As the role and value of influencers within organizations continue to grow and transform, social media platforms have simultaneously introduced new features for influencers that also aid in their abilities to provide value to brands. Instagram, specifically, has emerged as a clear social media leader aiding in brands and influencers’ abilities to tap their audiences for insights.
Below we take a look at three of Instagram’s latest features that make aid in marketers’ abilities to collaborate with influencers for insights on the social media platform.
1. Instagram’s Polling Stickers on Stories Ads
In March 2019, Instagram added Polling Stickers to Stories ads, giving brands and retailers another way to engage users with interactive content. Previously, users were only able to use Polling Stickers in organic stories – no amplification through paid media was possible.
In its blog post, Instagram said that in 9 out of 10 beta campaigns, the polling sticker increased three-second video views. Also, brands like Dunkin’ achieved a 20 percent lower cost-per-video-view using the polling sticker, and Next Games’ polling ad drove 40 percent more app installs.
Influencer Marketing POV: As fabulous as three-second video views are – we’re more excited about being able to poll a statistically significant sample of influencers and consumers on the fly in-app. The latest feature designed to increase users’ time spent in-app, interactive Stories polling ads also make it increasingly easy for marketers to directly engage targeted segments of influencers and consumers for research, insights, product feedback, in-moment co-creation, and all sorts of gamification.
It also opens up a whole world of new opportunities for marketers who are working with social media influencers to develop cookie pools. Where we’ve found that influencer referral traffic conversion rates are 2x – 4x higher than average, retargeting influencers and influencers’ audiences across channels can be a serious customer acquisition strategy.
2. Use Instagram’s Join Chat Sticker for Stories
In July 2019, Instagram launched its new “Join Chat” sticker for Stories, which when tapped, connects Stories viewers into a private DM or group chat.
After first spotted in testing in May, the new sticker option, labeled “Chat,” will let Stories viewers request to join an Instagram Group DM connected to the post, with up to 31 viewers being able to join at a time. Similar to the “Join Live” option for Instagram Live, the original poster has the ability to approve/decline requests and decide how long the group chat remains open.
Influencer Marketing POV: Across the board, users are spending more time in messaging and DMs and less time in-feed, as evidenced by the fact that the top messaging apps now have more users than the top social networks. On Instagram, half of all users also use the platform’s direct messaging options, with 85 percent of the messages shared to the same three friends, highlighting users’ desires for more intimate sharing.
With Instagram’s new “Join Chat” sticker for Stories, brands’ and influencers’ abilities to host in-depth interviews (IDIs) or virtual focus groups becomes even easier. Specifically, you can partner with influencers to rapidly test and iterate on content with a select group of influencers and their followers before content goes to market, or ideate on new products before launch. To further facilitate DM discussions, you can give influencers a script of questions or have an influencer/brand partner facilitate the discussion for research and insights generation.
3. Instagram Launches Quiz Stickers for Stories
In April 2019, Instagram launched Quiz Stickers for Stories, which allow users to create multiple-choice questions for their followers to answer. Designed to drive engagement with Stories and, ultimately, increase users’ time spent in-app, Quiz Stickers function similarly to Poll Stickers, but instead of being restricted to two options, users can select from two-to-four.
Influencer Marketing POV: More and more, we’re seeing brands begin to embrace influencers not just as content creators, but for research as experts, trendsetters, and sources of insights. With Instagram’s Quiz Stickers, brands can source insights from a select group of influencers for research, product feedback (think: product review ads), culture, and in-moment co-creation.
Influencers, too, have the opportunity to use Quiz Stickers to get direct, real-time feedback from followers, and share the results. Specifically, they can get feedback on trends, content concepts, and preferences (i.e., does my audience prefer this brand or a competitor?) which can be helpful brand lift indicators or signals of intent.
For more on the latest social media and influencer marketing trends, check out our Q2 2019 Influencer Marketing Trends report. In the report we discuss some of the biggest feature updates coming out of the social media space and identify next steps and big ideas to inform your marketing strategy.
