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April 11, 20235 mins read

What is an Instagram influencer takeover?

By Leesa

What on earth is an Instagram influencer takeover? And, why is it useful? Read on to find out why it can be beneficial to have other people or influencers take over your account!

An Instagram takeover

An Instagram takeover is a type of social media campaign in which one person or brand takes over another person or brand’s Instagram account for a specified period of time. During the takeover, the guest poster creates and shares content on the host’s account, giving their followers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the host’s brand or sharing content that aligns with the host’s brand values.

Instagram takeovers are a popular way for brands to reach new audiences and increase engagement on their account. They’re also a great way for influencers or individuals to expand their reach and gain exposure to a new audience. The takeover typically lasts for a day or a few days and can be promoted on both the host and guest’s social media channels to generate buzz and excitement.

An Instagram influencer

Influencers are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. They make regular posts about that topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followers of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views. Brands love social media influencers because they can create trends and encourage their followers to buy the products they promote.

Influencer types:

  • Nano – has under 10k followers
  • Micro – has between 10k-50k followers
  • Mid Tier – has between 50k-500k followers
  • Macro – has between 500k-1M followers
  • Mega – has more than 1M followers

Why is it a useful strategy on Instagram

An Instagram takeover is a useful social media strategy for several reasons:

  1. Increased Reach: By inviting a guest to take over your Instagram account, you expose your brand to a new audience who may not have been aware of your brand before. This helps to increase your reach and potentially attract new followers to your account.
  2. Diversify Content: A guest poster can provide a fresh perspective and create new content that aligns with your brand values. This diversifies your content and keeps your followers engaged.
  3. Build Relationships: Instagram takeovers can be a great way to build relationships with other brands, influencers or individuals in your industry. Be that as it may, collaborating with others can help to strengthen your network and create new opportunities for partnerships in the future.
  4. Boost Engagement: By creating a unique and engaging experience for your followers, you can increase engagement on your account. Live takeovers or Q&A sessions with a guest poster can help to generate buzz and encourage your followers to interact with your content.

All in all, Instagram takeovers can be a fun and effective way to connect with your audience and expand your reach on the platform.

How do you begin?

1. Set goals for your takeover.

Clearly outline what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. Without clear goals at the start, you can’t possibly have a strategic plan that aligns with your goals for this takeover.

Your goals may include some or more of the following:

  • Increased reach by X
  • Increased post interactions and engagement by X
  • X number of post saves
  • An increased average of reach and engagement by X
  • X more followers than before the takeover

Ensure that you set specific and measurable goals in order to make it clear what is needed to fulfill them.

2. Research who the ideal person is to take over your Instagram account.

This person should at least have the following:

  • Audience members who will resonate with your content
  • Similar values and followers
  • Shared interests
  • A passion for what you do and curiosity about you as a person
  • More followers than you
  • Some value to add to your profile
  • A consistent brand that aligns with yours
  • Be able to help you achieve your goals

Several platforms have popped up that allow you to not only find influencers that fit the requirements you may be looking for but also allow you to negotiate, strike a deal and pay the influencer all within the same platform.

Or just by being on the platforms yourself and engaging with pages and people you like.

Once you have figured out who this person is, reach out! You may find that they have already done some similar campaigns and are quite familiar with how to run a takeover. You may also find the opposite. Either way, make sure they are keen and excited to do this – this energy will translate through to audiences.

In general, there is no hard and fast rule about what you should pay influencers. In a word, every influencer will have a different view of what they are worth financially and you should be astute when negotiating.

Equally important, to avoid any confusion or miscommunication, have a brief ready to go before you reach out. If possible, reach out via email, and keep a chain of all discussions and agreements made.

Make sure you and the influencer are clear on the following:

  • How many pieces of content
  • How many posts
  • Cost
  • Expected stats
  • Value alignment
  • Branding and values of your business

3. Agree on the terms and content.

If you are reaching for an influencer who has a lot more followers than you, you may find that they agree and then tell you their fee.

What is a post worth?

To calculate the engagement rate for a post, divide the total number of likes and comments by your follower count, and then multiply by 100 to give you a percentage.

  • Less than 1% = low engagement rate.
  • Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate. Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate.
  • Above 6% = very high engagement rate.

Benchmark of engagement rate for accounts with real followers (no bots)

  • <1000 followers average about 8% engagement
  • 1000 – 10,000 followers average 4% engagement
  • 10,000 – 100,000 followers average 2.4% engagement
  • 100,000 – 1 million followers average 1.8% engagement
  • > 1 million followers average 1.7% engagement

What is an influencer worth?

All things considered, an influencer is only as influential as their numbers. An influencer could have over 500k followers but have very low engagement. Do some research yourself online and also ask the influencer for stats from previous posts. Unless this person is famous or a celebrity, they should be able to present you with data proving their influencer success.

Be direct about absolutely everything. In the brief, you send to the influencer, they should be able to ascertain exactly what the tone, style, length, mood, and speed the piece of content should be. There should be no detail left unmentioned. Clothing, hair, purpose of the video, etc. UNLESS your plan is to let them freestyle and take it in their own direction that they know will work best with their audiences.

Make sure that you have discussions with the influencer before they begin making content and ask them exactly what they think you want. Clear up any confusion!

How do I know if my Instagram takeover was successful?

Ask yourself the following:

  • Did I achieve any or all of the goals I set out initially?

If yes, write down what you achieved in terms of stats so you know what your benchmark is to beat next time. If no, write down what you could have done better and where you think you went wrong.

  • Was the influencer easy to work with? Did you encounter any issues?

It is important to take note of how you work together so you can streamline this for next time. Could you have been more organized? Could they have been more responsive? Were you clear enough? Get feedback from them if you can!

  • Was the takeover worth it?

Financially, was this viable and worth the money? Time-wise was this fruitful? And in terms of goals, did you get what you wanted?

To conclude, all of these things will be helpful for you to keep track of for future takeovers. Make sure you keep this info in an easy-to-find place and keep nurturing the new audiences you now have.

Want to learn more about content creation? Try our >> Content Creation course on Vampr Academy.

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