Allowlisting (formerly known as Whitelisting) is the process of an influencer granting a brand partner advertising permissions to their social media accounts. This allows brands to use the influencer’s handle to boost existing posts and create ads.

Allowlisting provides brands with many advantages, such as:

Beyond brand advantages, the allowlisting process is also beneficial for creators.

As brands use the influencer’s content to reach wider, like-minded audiences, the creator also gets exposure to new audiences who may have not interacted with their account before. This widened visibility can drive more people to discover the influencer’s account, allowing the creator to grow their following quickly.

When done right, allowlisting is a win-win for both brands and creators. Both parties have access to performance metrics of the allowlisted post. Brands can get key insights into running successful campaigns and creators can understand what type of content resonates. Not to mention, allowlisting builds trust between brands and creators, elevating the relationship between the two and paving the way for more authentic ads.

When you think of influencer marketing, you’re probably thinking of those #sponsored posts that influencers post to their personal accounts. This type of influencer-generated content (IGC) is often repurposed into a brand-owned paid ad across various channels, which runs under the brand’s handle.

However, influencer allowlisting is different from brand-owned ads in that it takes the partnership to the next level. Allowlisting gives brands the special privilege of running ads through the influencer’s account, meaning the ads are shown under the influencer’s handle. It also grants marketers the freedom to create ads that are slightly different than the original post to deliver higher performance. For example, they’re able to add call-to-action buttons like “Shop now,” change the ad copy, or even slightly edit the content.

Allowlisting also gives brands the ability to dark post, which are paid Facebook and Instagram ads that don’t appear on an influencer’s timeline, page, or Stories. Dark posts don’t show up in the news feed of the influencer’s followers, unless specifically targeted to that audience. This means brands can create a variety of ad content without asking influencers to crowd their feed.

In addition, allowlisting allows brands to use influencer audience data to get the allowlisted ad in front of their target consumer — not just the influencer’s existing audience — by utilizing tools to customize lookalike audiences.

The goal of allowlisting influencers is to power your ad campaigns with high-performing content.

So, find influencers who create creative, authentic content. That way, their content will blend in smoothly with the rest of consumers’ feeds while staying on-brand. After all, the best ads are those that are so seamless that they don’t even look like advertisements!

Additionally, spend some time vetting influencers and verifying their audience data. Pay close attention to those who have followers in your target demographic to accurately build lookalike audiences and effectively reach potential new customers.

Don’t feel like you have to do a complete 180 when it comes to content. Allowlisted ads are typically targeted to an audience that matches the demographics of your brand’s existing community. So, start by implementing a content strategy that has proven to be successful in the past. That way, you’re almost guaranteed to serve content that resonates with your target audience.

However, at Aspire, we wholeheartedly believe in the test-and-invest method. This is the best way to see what type of content works best — and the results might even surprise you. Think about testing these factors:

To allowlist influencers on Facebook and Instagram, you will need allowlisting permissions from creators through Facebook Business Manager. Brands can then use their Business Manager and request to add the influencer as a Business Partner.

Influencers will need to provide you with the links to their Facebook page or Instagram account. Once they accept, you’ll be able to use their accounts for your allowlisted ads.

Our Allowlisting tool streamlines and simplifies this process by:

For more information about Influencer Allowlisting, check out this blog post.