Instagram has announced some new updates to its Branded Content tools, which are designed to further increase transparency, while also making it easier for brands and creators to manage Branded Content requests and approvals.

First off, Instagram will now enable creators can tag up to two brands in a single piece of Branded Content, expanding the capacity for tie-in promotions.

That will provide additional cross-promotional potential in your IG campaigns – and importantly, Instagram also notes that each brand will be able to see the other before approving any integrated message.

Instagram will also now enable creators to post branded content prior to brand approval, though without the brand name on the post pending response. 

That could give creators more freedom to publish content, without having to wait for longer turnaround times from brand partners, which can be critical in terms of timely engagement and trends. Brands can then take as long as they need to approve, with their name appearing in the ‘Paid partnership’ label only once it goes through.

Creators will now also be able to request approval from brand partners in their Settings, which, up till now, has only been available within the creation flow. Brands will also now be able to approve/deny the request while viewing the media or in settings.

And lastly, Instagram is also giving brands more access to content insights in Branded Content partnerships, with Reels and IG Live response data set to be made available to brand partners from June 7th. Instagram recently added new insight options for Reels and Live, and now, that same data will be added into the Branded Content process, giving partner businesses more oversight on the actual response data to their co-promotions.

Branded content offers significant opportunity on creative platforms like Instagram, because in order to maximize your reach and response, you need to have a level of platform knowledge, and understand what works, and what doesn’t, in your content. As such, influencers and platform experts offer great potential for brands to maximize their messaging, and Instagram’s Branded Content tools are the best way to implement such in a transparent and collaborative way.

Instagram says that these new Branded Content additions will be rolled out in Live, IGTV, Reels and Stories over the coming weeks.