Changes
400 times Instagram's guidance has changed, newest first.
5 of 400 changes about Branded content. Show all
2026
Branded contentOct 2026
Creator discovery for brands went from an expansion to a few markets to a global rollout of Creator Marketing Hub to all advertisers, with more than 10 million creators discoverable.
Before
Making it Easier for Brands and Creators to Collaborate on Instagram“From branded content to partnership ads, Instagram is one of the best places for brands and creators to collaborate, and now, we’re making it even easier to work together. In 2022, we began testing the creator marketplace in the US, a tool for brands and creators to connect and collaborate around partnership opportunities.”
After
Meta Q3 2026 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: In Q3, we also completed the global rollout of Creator Marketing Hub to all advertisers, bringing creator discovery, content organization and partnership ad activation into one place, with more than 10 million creators now discoverable.”
2024
Branded contentMar 2024Reversed
Instagram said creators could manage brand deals and get paid without leaving the app, but Mosseri later said these deals happen off platform.
Before
Helping Creators Build a Business Now — And for the Metaverse“We will soon begin testing Creator Marketplace on Instagram, where brands and creators can more easily build branded content partnerships. Creators will be able to indicate the brands and topics they’re interested in making branded content for, discover opportunities to partner with vetted brands and manage their brand deals without ever leaving the app.”
After
Creator Tips & Tricks“and brands. Now we have something called the Creator Marketplace, which we use to try to help brands and creators find each other and make those deals. But these deals happen off platform. My advice to you as a creator is if you can afford to, be picky about those deals.”
Branded contentFeb 2024
Creator Marketplace went from a planned test to having thousands of US creators and brands onboarded, expanding to eight new markets with new machine learning recommendations for finding creators.
Before
Helping Creators Build a Business Now — And for the Metaverse“We will soon begin testing Creator Marketplace on Instagram, where brands and creators can more easily build branded content partnerships. Creators will be able to indicate the brands and topics they’re interested in making branded content for, discover opportunities to partner with vetted brands and manage their brand deals without ever leaving the app.”
After
Making it Easier for Brands and Creators to Collaborate on Instagram“From branded content to partnership ads, Instagram is one of the best places for brands and creators to collaborate, and now, we’re making it even easier to work together. In 2022, we began testing the creator marketplace in the US, a tool for brands and creators to connect and collaborate around partnership opportunities.”
2023
Branded contentNov 2023
Brands promoting creators' content in Stories, first promised as coming 'soon', now exists through the 'Allow brand partner to boost' option, and creators are prompted to fix ad eligibility errors.
Before
Facebook Q2 2019 earnings call“Sheryl Sandberg, COO: On engagement - we’re making it easier for people to connect with the brands and influencers they love. Last month, we launched Branded Content Ads in Instagram which allow businesses to promote Creators’ posts as feed ads.”
After
Giving Creators More Ways to Earn Money on Facebook and Instagram“Today, many creators earn money on Facebook and Instagram by working with brand partners on Branded Content and Partnership Ads. We’re making it easier for creators to participate in ads by showing additional ad eligibility information when creating Instagram Stories.”
2021
Branded contentJan 2021
The branded content tag, first offered for posts and stories, was extended to Reels.
Before
Improving Commercial Relationship Transparency on Instagram“The new tool will allow a creator to quickly tag the business they have a relationship with. The post or story will appear with a sub-header that reads “Paid partnership with,” followed by a tag to the business partner’s account.”
After
Facebook Q4 2020 earnings call“Sheryl Sandberg, COO: In monetization of it, we've launched branded content tags in Reels, so that helps creators share the content and monetize. We launched shopping in Reels. And we've said that we will launch ads.”