, request approval from the brand. They will need to approve the tag before the label appears.
6. Optional: If your agreement with the brand allows them to use your content to run ads, toggle on Allow brand partner to promote.
7. Tap Done to post your content.

See an example below of a Reel from @wishbonekitchen promoting @lecreuset, which shows the “Paid partnership” label, alongside the hashtag #ad.

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Add a Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Live

Note: When Live, you can only tag eligible brands that have approved you.

1. Start your Instagram Live. As soon as you go live, tap Details.
2. Tap Add brand partners and search for the brand you’re working with to add a tag to your Live.
3. Once added, the “Paid partnership with [brand]” label will appear at the top of your Live session.

Things to Consider Before Accepting an Instagram Sponsorship

Congrats on getting to this stage! Now that you have one or more brands lined up, I suggest you consider the following before accepting the deal(s):

1. Brand Alignment and Authenticity

As an influencer, you are a trusted voice and source of truth and inspiration for your followers. Therefore, it’s imperative to align with brands that make sense to your niche.

For instance, from a brand perspective, I would never reach out to fitness-specific influencers to work with me at Nickelodeon since their niche isn’t relevant to our brand.

As an influencer, you should always research the brand, its Instagram presence, the type of content the brand shares, and the audience that engages with its content to see if it aligns with your personal brand and interests.

Pro tip: Ask yourself if you can authentically promote this brand and its products or services without users questioning your credibility. Your followers make you who you are, so it’s only fair to prioritize their needs before accepting an Instagram sponsorship.

I recommend leaving deals that misalign with their interests or needs on the table.

2. Brand Audience

On a similar note, consider if the brand’s current and target audiences align with your own. You may have to do a bit of research, either by scrolling through the comments on their recent posts or by looking up their audience demographic information online.

When I’m researching influencers for Nickelodeon, I occasionally come across mommy bloggers who initially seem like a great fit. However, after digging into their audience metrics, I may discover that their main audience is unmarried women in their 20s, which doesn’t resonate with our brand.

If the brand’s audience doesn’t align with yours, promoting the brand is a waste of your time and resources. You’d be posting content that resonates with a different group of people and that is confusing or disappointing to your followers.

3. Eligibility Requirements

Brands have eligibility requirements when they partner with influencers, so you should always review their criteria to ensure you meet their qualifications and that their capabilities don’t have unrealistic expectations for you and your processes.

For instance, media companies like mine offer opportunities for influencers to travel for live shows, events, and premieres. However, to be eligible for these trips, influencers must have passports valid for at least six months after the trip dates and occasionally be approved for Visas.

Pro tip: This is why optimizing your profile and building a media kit and portfolio are so important. If there is anything you cannot or will not do for a brand collaboration, include that information in these places to reduce unwanted requests.

4. Contract Terms and Requested Deliverables

Protecting your content and ensuring the brand won’t misuse it is essential. Read the fine print of your contract and partnership to see exactly how brands will use your content, and register for a DCMA account to make sure it’s protected by copyright law and can’t be misused.

In addition, what content does the brand require of you, and how many deliverables do you owe for the partnership? Make sure this information is clearly outlined to ensure you’re agreeing to the exact amount of work you feel comfortable performing.

I like to discuss these elements with the influencer before building a contract. That way, the influencer feels part of the conversation and isn’t caught off guard by unrealistic expectations in the contract. As an influencer, you should feel empowered to state your terms to the brand.

Pro tip: According to Rex Huxford, Director of Demand Generation at MD Clarity, one of the most common mistakes that green influencers make when they’re getting started is not setting an end date for their content usage.

Huxford recommends “setting a contract in writing outlining how long brands can use your content, where they can use it, and how they can repurpose it. You might not want them to have access to the content indefinitely, especially if your following blows up later.”

5. Payment Amount and Terms

In the same vein, it’s always important to evaluate offers and contracts to ensure you’re compensated fairly and in alignment with your rate, partnership requirements (i.e., what content you share), and the effort you put in to creating the content.

If payment doesn’t align with your level of work, you have the right to negotiate a rate that matches what you’ll have to do, or you can step away if they don’t compensate you at your rate.

Pro tip: Tools like Upfluence’s Instagram Pricing tool are a great way for newer influencers to get a sense of how much to charge for their work. You can enter your handle to get an estimated average rate for posts.

I also recommend entering the handles of other influencers within your niche and with a similar follower count to see if the rates are consistent amongst your peers.

6. Instagram’s Partner Monetization Policies and Guidelines

To use Instagram’s Monetization and Promotional tools, you have to meet a few specific requirements. You must:

• Have a business or creator account.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Reside in a country where monetization and promotional tools are available.
• Adhere to and comply with all community guidelines and content monetization policies.
• Refrain from sharing misinformation.
• Only monetize authentic engagement (you can’t monetize artificial views or engagement).
• Comply with payment terms, and have a valid bank or PayPal account for payments.
• Have an authentic presence.
• On occasion, have a minimum follower count (typically 10,000+) for select monetization features.

As mentioned earlier, you should also be familiar with rules and laws created by the Federal Trade Commission (or the equivalent in your country) to ensure the utmost transparency and authenticity in your content.

7. The Type of Content You Can Monetize

All content that helps creators and publishers earn must follow specific rules. You can’t monetize the following:

• Static videos, static image polls, slideshows of images, looping videos, text montages, or embedded ads.
• Content reposted from others without meaningful commentary or new information.
• Engagement bait, where you incentivize people to click a link or respond to a post through likes or comments, soliciting engagement.
• Misinformation, misleading medical information, or exaggerated promises.
• Violence, criminal activity, sensitive or socially debated topics, and dangerous or harmful acts.
• Content containing copyrighted material without permission.
• The following product categories: alcohol, financial and insurance products, subscription services, and products and services related to weight loss and cosmetic procedures.

8. Creative Freedom

From the brand lens, I believe the best strategy when working with influencers is to write a brief that outlines the campaign, goals, and suggested content ideas. Beyond that, I hand off the reins to the influencer, since they are the expert on what content resonates best with their followers.

While there are some requirements when it comes to a brand sponsorship (i.e., using brand-approved verbiage to describe the product or service, relaying any special deals or discounts, and mentioning key dates or locations), you should retain enough creative control to still present the content in your genuine style and voice.

Avoid working with brands that try to overly script or restrict the types of content you can post. After all, sponsorships work best when they feel native to an influencer’s typical content.

Pros and Cons of Instagram Sponsorships

Pros

• Building trust. Working with reputable brands can boost your credibility with your audience because you’re aligning with a trusted source. The trust builds even higher if you recommend a product or service that your followers purchase that positively impacts their life.
• Expanding reach. Partnering with a brand can extend your reach to their audience. This increases your exposure and can help you gain new followers eager to hear from you.
• Monetization. Brand sponsorships are one of the best ways to monetize your platform as an influencer. You can earn income or receive exciting products while doing what you’re an expert at: content creation.
• Content diversity. We all get in ruts sometimes, but brand sponsorships can help you freshen up your content and try out new styles or series to continue keeping users engaged.

Cons

• Branding risks. Partnering with brands that are involved in scandals, have a negative reputation, or are irrelevant to your niche can damage your reputation.
• Loss of authenticity. Sponsored content can sometimes feel inauthentic to viewers, especially if it’s too sales-y. Since consumers usually prefer authentic content over all else, they may be skeptical of or react negatively to your ads, especially if you partake in too many sponsorships.
• Legal issues. If you don’t comply with legal requirements and Instagram’s content monetization and sponsorship requirements, you risk non-compliance and losing the ability to use the Instagram feature or even the platform.
• Time-consuming. Sponsored partnerships can require a lot of time and effort to coordinate and create content, which can detract from your other content creation efforts.

#GetSponsored

Being an influencer is difficult in such a crowded landscape. And gaining brand sponsorships can be challenging — it takes time, effort, and perseverance.

The most important thing to remember is to truly understand your audience and what they’re interested in. Keeping that mindsight as your north star will ensure you always remain authentic, insightful, and thoughtful in the brands you partner with.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.