🟣 Issue No. 23: IGC or Bust? Why It’s a Brand’s Best Bet

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COMMERCE TIPS

Inside the Creator Economy: Danil Saliukov, CEO of Insense, on Scaling IGC for Maximum Brand Impact

In today’s issue, I sit down with the CEO and Co-Founder of Insense, one of the largest Creator marketplaces, trusted by over 1,700 brands. As an official creative partner of both Meta and TikTok, Insense has become a key player in helping brands integrate IGC into their paid and organic strategies for maximum impact.

Can you share a bit about Insense’s journey?
What inspired you to focus on IGC, and how has that evolved over the years?

My brother founded two eCommerce businesses and exited both. He then started a small paid agency after realizing, 10 years ago, that there was a future in influencer content and identity for paid ads. He looked for software to support this idea, but all the available options were expensive influencer platforms with big retainers and weren’t really focused on paid ads. So, he came up with an idea and pitched it to me. I left my successful corporate career in the e-payment business, which was listed on NASDAQ, to join him. Today, we remain a creator marketplace that helps execute and merge organic and paid strategies in creator marketing for eCommerce.

What key factors separate an effective IGC strategy from one that falls flat, especially for brands aiming to scale quickly?

Not having a creative strategy, as brands are marketers, not creators. Creators can execute and come up with interesting creative angles but may not realize how to sell their products, what the USPs are, etc.

Investing heavily into influencers without a strategy or step-by-step approach—learning what is the ideal creator profile, the right pitch to creators, how to build basic processes, etc. Start small, learn what works for you, then scale.

Not considering IGC as a long-term strategy: everything from above + be ready to play for 6–12 months, build and scale the team.

Do not put your influencer managers with your paid team. IGC is both organic and paid (especially with influencer whitelisting).

For wellness brands, what unique approaches to IGC can make a difference in connecting with health-conscious consumers?

We're working with a few health-focused brands now on the MS, and what I can say so far:

• They need a lot of educational content; wellness audiences seek credible, informative content. Content includes 'Tutorials,' how-to videos on using products in daily routines. These health-focused brands want to partner with influencers who can educate on product benefits authentically.

• Real experience, real transformations, true customer testimonials, before and after—all of this helps create trust; since, again, this type of product in healthcare requires authenticity.

• Collaborating with experts (niche influencers, experts in the area of the product); we also see this more and more—brands wanting to collaborate with doctors, dietitians, and fitness coaches who can add credibility.

What role does systemization play in scaling IGC campaigns? Can you share a framework or best practices for scaling content production with influencers?

Hiring creators for market research: learning the ideal creator profiles, experimenting with hooks, CTAs, etc

Building the right team: influencer manager should be talking to paid teams constantly AND analyze IGC performance in ads

What trends do you see shaping the future of IGC, especially in terms of content types and platform preferences?

• More authentic content is needed as we step into the world of fake AI-generated UGC

• Building long-term relations with creators, you love working with

• Following the trends and best-performing ads (via Ad Platform Creative Libraries or Foreplay)

• Bringing up whitelisting (Partnership Ads for Meta; Spark Ads for TikTok) to boost performance

What role does AI play in optimizing influencer selection and content creation, and how does Insense leverage it in campaigns?

• AI can play a role in more ChatGPT searches to influencer databases rather than choosing filters

• Creative briefing can be the best application of the GenAI. We are creating a product in partnership with Google that we can share a bit later

• AI can empower creators to produce better content (reduce background noise or adjust sunlight)

• Also, AI can play a crucial role in producing multiple variations of the creator-produced original content, such as generating more hooks or call-to-actions & stitching these to the original video

• AI can't replace creators as the fake GenAI UGC is not FTC-compliant, and the regulations will only increase as it happened with influencer marketing

• We have some work around this that we can share a bit later

How do you balance brand control with the creativity and authenticity that make influencer content compelling to audiences?

• We recommend brands approach briefing depending on the objective:

  • If it is Ad Creative that will be used in paid, then Hook & CTA should be scripted/heavily guided. Though the video body might be flexible

  • If it is influencer paid posting, then provide the direction and trust creators

Can you share examples of how data can be used to refine an IGC campaign strategy, making it more effective over time?

An IGC campaign can refer to either:

• Posting campaigns, when influencer posts to their own social media to promote the brand - this content is usually a part of the brand awareness or engagement strategy, leveraging the influencer's own audience 

• Content only, where influencers create content for paid social ads or organic brand-owned channels 

For posting campaigns: 

• Data helps brands optimize influencer selection, messaging, and content types based on audience response. 

• Metrics to track: 

  • Audience engagement (likes, comments, shares, views): this data highlights which types of content resonate best with the influencer’s followers, helping refine future briefs to focus on engaging formats. 

  • Influencers performance data: reach, engagement rate, and conversions; identifying the most impactful influencers helps optimize budget allocation by focusing on creators who deliver high engagement or ROI for the brand. 

For content-only campaigns: 

• Data can optimize the brand’s creative strategy and platform choices 

• Metrics to track: 

  • Creative Testing: A/B testing on different variations of IGC-based ads to identify top-performing hooks, CTAs, and content formats. 

  • Audience Conversion Data: CPC, conversion rate, - help identify the most effective creative strategies.

What are common mistakes brands make when scaling IGC, and how can they avoid these pitfalls?

• Not using influencer whitelisting

• Not putting influencer managers in touch with paid teams

• Not continuing experimenting with different faces and approaches

• Not following the trends

With increasing regulations and scrutiny around influencer marketing, how do you ensure compliance without losing the authenticity of content?

• We have integrations with Meta around the Partnership Ads as the only FTC-compliant way to run the whitelisting

• Also, we provide tips & tricks to both creators & brands on how to highlight sponsored partnerships

• I think people know when influencers are paid; so content should be engaging

How do you view the role of paid media in amplifying influencer content? Is paid amplification essential to see real scale?

• It is absolutely essential for scaling. Whitelisting is the easiest way to boost paid performance when all the heavy lifting has already happened (finding & pitching creators, getting content, etc).

• We have seen the best DTC brands that merge their influencer team with paid teams. This is the way.

How does Insense plan to evolve alongside platforms like the TikTok Creator Marketplace, especially as new social media trends emerge?

• We are one of the first platforms to have access to TikTok Creator Marketplace API as well as to Meta & TikTok Shop. We leverage the first-party data coming directly from the platforms. At the same time, providing brand-to-creator collabs is our only business, which is why many brands don't see much of the scale to use the native creator platforms. We have such integration with Shopify or TikTok Shop for product fulfillment as well as providing the capability to work with the same creators on both IG & TikTok.

Exclusive Insense Offer for Our Readers

Insense is offering readers of this newsletter a free $200 platform bonus, available until December 6th. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your IGC strategy—claim your $200 bonus here.

On the Pod 🎧

Lastest episodes:

• How to Land Top Media Features Without Hiring a PR Agency → Gloria Chou

• How to Automate and Streamline Your Shipping Processes for Growth → Gitika Jain of ShipAccel

• How to Optimize Your eCommerce Team with High-Level Outsourcing → Ian Myers

• The Highest Impact Meta Ad Creatives Types That Are Driving Results Right Now → Lachezar Voynov

• How NIFT Offers Consumer Brands A New Way to Acquire Customers at SCALE → Elery Pfeffer

• Turning Your eCommerce Operations into a Profit Center → Kunle Campbell

• How to Win this Q4 → Kunle Campbell

• How to Maximize Your eCommerce Marketing Efficiency with the PROFIT Framework → Kunle Campbell

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COMMERCE HEADLINES

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