Instagram influencer marketing has become much more than a simple #sponsored post – and for all the good reasons. There are so many more features, types of posts, and ways to improve your partnership’s performance on the platform now.
But with more upgrades come more complexities.
- Which type of posts (Reels vs. Stories vs. in-feed posts) will get you the best results?
- How should you set the budget and the influencer brief for the various kinds of content on Instagram?
- How can you set more realistic expectations while vetting the various aspects of an influencer’s Instagram profile?
If you’re working on Instagram influencer marketing, I’ll help you elevate your campaigns from good to great with these 10 non-obvious tips.
1: Negotiate for hybrid deals or additional value if an influencer’s out of your budget
You can take three approaches if an Instagram influencer is out of your budget:
- Pitch a hybrid deal with performance-based rewards
- Ask for additional value that can come in handy for your campaign
- Offer additional value from your end (extras and bonuses) to negotiate
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Let’s break down each approach one by one.
1. Pitch a hybrid deal: if an influencer’s flat fee is above your budget, present a counteroffer with a lower upfront fee, but a chance to earn commissions using discount codes or a personalized UTM link.
This is a win-win for both parties: it offers the creators an opportunity to earn money for every sale they bring in and ensures they have more skin in the game to bring you conversions. An example of this offer: $1,000 fixed fee plus an additional $20 for every code redemption after 40 code redemptions.
Anna-Maria Klappenbach, Community & Brand Marketing Lead at Aumio, often uses these hybrid deals to negotiate with Instagram influencers. And it doesn’t always have to be code redemptions. Anna advises thinking of creative ways of structuring this hybrid deal. An example she gave is offering additional payment if the reach is higher than expected – offering $150 extra if a paid post garners more than 10K views, for instance.
2. Ask for additional value: what if the influencer/agency won’t negotiate a lower flat fee? If you have some wiggle room in your budget and keen to work with the creator, Marit Tiesema (Sr KOL & Ambassador Specialist at Loop Earplugs) suggests meeting the higher fee but asking for additional value in return. This could be things like meeting an early deadline, extending usage rights for a minimal/no cost, or splitting an Instagram Story into two separate dates to maximize exposure. Think of what additional value can help you meet your ROI, even if you pay some extra money upfront.
3. Offer bonuses: you can also do an uno reverse and offer a creator what would be valuable to them beyond extra flat fees. This could mean suggesting a long-term partnership (recurring income), event invites, or free gifts to them & their family/followers. Influencer Marketing Consultant, Julianne Kiider, says these non-monetary incentives can be excellent for negotiating a lower flat fee:
Try these approaches in different campaigns (or with different creators) depending on what you think will have the highest chances of success. More often than not, if a creator likes you and you like them, they’ll meet you halfway.
👉 If you want to dive deep into setting rates, deliverables you can ask for, etc., read this ultimate guide on Instagram influencer pricing.
2: Offer bundle pricing to bring the influencer rates down
Negotiating a packaged deal is often more cost-effective than pricing based on one single Reel/post/Story. You can take two approaches to bundle pricing:
- Bundle Instagram’s various content formats – like 1 Instagram Reel and 3 Instagram Stories
- Bundle cross-platform posting – like 1 YouTube integration and 3 Instagram Stories
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Bundling within Instagram is better if an influencer’s primary online presence is on Instagram only. But if they have extended reach on other social channels too, cross-platform bundling is a lucrative choice. Anna reminds that these deliverables can ultimately be anything you want:
This negotiation tactic can also be used in the first pointer: you can ask a creator if they’ll cross-post their Reel to their TikTok/YouTube Shorts if you meet their higher flat fee.
Bundling aims to introduce as many audience touch points as possible – without breaking the bank.
Marit’s additional advice on bundles is to spread them out on different dates to maximize your reach and stay top-of-mind amongst your target audience.
3: Price Instagram Stories based on viewership value
When you price Instagram Stories, you might check the drop-off rate: a metric that shows how many people stopped watching after the first, second, or third story.
Marit says that while a low drop-off rate can signal high engagement, it doesn’t accurately portray Instagram Story's performance. Why? Because people might just be tapping away without seeing a creator’s Story. Marit explains:
While deciding influencer rates for Stories, don’t stop at the views/impressions. To get the complete picture, go beyond that to look at how many people clicked on their story, how many people reacted to their sticker, etc.
⚡ Pro-tip: while you’re at it, Marit also suggests requesting recent Story insights to set more realistic performance KPIs
4: Remember Instagram Reels might have a lower CPM than in-feed posts
Our survey on Instagram influencer pricing found that Reels and Stories provide better ROI than in-feed posts on Instagram.
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Then, it’s no surprise that in 2024, most influencer marketers used Reels and Stories the most for sponsored content on Instagram.
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Reels cost the most on Instagram because of their higher value, but Marit suggests looking at the data thoroughly because in-feed posts might have a lower CPM.
The results can vary depending on your market and product, too. A fashion brand can showcase a new line using Instagram carousels and get great results, but that might not work for babycare products. You need to factor in an influencer’s style, your campaign’s goals, and overall aesthetic importance to determine which content format will likely give you the best ROI.
5: Exclude viral videos while calculating average views for Instagram Reels
Average views are a standard metric to decide influencer rates for Instagram Reels. But you need to remove the outliers – like a viral video – from this math to get a more accurate picture. Marit agrees:
If doing all that math makes you groan (same), use Modash to do the work for you. The profile reports contain average Reel views for every influencer with a public profile and 1k+ followers. What about removing the viral videos? Modash calculates the average Reel plays using the median average (rather than the mean) – reducing the impact of viral outliers.
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An influencer’s sponsored activity is also separately tracked on Modash. The ‘paid post performance’ shows how many likes a sponsored post gets compared to an organic post.
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👉 Ditch your calculator and try Modash for free.
6: Don’t focus too heavily on your product in your Instagram briefs
If I land on an Instagram Reel that starts right off the bat with the product, tells me more about the company, and ends with…well, I don’t know what it’ll end with because I’m going to drop off by then. 👋
People tune out sponsored content and anything and everything that smells like ads on Instagram. As influencer marketing has become more popular, people have gotten better at sniffing out paid collaborations and scrolling away.
The only way to retain your audience is to share a brief that’s not all about your product. It might sound counterintuitive, but the best way to land your message is to embed it naturally into influencer content.
Take this collaboration between Aavia and Malika Fernandes – Malika is simply sharing her morning routine with her audience and showing how she uses Aavia as a part of it. This makes the sponsored content authentic and engaging.
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If your influencer partners have a content series, try including your product in it. You can also ask creators about their content calendar and see where your product fits naturally.
7: Use an influencer’s previous Instagram content to inform your brief
Scouring an influencer’s profile is useful not only for vetting but also for creating successful influencer briefs.
Scroll through your influencer’s previous content:
- Is there any content that could use a part 2 or 3?
- Are there any common questions in the comments that your influencer can answer (while using your product)?
- What are the common patterns in an influencer’s best-performing content? Is most of it on a certain topic, of a certain production quality, etc.?
You can also ask influencers if they think any specific idea would work well before creating your brief. An excellent influencer will have answers to the above questions ready in a jiffy. They’re already entrenched in their audience's comments, engagements, and DMs.
If you’re working with an influencer for the long term, you should also use insights from your previous collaborations to create your next brief.
👉 Want to learn more about how marketers vet Instagram influencers? Check the results of our survey.
8: Instruct influencers to add strong in-visual copy in Instagram Reels
Many people scroll Instagram Reels with the sound off (in public places and in that meeting that could’ve been an email). Having captions and strong visual copy ensures your Reels are more accessible and engaging for all users. Marit agrees:
This partnership between Scrub Daddy and Lucy Kate Frances is an excellent example. Lucy used a trending song of the time (good for added reach) but paired it with visuals and text that show Scrub Daddy’s various benefits. The viewers don’t just rely on seeing (and deciphering the benefits themselves), but stay engaged as they read what’s on the screen.
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In your influencer brief, include guidelines about in-visual copy. Ask creators to upload correct subtitles (not automated ones, as they can often be faulty) and grab attention with engaging statements in a visual format.
9: Create flexible briefs instead of controlling ones (especially for Stories)
It’s tempting to control everything an Instagram influencer says about your product. After all, you want to represent your brand well and ensure no false/misleading/vague information goes out.
But there’s a point where you can become too protective – leading to airtight briefs that leave no room for creative freedom. Trust that an influencer knows their audience best and the language, phrasing, visuals, etc., that would resonate best with them. Marit explains with an example:
An example I use to explain this many times is the partnership between Old Spice and Dustin Poynter. He maintains his classic ‘red flag guy’ content visuals and the phrasing is also uniquely him (‘get out of red flag territory’, ‘go green gang’) that doesn’t make the sponsored content feel like it’s an ad.
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This pointer is especially true for Instagram Stories – it’s more off-the-cuff than any other content format. You don’t want it to appear like an influencer’s speaking off a script here. Offer guidelines on what you’d like a creator to highlight about your product, but as much as possible, leave the execution bit up to them.
10: Ask influencers to combine videos with a static photo in Instagram Stories and in-feed posts
If you’re briefing influencers to post multiple Stories about your brand or an Instagram carousel, ask them to use both photos and videos of your product. This will ensure you showcase your product using both narratives and content formats. Marit also adds that this has additional benefits in Instagram Stories where you can also add a product link:
Create one brief that shows how each Story follows in conjunction with another. Also, remember to ask your creators not to add links to every Story if they’re posting more than one about you in succession. It can appear spammy. Anna advises having descriptive titles for each Story – the first frame presenting the problem (with no link) and the second problem showcasing your product as the solution (with product link).
👉 If you want to learn more on briefing, see other brands’ templates, etc., read this guide on Instagram influencer briefs.
Bonus: find Instagram influencers like a pro
Modash can be your best friend when it comes to Instagram influencer marketing. Whether you’re looking for influencers, vetting their profiles, tracking outreach efforts, or analyzing creator performance, it can help you do it all.
For starters, you can find Instagram influencers by filtering a database of 250M+ (every public profile with 1k+ followers). There are filters for location, engagement rate, average views, and more, so you can find exactly the kind of creator you need.
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Next, you can run an in-depth analysis of their Instagram profile: what’s their average views on Reels? Who were their past sponsors? What about audience demographics? You ask it, Modash can help answer it.
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This data can not only help you vet creators, but also negotiate with them using tangible data. Plus, these numbers set realistic expectations for creator performance.