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Nigeria does not feature in the new market push by Instagram as it announced this week its plans to expand the reach of its marketplace tool to connect brands with creators for paid partnerships or ads across eight additional countries. The newly included markets comprise Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, and Brazil.
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Despite Nigeria’s substantial user base, the exclusion of the country from Instagram’s marketplace expansion raises questions. According to Instagram users research, India leading globally with 230 million users and the United States following closely with 144 million users, Brazil ranks third with 119 million users, Japan with 46 million users, and the UK with 29 million users. Canada and Australia follow suit with 16 million and 12 million users, respectively, while Nigeria counts 7 million users, and New Zealand rounds out the list with 2 million users.
Originally piloted in the U.S. in 2022, the platform has experienced significant growth, attracting “thousands” of creators and brands. Last year, Instagram enhanced its functionality by integrating API features tailored for creator outreach and brief structuring, extending invitations to agencies to utilize the platform.
In a strategic move to foster global collaboration, Meta, Instagram’s parent company, announced intentions to invite Chinese export brands to engage with creators beyond China’s borders.
Over the forthcoming weeks, Instagram aims to extend invitations to both brands and creators to join the marketplace across these eight new regions. Marketers will have the opportunity to engage creators for paid partnerships or partnership ads, which allows advertisers to boost organic content as ads.
Upon joining the platform via the professional dashboard within the Instagram app, creators can showcase their content and specify relevant brands and interests.
Utilizing machine learning algorithms, Meta assists brands in matching with suitable creators for specific marketing campaigns within the marketplace. Additionally, companies can manually search for creators and apply filters, refining results based on creator and audience categories, as well as ad experience.
Creators will have visibility into all requests and communications initiated by brands through the marketplace, accessible via a designated folder on Instagram named “Partnership messages.” Furthermore, creators can review campaign details directly within the app.
Instagram’s initiative aligns with similar functionalities offered by competitors such as Snap, YouTube, and TikTok. Additionally, emerging startups are addressing the challenge of bridging brands with creators. Notable examples include Catch+Relase, backed by Accel, which aids brands in discovering licensable content effectively. Agentio, having secured $4.25 million in seed investment funding led by Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp, has developed a platform streamlining the process of YouTubers selling ad slots in their videos. Breaker, supported by investors including Marc Benioff, a16z/TxO, Kevin Mayer (former CEO of TikTok), and RGA Ventures, connects record labels and artists with influencers to execute promotional campaigns.
