Instagram‘s recent wave of new features appears to be continuing, with the site announcing that it is now testing a new tool that would make it easier for creators to interact with advertisers.
Affiliate stores and specialized “partnership” inboxes, which were shown during its Creator Week event earlier this year, are presently being trialed in an effort to help creators monetise their material.
Affiliate stores, which are essentially an extension of Facebook‘s current shopping tools, will allow authors to earn a fee when a follower purchases a product. Instagram also stated that for the time being, this will only be available to individuals who are members of the IG affiliate program.
Furthermore, the social network revealed that it is developing a new inbox feature that would make it easier for creators to engage with sponsors by creating a distinct “partnerships” section that will exclusively store emails from businesses.
While only a small number of organizations and creators are participating in the trial, Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year intentions to build a “branded content marketplace,” which could indicate that these capabilities are here to stay.
