I’m starting a new series in this newsletter all about Instagram! Mosseri & Co have released a basket of new features recently, and I know we’ve all gotta write POVs on each and every one for how they affect our brands. SO! For the next 4 issues, I’m going to share perspectives and theories on what’s new for the gram.

You know today’s issue (thanks for clicking this email, btw), and you can look forward to:

• Why Instagram’s new Linked Reels feature makes content pillars 100x stronger

• How brands can use Trial Reels to earn easy wins with new audiences

• Does anyone know how Broadcast Channels actually work?

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, make sure you subscribe so you get it straight in your inbox—I’m publishing Tuesdays and Thursdays now, and it’s always free.

A quick word from our sponsor (that’ll actually help you do fun work), then we’ll talk IG.

—Jack Appleby

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Brands should probably never use Instagram’s Collab feature.

My inner social strategist got wayyy too excited when Instagram first launched their Collab feature in late 2021. The ability to simultaneously push a post to multiple audiences with a few clicks? What a win! Now all of our brand’s partners could just latch on to a single post, and our hired influencers could collab with our brand, and we’d access multiple entire audiences through one post!

Buttt that’s not really how Collabs have worked out.

I actually don’t think brands should be using Instagram’s Collab feature. It breaks the first rule of content, it’s making good content less cool, and there’s a new Instagram feature that’s gonna be a lot more effective for brands.

A quick refresh: what is an Instagram Collab?

Collabs are Instagram posts that are co-authored by 2+ accounts—they’re the posts you see in your feed with multiple names at the top. They’re often casually used for engagement photos, and professionally for band tour posters, brand x brand collabs, and brand x influencer posts. Here’s IG’s official explainer:

creators

21M followers

View more on Instagram

When do brands generally use collabs?

A lot of brands use the Collab feature when they’re working on partnerships, either with our brands or content creators. The thinking’s like I said in my intro—we’re working together, why not get that content to all of our audiences at the same time through one piece of content!

I’m kinda questioning if brands should ever use Collabs, even though there’s decent data in support of the feature.

One piece of content shouldn’t naturally fit multiple audiences.

So if brands typically use collabs to share content with other brands, or to get more attribution from their hired influencers… that piece of content would need to speak effectively to multiple audiences simultaneously.

Thattt probably isn’t going to happen. Every brand, even ones who seem like natural partners, have cued their audiences to react to certain hooks & triggers. Every creator has cued their followers to react to their specific content. It’s incredibly unlikely that those unique triggers will match up in a way that makes a single piece of content explode.

• For brand x brand partnerships, each brand should make a unique piece of content highlighting

• For influencer content, if your brand wants that influencer to make content for your brand’s page, you should brief them on two pieces—one for their audience, once for yours.

Collab content doesn’t go to each collaborator equally.

Surely you’ve seen Head Of Instagram Adam Mosseri dishing out tips on his personal account. His weekly AMAs always give great little insider knowledge on features in between dispelling whatever myth’s still in the water.

He was recently asked whether it matters which account is a Collab’s originator, and it turns out, it very much does:

“In general, the ranking system [for Collab posts] biases more towards the original collaborator than the person who accepts. It really shouldn’t matter, but right now it matters a bit, so if the original collaborator is the larger account, that will help on the margins.”

That has notable implications for brands when using the Collab feature. If you do insist on using Collabs, the bigger of the brand x brand partners should post it.

That said, if you’re insisting on Collabing your influencer content, always let the influencer post first, even if they’re not as big as your brand. You want that content to go more towards their audience than yours—that’s why you hired them!

Collabs make great influencer content look like an ad

The biggest sin of Collabs with content creators? They slap your brand logo right at the top of your hired influencer’s post.

And I hear you brands—you want that brand recall. And getting your logo up there again will certainly increase recall.

But think about what that does to perception. Think about how you spent good money on that content creator to make engaging content about your brand, and how you’ve just decided to loudly alert their audience HEY DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS AN AD instead of letting them pull their followers in before selling to them. You lose the authenticity that makes influencer marketing powerful in the first place.

We work with influencers because they can make brand content feel cool, native, and trustworthy. Collabs risk stripping that away.

So if we’re out on Collabs, what do brands do instead?

The most important thing in social media will always be making content that’s immediately compelling to your intended viewer/customer.

For brand x brand collabs, or any time two companies work together and think “hey a collab would be great here,” just have both companies make unique content for their audiences, that they individually post without the collab feature. That will maximize reach to each company’s audience! And hey, if you then wanna do a collab post, by all means, but don’t do it for the big announce or as the hero asset—remember, collabs don’t even go to each account equally.

For brand x influencer moments, if you want the influencer to make content for your brand, too: hire them to make multiple pieces of content! Have them make some stuff for their influencer account, and a few other pieces for your brand’s account!

But even better: Instagram just announced Reposts, their new feature that you’ll recognize from good ol’ Twitter.

Reposts work like retweets! Check that image above for the workflow—your brand’s avatar pops up on a Repost with a little additional commentary. It’s a great way to share someone else’s content (or UGC, perhaps) that you think your brand’s audience would enjoy.

Two big wins here:

• Separate distribution runs. The creator’s content runs through their algorithmic cycle, then your repost runs through yours. Two shots at reach instead of one capped Collab. Same is true for brand x brand moments.

• Brand context. You get to frame the content in your voice. The influencer keeps their authenticity, and you still get your CTA, commentary, or cultural angle layered on top.

It’s the best of both worlds: influencers make content their audience loves, and you amplify it while maintaining your brand voice.

My take

Collabs flatter egos, but they rarely maximize results.

Reposts are the smarter play: they preserve authenticity, double distribution, and give you brand context on top.

Let influencers and brand partners do what they do best: create for their own communities. Then use reposts to extend that content, add credibility, and give it a second life.

Because if you’re still leaning on Collabs, you’re making influencer marketing feel less like influence and more like advertising. And that’s the fastest way to lose the magic.

But hey, what do you think? Would you rather just Collab? You can reply right to my newsletter with your thoughts.