Working with other IG users on a campaign helps everybody reap the many benefits. The recent Instagram collaborations feature is just one way to do this. You’ll be able to reach a whole new audience and even sell more products. 

Do you want to know how these posts work? Keep reading, and you’ll soon learn why all the big brands are making collabs on Instagram.

What Are Instagram Collaborations?

An Insta collab is a specific post type with two or more authors. This is usually (but not always!) between a brand and one of their influencers. They come in many forms and have plenty of their own benefits for each side of the partnership.

Companies use these posts as a key part of their social media strategy. They’re a great way for brands to reach new groups of people. For example, they may collaborate with a Gen Z influencer to better appeal to young IG users. This isn’t just for feed pics; you can also collaborate via Reels.

Both public and private Insta profiles can use this feature. However, you’ll only get the most out of them if every party is public. The feed post will show up on the collaborators’ profiles. It’ll also go out to their followers’ feeds like any other “normal” post for them to find.

Collabs aren’t currently available for stories. You also can’t use them the same way for a livestream. However, you can still add “guests” to them. An Instagram collab post is far from the only way to work with another user. But this particular format is useful for any creator.

Types of Insta Collaboration Posts

There are many reasons why IG users do collabs. This isn’t just for big brands wanting to promote a new product. But you must still follow certain rules when putting these posts together. This lets you make the most of them. Here are five of the most common IG collab types:

• Sponsorships: Many collab posts are joint campaigns where influencers post about the partner’s product on their page. This can take the form of a product review or even a full promo post.
• Affiliates: The person collaborating with the brand might be an affiliate. This means they get money for every click or sale they inspire. Their posts may be more direct about the goal of driving sales.
• Takeovers: An influencer can even take control of a brand’s page to run their content for a day. This gives the company more of a personality while showing the strength of their partnership.
• Ambassadors: A content creator may work full-time as an influencer for one brand. This means their profile would be an extension of the company. This can extend across other social media types.
• Friends: Some people make collab posts just as a stronger form of IG’s tag function. For example, they might add someone they recently went on vacation with. These posts are usually a lot less formal.

How To Add a Collaborator on Instagram Posts

IG collabs are a great boost to your profile whether you’re a brand or a regular user. However, it’s likely you’ll be the one putting the post together. This means you need to know how to set these collabs up correctly. Here’s how to make an Instagram collaboration post.

1. Find a Partner

You need to find someone to collaborate with before coming up with a post. This helps you tailor it to their content plan and overall brand look. Skipping this stage could lead to brands rejecting your collab offers. Reach out to companies you like with your own post ideas.

2. Make the Post

When it’s time to share the post, simply make it as you would any other. Make sure the photo or Reel is exactly how you want it to look. Discuss captions with your sponsor and add any relevant links. If you have a professional profile, you can schedule the post.

3. Tag Your IG Partner

Go to tag the brand (or your friend!) as you usually would. Click on Invite Collaborators instead of actually tagging them. Use the search bar to find your IG partner and click their name. Press Share to add the post to your profile. 

4. Wait for Them To Accept

Sharing the post won’t add your partner to it right away. You’ll need to wait for them to manually accept this. Their name will appear once they do. If they reject the collab post, you won’t be able to get any of the usual benefits.

Making the Collab Post Match Both Feeds

An IG collab is a “co-author” agreement of sorts. It has to match your content strategy as well as your partner’s. This could mean a lot of brainstorming to find a good middle ground between two (possibly very different) formats.

The post should remain yours at its core. In fact, most brands work with influencers to make use of their personality and posting style. There might still be some sort of compromise with this. But your goal is usually to bring out a brand’s fun side by being yourself.

You should still follow the rules your company partner sets out for the post. They might want you to stay subtle about the link — even if they’re an official co-author. You’ll also likely have certain keywords or points to mention in the caption. If making an Instagram Reel, they may even have a script in mind.

Your collab will be visible on every partner’s IG profile. It has to be something they’ll be proud to use in their marketing. Remember that they can end the collaboration at any time if they aren’t happy with it.

Can You Add a Collaborator on Instagram After Posting?

You can’t add new IG collaborators to old posts. This is because these arrangements need to be in place before the content goes live. Posts already on your profile might not follow the partner’s rules, for example.

The main point of Instagram collabs is that the posts show up for every side’s audience. They’re only able to see this on their feeds if the post is new. A post-hoc collab wouldn’t appear like this, meaning few benefits for any party’s engagement.

You must know how to add a collaborator on Instagram before posting. This is never something to fix later. The same is true if you want to add an extra Insta partner. This also means you can’t re-add someone to a post once you remove them (or they remove themselves).

Benefits of an Instagram Collaboration Post

IG collabs are great for everybody. Using them right can even help you build better partnerships that last a long time. According to HubSpot, 64% of marketers use micro-influencers with under 10,000 followers. This means nearly anyone can take part in influencer marketing. Here are the main benefits of making IG collabs:

• More viewers: An IG partner gives you access to a whole new audience of people. This can be the brand’s current customers or an influencer’s followers. Either could give you new fans.
• Prestige: Working with a company makes your profile look more professional. You could see an uptick in sponsors from this alone. Collabs bring you closer to becoming a big influencer in your niche.
• Engagement: Picking the right people to work with means your content will have a high engagement rate. This means users will like and read the posts, which really helps drive more sales.
• Outsourcing: Brands use collab posts as a way of making new content without needing a lot of resources. They can trust the influencer to come up with something that fits their strategy.
• Variety: Similarly, the collab feature leads to a lot of varied content. This is because every influencer has their own style. Blending these together makes it easier to find new fans or customers.
• Free samples: Your Instagram collaborator might give you a bunch of free samples and products. This is a great perk of any influencer arrangement — especially if you use this brand all the time.

How Many Collaborators on Instagram Posts?

You can currently add up to five collaborators on your IG posts. The more partners you add, the more audiences you’re able to find. However, each one of these will have to accept your collab request. You may send out up to five requests, only for just one of them to accept. This is why it always helps to clear these arrangements in advance. 

A single post can have up to 20 tags and collaborators in total. This means you could tag 15 users in addition to the five partners. However, you can only add three partners if you have 17 tags. This can be a tight balance to reach. But brands usually won’t want you to add many extra tags. They will want the focus to stay on them and their product.

You might also be wondering, “How many collaborators for Instagram Reels?” These videos still follow the same rules as typical feed pics. You’ll have five spaces for collaborators but 15 overall (including IG tags). Try not to waste these in any format.

How To Accept Collaboration on Instagram

Collab invites arrive in your inbox when a post goes live. You should get a notification for this, as with any other direct message. This might be from an influencer posting about your products or even a friend sharing your time together. Be careful if you don’t recognize the account at all — it could be spam.

Click View Request on the DM. This lets you see the post and read over its caption. You should then press Review to make your decision. The app informs you that accepting it puts your name on the post for the creator’s audience. This is a key consideration if you have a private profile since the other user might be public.

Click on Accept or Decline after thinking this over. Consider declining if you don’t have a collab arrangement in place with the account. They might just want to take your audience to help their content. Influencers should only accept if they have a promise of payment (in money, discounts, or something else entirely).

Once you learn how to accept collaboration on Instagram, you must know how to remove it. You may not want the post on your profile forever, for example. Simply go to your post’s settings via the three horizontal dots in the top right corner. Click Stop Sharing to end the collab.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use collabs with Instagram shopping?

Collabs go great with shoppable posts. In fact, this makes it easier for your Insta fans to learn more about the brand you’re selling.

How do collabs work on PC?

You currently can’t start an IG collab over PC. You have to use the mobile app for this. It’s also not possible to accept a collab invite DM on a desktop.

What if you forget to add a partner?

As the answer to “Can you add a collaborator on Instagram after posting?” is no, you’ll have to delete it. You can then remake the post and set up the partnership correctly.

Build Your IG Network With Collabs

Instagram collaborations boost your account and give you access to great online partnerships in the process. At snsflow.com, you can make the most of these through paid followers who like and share your content.

You’ll get rapid-fire engagement and better organic growth with just one simple payment. Try out snsflow.com today to get everything you’re looking for from your IG profile.