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Content amplification is one of the hottest topics in creator marketing in recent years. We bring you today the most complete guide Whitelisting of Influencers.
But, you may be wondering, how do I get access to amplify influencer content? Well, we’re glad you asked. The answer is simple: influencer whitelisting.
First of all, what is the influencer whitelist?
Influencer whitelisting is the process by which creators grant advertising permissions to brands or partners to use their usernames, content, and audience targeting to unlock new media and acquisition channels.
To simplify the term “influencer whitelist”, the influencer grants the advertiser access to their Instagram account and Facebook page, allowing brand partners to optimize the paid media behind the influencer content. Granting these permissions can be done manually through Facebook Business Manager, or made simpler with technology like Filiatly.
How does influencer whitelisting benefit advertisers?
As with any marketing initiative, you only want to spend time, resources, and money on something if it’s going to benefit you with the ROI.
As the organic reach of influencer posts continues to drop across all platforms, whitelisting influencers is necessary to gain ROI from influencer marketing programs.
Here are some of the benefits you will find:
- Gives your brand Dark Post capability: Dark Posts are paid Facebook and Instagram ads that don’t appear in influencer feeds, but do appear as ads to targeted users. The ability to create dark influencer posts allows brands to optimize influencer content on the target audience. What this really means is that advertisers no longer have to rely on organic posting for results.
- Gives you full control over targeting: It allows you to achieve your brand’s media goals, whether that means getting a certain amount of reach, recognition, pageviews, or purchases. This also means you can measure the tangible ROI on your influencer campaigns and content to justify future influencer investments.
- He has the ability to test and learn. This important information can help you understand if your investment is justified and inform marketing budgets. It’s also beneficial to see how your influencer content is performing compared to your brand’s ads.
And the benefits for creators?
Being whitelisted for creators can open a door to new and exciting opportunities.
Creators see the following benefits of whitelisting:
- Extended reach of content from creators, giving content new eyes and allowing the creator to expand their audience. Since these posts are not required to be in the influencer’s feed, these dark posts increase the lifespan of the content and the reach of the account.
- Creators just do what they love (create content) and don’t have to create the ads themselves.
- Reduced audience fatigue from organic content. Because the influencer is not required to post the dark posts to their feed, this opens up the opportunity to take on more branding work without burning out followers with an organic feed full of sponsored content.
- Whitelisting opens up the opportunity for influencers to earn more money, regardless of whether they are micro-influencers or have a large following. Whether you’re expanding and augmenting your media kit or monitoring content performance and improvement, whitelisting enables them to grow your business, drive results, and help increase brand awareness.
What are the different ways you can whitelist influencers?
There are a few different ways you can whitelist your influencers.
Manual process
The first is to gain access manually through Facebook Business Manager. The whitelisted influencer is in the driver’s seat of this process as they need to create a Facebook Business Manager and log in to their Facebook profile.
Once they log in, they need to complete a series of steps, such as creating their business account, connecting their Facebook and Instagram accounts, adding their Facebook Page, and assigning partners.
The manual process can be time consuming and confusing, especially since every influencer is different. One may not have knowledge of Facebook Business Manager or how to assign partners to their account; Another influencer may already be aware of whitelisting, but it’s important to remember that as a brand partner, you’ll need to work hand-in-hand with each influencer.
Automated process
Another method of completing the influencer whitelisting process is through an automated tool.
Filiatly fully automates the whitelisting process for influencers by allowing them to grant rights and usage to your media assets. Provide whitelist access and share your own audience data.
By sending the influencer a personalized invitation link, they will create their Filiatly account, identify themselves and connect their Facebook page and Instagram account, and approve the collaboration.
Once the influencer has approved the partnership and authenticated their accounts, they are available to advertisers directly in the brand’s Facebook Ads Manager.
You will then be able to create influential ads or obscure posts.
The final way to get advertising access
It’s with the Branded Content Tool. Implemented by Facebook and Instagram, it simplifies how brands can amplify influencer content.
The way it works is that influencers have the ability with the Brand Content Tool to tag brand partners in their post and it shows up as “Sponsored” or “Paid”. Brand partners can run paid ads by “boosting” the post and selecting their budget, audience, and duration.
The branded content tool simplifies the process for influencers to include their brand partners in the post; however, it has setbacks like:
- No ability to add a call to action button
- There is no ability to make changes to the influencer’s post copy (i.e. description, title, etc.)
- No ability to amplify Instagram stories
What can you do after whitelisting influencers?
After your influencers have completed the manual whitelisting process or completed the process on Filiatly, your brand will have access to the advertiser to create dark posts using the Influencer’s Facebook page and Instagram admin identities.
Steps to follow:
Once advertiser permissions have been assigned, you or your media buyer will have the option to select the influencer identity from the Ads Manager ID dropdown menu to create Instagram or Facebook ads.
Once you’ve selected the influencer identity, you’ll follow the standard ad creation flow, such as choosing an ad format, adding media, and editing copy.
Be sure to note the usage rights you have with each influence, any changes to the copy or content will need to be included in the usage rights section of your agreement.
This will ensure that your brand follows their guidelines and meets their expectations. Please note that some influencers may charge an additional fee for whitelisting or permission to edit copy/creative.
After whitelisting influencers, how do audiences come into play?
Another benefit is getting the appropriate permissions to create and target influencer engagement and lookalike audiences.
Whitelisting unlocks new audiences to test and you can introduce new influential audiences from your whitelisted ads to your existing ad sets and brand audiences. Whitelisting allows you to “fire your opportunity” to build and grow new audiences.
Conclusion
Finally, whitelisting is a great way to increase ROI for your influencer content. By gaining access to use their identities for paid ads, you’ll be able to create an authentic experience for new customers.
Track the performance of influencer content on Facebook and Instagram and learn what type of content works best for your ads.
