Everything You Need to Know About Instagram’s NEW Creator Marketplace

Amongst a plethora of new tools for creators, Instagram is introducing a creator marketplace to help match brands with established and emerging influencers who would be perfect matches for their product. Just like the TikTok Creator Marketplace, the Instagram tool will be the first attempt by Instagram to formally enter the influencer-brand collaboration space. 

The head of Instagram spoke on the new feature saying, “if we can help with matchmaking, we can help drive more dollars to the smaller creators who can do amazing work for brands”. 

Social Media Apps Entering the Influencer-Brand Collab Space

Facebook’s 2018 Brand Collabs Manager is often noted as the first formal tool created to match brands with influencers. This tool allows creators to create separate profiles to market themselves to brands. Since then, social media tools for creators and brands have dramatically evolved. The introduction of the TikTok Creator Studio marked the next generation of Influencer-Brand tools. The program allows brands to see analytical information from influencers who meet certain criteria (creators have to sign up and be selected to join the platform by TikTok). 

How does Instagram Creator Marketplace Work?

According to Instagram, the focus of the platform will be to offer favourable terms to creators and establish a sort of “creator middle class”. Based on other current trends in creator-brand affiliation from Facebook, Snap, and TikTok it’s safe to presume that analytics will play a heavy role in how Instagram chooses to match creators to brands. There’s an ongoing discussion about whether or not Instagram should prioritize a first-of-its-king brand-facing version of the platform in response to the ongoing frustrations of TikTok Marketplace Creators who feel out of control on the platform.

While the tool is not yet complete, it has the potential to dramatically affect how collaborations are executed on Instagram. It may make it easier for smaller creators to land deals, or help mid-size creators expand their collaboration base. But mostly, it will give Instagram more control over their creator environment while enticing brands and influencers to continue to prioritize Instagram as a business tool.