Influencer Whitelisting 101: What is it, Benefits, and How to do it

Imagine having the power to control exactly who sees your influencer's content, the ability to optimize it for sales (not just likes), and the advantage of running ads that people actually trust because they're coming from creators - not your brand.

That's what influencer whitelisting makes possible. It's highly underutilized but has the potential to get the maximum ROI from your influencers’ content.

What is influencer whitelisting?

Influencer whitelisting is a process where an influencer grants a brand advertising permissions to their social media accounts (specifically on Facebook and Instagram). This means your brand can run paid ads that appear directly from the influencer's handle rather than your own brand account.

You're "borrowing" the influencer's social media identity to run your ads, rather than just featuring them in content on your brand's account.

Here's an example of whitelisted influencer ads run by Athletic Greens, the supplement brand —

Here's another example of influencer whitelisting by HexClad, the cookware brand —

When you whitelist an influencer, you get direct access to run ads through their account, which lets you:

• Create ads that appear as if they're coming from the influencer's account
• Use the influencer's content in paid advertising campaigns
• Control the ad targeting, budget, and duration just like you would with regular brand ads
• Make minor edits to the content and copy to optimize for better performance

Benefits of influencer whitelisting

Whitelisting has benefits other than just being able to leverage influencer-generated content. Let's look at the four key benefits.

Leverage influencer trust for better ad engagement

When you run ads through an influencer's account, you tap into the trust they've already built with their audience. People are more likely to stop and watch an ad from a creator they follow versus scrolling past another brand advertisement. And once you've gotten their attention there's a chance that they'll become your lead or customer.

Target any audience, not just the influencer’s followers

Whitelisting gives you complete control over who sees the influencer's content. You can target the ads to specific audiences - whether they follow the influencer or not. You can even use the influencer's audience data to create lookalike audiences and reach new customers who match your ideal customer profile. This means more precise targeting than you'd get with just organic influencer posts.

Run influencer content beyond its expiry date

Standard influencer posts have a short lifespan - Instagram Stories disappear in 24 hours, and feed posts typically get most of their engagement in the first 48 hours.

Whitelisting lets you extend the life of great content. You can keep running it as an ad for as long as it's performing well.

Edit and optimize influencer content for better results

Instead of being stuck with the exact post an influencer creates, whitelisting lets you optimize their content for better performance. You can tweak the copy, add strong call-to-action buttons like "Shop Now," and make small edits to the creative. This means you can keep the authenticity of the influencer's voice while maximizing the content's ability to drive results.

4-Step process for implementing influencer whitelisting

Here's a quick guide to start with influencer whitelisting with all the tips, and templates to make it successful for your brand.

Choose influencers to whitelist

There are two ways to get started with influencer whitelisting, depending on whether you're already working with influencers or just getting started.

Already working with influencers?

Go through your existing influencer partnerships and look for creators who have gotten the best results. Focus on those who have:

• Driven the most sales
• Generated strong engagement on their posts
• Created authentic content your audience loves
• Been reliable and professional to work with

These influencers are your best bet for whitelisting since you already know they perform well and you have a good relationship with them.

New to influencer marketing?

If you haven't worked with influencers before, don't jump straight into whitelisting. Find the right influencers for your brand, and start with regular organic posts first to test how well you work together.

When reaching out to influencers, be transparent about your long-term goals. Let them know you're interested in starting with organic posts but may want to explore whitelisting in the future if the partnership goes well. This helps set expectations early on.

You can use SARAL to find potential influencers by filtering for your target location, audience type, and content style. You can see their performance metrics and audience data before you even reach out, helping you make informed decisions about who to work with.

Request whitelisting permissions and negotiate usage terms

If whitelisting permissions aren't already part of your influencer contract, you'll need to reach out to request them. Send a professional email explaining what whitelisting is and why you'd like to use their account for ads. Be clear that this will involve giving your brand advertising permissions to their social media accounts.

Email template to reach out

Here's an email template you can use to start the conversation —

"Hi [Name],

We've been really happy with the content you've created for [Brand], especially [mention specific successful post].

We'd love to amplify this content through paid ads using your account (this is called whitelisting). This means we'd be able to reach more people with your great content, and it could help grow your following too.

Would you be open to discussing whitelisting permissions?"

When you discuss whitelisting with the influencer, make sure you clarify these things:

• Duration: How long you can run the whitelisted ads
• Usage rights: What you can and can't edit in their content
• Content approval: Whether they need to approve any edits
• Distribution: Where you can run the ads (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

Whitelisting comes at an additional cost since you're not just paying for content creation but also for advertising rights and access to the influencer's account.

Ways to compensate influencers

You can offer either:

• A flat fee for the whitelisting period
• A percentage of revenue generated from the whitelisted ads
• A combination of both

You can also build your creator offer to start with a test period – perhaps 30 days – with a fixed fee to see how the ads perform. If they drive strong results, you can negotiate a longer-term deal with a hybrid compensation model. This could include a base fee plus a percentage of sales (typically 5-15%) from ads using their content.

Contract clause

Once you've agreed on terms, here's a basic contract clause you can adapt:

"The Creator grants [Brand] permission to use their social media accounts for advertising purposes ('whitelisting') from [start date] to [end date]. This includes [specify permissions, e.g., creating ads, boosting posts, etc.]. The Creator will receive [compensation details]. Any content edits require Creator's approval within [X] business days."

Get access to influencer's Facebook Business Manager

Once you've got your agreements in place, you'll need access to the influencer's Facebook Business Manager to run ads. While this might sound straightforward, it's often one of the biggest hurdles in the whitelisting process. Most influencers are content creators, not ads specialists, and  aren't familiar with Facebook Business Manager.

So instead of going back and forth over email to get things setup, we recommend:

1. Schedule a quick video call where you can walk them through the setup process step by step
2. Create a simple Loom video showing exactly what they need to do
3. Prepare a visual guide with screenshots that they can follow at their own pace

Here's an email template you can use to request access:

"Hi [Name],

To start running our whitelisted ads, we'll need access to your Facebook Business Manager. Would you be able to grant us advertising permissions?

If you haven't set up the Business Manager yet, don't worry - we can help you through the process. Please book a time here [link] or you can check out these step-by-step guides we've created [link to guides].

Looking forward,[Your name].”

Select content for whitelisted ads

When selecting content, don't just choose something because it went viral or got tons of likes. Think about what you're trying to achieve with your ads:

Are you trying to build brand awareness? Look for content that tells your brand story well or showcases your unique value proposition.

Want to drive sales? Choose content that demonstrates product benefits, shows the product in action, or includes compelling testimonials from the influencer.

Building an email list? Select content that teases valuable information or offers that the audience would want to learn more about.

When choosing content, review it through an advertising lens. Ask yourself:

• Does it grab attention in the first few seconds?
• Is the message clear without reading a long caption?
• Does it include a strong call to action?
• Is it authentic while still being persuasive?

If you're commissioning new content, provide clear guidelines about your advertising objectives. Brief your influencer on what messages to emphasize and what calls to action to include.

Does keeping track of good sounds like a tedious job?

Finding the right content doesn't have to mean endless scrolling through social media.

SARAL automatically collects and tracks posts where influencers have tagged your brand. You can quickly spot which posts are performing well and might make great ads. Plus, you can reach out to these creators right through SARAL if you want to set up a whitelisting agreement.

Why most brands fail to scale their whitelisting efforts

Influencer whitelisting works brilliantly, but the execution is where most brands get stuck. Tracking permissions, managing multiple creator partnerships, optimizing content, and measuring results across different accounts quickly becomes overwhelming when done manually.

That's why we built SARAL - an all-in-one influencer marketing platform that makes whitelisting seamless. From finding the right influencer, to managing creator relationships and tracking performance, SARAL helps brands run influencer campaigns without the administrative headache.

Grab 30 minutes with us - we'll walk you through how brands like yours are running influencer whitelisting, and using SARAL to make influencer marketing their most reliable revenue channel.

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