Experts Speak: Meta’s Creator Marketplace to open more avenues for diverse creators

Earlier this week, Meta rolled out its Instagram creator marketplace in several countries, including India. The platform was originally launched in the USA in 2022 as a portal for brands to discover and get in touch with creator's accounts for branded content or partnership ads. 

In the second-fastest growing influencer market globally, where this INR 12 billion industry is projected to grow 25% annually to 28 billion INR by 2026, Meta’s new marketplace could further expedite its trajectory by addressing some fundamental problems that have stopped smooth collabs between brands and creators. 

After all, Instagram has become a hub for these influencers to grow and establish their follower base. Brands have effectively managed to tap into this platform. 

But despite this, a previous report dated 2021 suggested that 56% of brands found it fairly difficult to find the correct influencer, while 22% stated it was very difficult to fit their brand. 

As a response to this obstacle, Meta rolled out its feature in more countries. Influencer marketing agencies, brands, and content creators believe that it would offer a centralized hub for brands to discover and engage with creators directly, simplifying the collaboration process. 

Within the Instagram Creator Marketplace, brands will be able to access information about content creators who have registered on the platform. Details such as follower count, account engagement, and audience demographics will be visible. The portal will provide companies with filtering options based on gender, age, followers, countries, interests, and portfolios. Brands also have the flexibility to 'bookmark' selected creators or communicate with them directly through the same page. They can further see a list of creators who have expressed interest in them and check the portfolios that the platform lets the influencers create. 

Meta also says it will use machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to recommend content creators to brands based on Instagram data. With this, brands can enhance visibility and boost sales, and creators can monetize their content, offering followers a convenient avenue to explore and shop for their preferred category or brand.

With a giant like Meta backing this marketplace, it could potentially democratize collaboration between brands and creators, removing the middle person and filters. It will also enable micro-targeting and campaign customization. 

Smoother Collaborations

Experts in the field say that finding the right brand and right influencer has always been an obstacle as it is time-consuming and lengthy.  

Reacting to the launch, Anshul Gupta, Founder and CEO, GoPromoto said, “The Creator Marketplace on Instagram is great for brands and creators. Brands can find the right influencers to work with easily. For creators, it means more people seeing their stuff, chances to make money from sponsorships and grow their online presence. It's a win-win for everyone involved.” 

Divija Bhasin, a content creator, also believes Meta’s Marketplace will simplify collaborations between creators and brands. She said, “The current process is quite unorganised and a bit messy. Some amount of standardisation will hopefully help to streamline the process.”

Gautam Madhavan, Founder and CEO, Mad Influence said, “Connecting with brands and creators has historically presented challenges in terms of matching the right creators with suitable brands. The process often involved significant time and effort in identifying ideal collaborators. 

The new features of the Meta Creator marketplace, particularly the AI-driven creator recommendations, are poised to alleviate these challenges by providing a more efficient and data-driven approach to pairing brands with relevant creators.” 

Lakshmi Balasubramanian, Co-founder, Greenroom Network faced the same challenge of time consumption and believes the marketplace might or might not solve it. She said, “The most common challenge is that some creators took long to respond, this might continue to be a challenge in the marketplace model as well. In some cases, the contact details are not visible and this could be solved with the Meta creator marketplace.”

Speaking about the advantages, she added, “The filter for picking influencers would be very useful because the ML meta has is probably one of the best there is and the match would also be great because of that.”

Micro and Nano Influencers to benefit 

A LinkedIn study showed that nearly 55 million urban Indians actively engage with nano-influencers, one of the fastest-growing segments in the influencer marketing industry. This want is evident with brand collabs as well. As per Influencer Marketing Hub, with shifting preferences, 39% of brands favor nano-influencers over micro-influencers or even celebrities. 

However, Shubham Singhal, Co-Founder of Dot Media thinks that not enough brands are favouring macro and nano influencers for collaborations. He felt that previously, brands primarily explored collaborations with prominent creators boasting a substantial follower count which posed a challenge for creators with fewer followers who focused on delivering high-quality content.

But, with the creator marketplace launching in the country, the situation could shift. Singhal believes that the marketplace will open more avenues for the untapped markets in the country. 

He said, “Now, influencers associated with a brand, endorsing its products and services, will likely be featured on the marketplace. This shift enables brands to witness tangible conversions driven by the quality of content. A brand's consumer base and audience play a pivotal role, and micro and nano influencers, previously overlooked, are ready to gain more attention.” 

The marketplace has added creator-specific updates as well. This update will bring all their operations under one roof, making it more user-friendly. The dedicated partnership messages folder will enable brands to reach out directly. Creators will also be able to review the details and requirements of the opportunity, as well as the rate, all within the Instagram app. 

This update will allow any creator, small or big, to utilise the platform to generate reach and connect with all types of brands, bringing more transparency to the ecosystem. 

Creators think that these designated folders for brand messages and the streamlined communication process are some promising features.

Shorts Break, a content creator group on the platform said, “With its user-friendly interface and features, the marketplace simplifies the process of partnership formation, allowing creators to easily connect with brands.”

Divija Bhasin also expressed her excitement about this particular update as well. She added, “I’m excited to have a common platform for brands and creators to reach out to each other. Seems like it’ll be LinkedIn, but for creators and brands.”

RJ Raghav, another content creator said, “By providing creators with unmatched access to a diverse range of brands and opportunities, the marketplace not only simplifies the collaboration process but also fosters creativity.”

Better opportunities for brands

In 2019, TikTok, the global competitor to Instagram, introduced its  TikTok Creator Marketplace to streamline brand-creator relations. Various brands have used the platform to generate reach with relevant audiences, resulting in more than 2X growth. 

Back home, Instagram has become the go-to place for influencer marketing. According to a report, 73.6% of brands prefer Instagram as their primary platform for influencer marketing and this preference is evident as marketers were seen spending over 10% of their annual digital marketing budgets on influencer marketing. 

Last year alone, brands like Ashirvaad, Google India, and more utilized the marketing medium to reach over 8 million and 900K+ consumers. With Instagram's creator marketplace in the picture, brands have a better chance of leveraging this medium.

Fashion e-commerce brand, Urbanic also heavily engages with influencers and has made dedicated influencer squads to engage with its consumers. 

Rahul Dayama, Global Marketing Head of Urbanic, feels that the marketplace will empower brands with the right influencers. 

He said, “With its robust machine learning-based recommendations, brands can now optimize their ad campaigns by discovering valuable creators with strong engagement rates. Furthermore, it will also help brands tap into relevant communities that can act as a brand multiplier for them in the future.”

Will it threaten talent management agencies?

The creator marketplace will essentially help build smoother bridges for creators and brands, which is a core part of the services that talent management agencies offer. But experts don’t think this will affect their business model. 

Talent management agencies are a big part of how creators communicate with brands, and the new tool is poised to accelerate this pre-set relationship, experts mentioned. 

Short Breaks, who have previously worked with brands like YouTube India and Star Sports India said, “The launch of the Meta Creator marketplace does not lessen the importance of talent management agencies in connecting with brands. While the marketplace offers a convenient platform for collaboration, agencies provide a level of representation and advocacy.”

While Divija Bhasin thinks that the role of talent management might be reduced, she said that creators will still need guidance. 

“Creators need guidance and need to be taught how to talk to brands, which is where talent management agencies are helpful,” said Bhasin.

Gautam Madhavan said that the new tool holds the potential to significantly impact their business.

He said, “While the fundamental principles of talent management remain, adapting to this new platform will likely involve embracing the enhanced features for more targeted collaborations. The business model may evolve to leverage the efficiencies offered by the marketplace, ensuring that our agency continues to provide value in this evolving landscape.”

Shubham Singhal also thinks the new tool will have positive effects on their business model.

He said, “The shift initiated by Meta's updates is not only an indication of the growth of our industry but also an opportunity for us to continue serving as a crucial link between our influencers and brands. Our artists, recognizing the value we bring to the table, are likely to prefer collaborating with us over engaging directly with brands.

The Meta Creator marketplace is poised to change the way influencer-brand collaborations work. More creators will have an opportunity to gain visibility. Brands will be able to find specific influencers to collaborate and the marketplace could also open new revenue opportunities for Meta.

As creators and brands embrace this innovative platform, experts believe that the future of influencer-brand collaborations looks promising, with boundless opportunities for growth and engagement.