Instagram is enhancing its influencer marketing tools with Testimonials, a new feature designed to strengthen brand-creator collaborations. While Partnership Ads have long allowed brands to promote creator content as paid ads, Testimonials introduce a fresh way for athletes to add their voice directly to brand campaigns. These updates provide athletes with more opportunities to monetize their content while giving brands a more authentic way to engage their audience.
Instagram is the most popular platform for college athlete influencers, currently seeing 85.5% of commercial activities.
What Are Instagram Partnership Ads?
Partnership Ads allow brands to turn a creator’s content into a paid advertisement, extending their reach beyond their organic audience. Instead of relying solely on influencer-generated reach, brands can amplify high-performing content with targeted ad placement.
For athletes, this feature provides a way to secure stronger brand partnerships, as companies can now invest in their content beyond just a single post. With permission-based settings, influencers maintain control over how their content is used while benefiting from increased visibility, potential revenue, and the opportunity to grow their audience and following.
One of the biggest advantages of Partnership Ads is the ability for brands to expand their reach. Instead of being limited to a creator’s existing audience, brands can target a broader group, increasing visibility and engagement. At the same time, this feature preserves authenticity. The content originates from the creator, making the ad feel more authentic compared to traditional brand-generated promotions. For creators, including college athletes, this feature provides greater control over their partnerships, as they approve how their content is used before it becomes an ad.
Instagram’s New Testimonial Feature
Instagram’s new Testimonial feature allows creators to add a short, 125-character endorsement directly to a brand’s ad. This gives brands an easy way to incorporate creator voices into paid campaigns while providing athletes with another way to engage in partnerships, increase visibility, and grow their audience.
For example, an athlete could add a quick testimonial endorsing a sports drink, incorporating their own messaging directly into the brand’s ad.
Rather than relying solely on brand-generated content, this feature enables athletes to contribute their own messaging in a direct and concise way. Testimonials also integrate seamlessly into Instagram’s ad experience, ensuring endorsements enhance the content without disrupting the user experience.
What’s Next for Instagram Marketing?
Instagram’s latest updates reinforce the power of creator-led marketing, making it easier for brands and athletes to collaborate in impactful ways. As influencer strategies evolve, platforms like Instagram are focusing on new ways to integrate creator messaging into paid campaigns, expanding opportunities for brands and athletes.
Want to stay ahead in athlete marketing? Opendorse helps athletes and brands make the most of updates like these—powering the future of brand-creator collaborations.
