Instagram recently released a new “branded content tool” that will provide a standardized format that should make it clearer to everyone when a post has been paid for by an advertiser. 

It is likely that this new tool was released in response to the Federal Trade Commission recently having sent letters to more than 90 influencers, celebrities, and brands, reminding them that they need to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose when their posts are sponsored. 

Instagram’s new tool will be available for influencers who have registered business profiles with Instagram. With this new feature, influencers tag a brand as the sponsor for their post, which will automatically include a “Paid partnership with” notification at the very top of the post and will also enable the advertiser to automatically get access to the same data as the influencer around a post’s reach and engagement. That data will show up in the same Facebook dashboard as the rest of the brand’s advertising data.

Instagram is currently testing this new tool out with select users, including BuzzFeed and Aimee Song, so for now not all brands or influencers will have access.  I will keep you posted!