Valentine’s Day content has dominated the best performing influencer adverts in the first half of February 2022. Most engaging posts have come from lingerie brands via influencers encouraging their followers to be body confident and beauty businesses working with creators to produce cute love-themed looks. The best ad of the month so far in our humble opinion? A documentary-style partnership between Remi Sade and Speedo. See below for insights on and the top 15 best performing commercial posts by influencers this month so far. This report is produced in collaboration with our technology partner Dyzio.
Key insights
- Brands have yet to capitalise fully on the opportunity Reels is presenting. As demonstrated in our latest report on most engaging organic influencer content, this part of Instagram is the way to gain greatest visibility.
- Brands that are commissioning influencer-produced Reels are seeing campaigns with smaller creators deliver high engagement rates. For businesses with modest influencer budgets, this strategy should be at the heart of every campaign (see this post by Bethan from Dear Skincare Diary for inspiration).
- Ad content is focused on being back out in the world – there is a lightness to adverts which was absent during the pandemic as many creators struggled to strike to correct tone with their commercial work.
- Many influencers are failing to put “Ad” at the start of their captions which is at odds with the Advertising Standard Agency’s guidelines. Brands should be clear in all influencer communications – this has to come first.
Top 15 best performing influencer Instagram adverts, mid-February 2022
1. Max Baledge X The Brits: he came, he posted, he voiced his love for Little Mix (ENGAGEMENT RATE 14%).
2. Samantha Harvey X Feel Unique: a Valentine’s Day-themed look featuring products by Too Faced and a special discount code for Harvey’s followers (ENGAGEMENT RATE 12%).
3. Gee Nelly X Homesense: the Twitch streamer shared a curation of home accessories from the interiors brand she had selected to make her house more like Minecraft (ENGAGEMENT RATE 10%).
4. Amelia Dimoldenberg X Haribo: the Chicken Shop Date founder posted from a Valentine’s-themed event hosted by the brand wearing maybe the best outfit ever (ENGAGEMENT RATE 10%).
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5. Ellen Brockbank X Warehouse: Brockbank produced a classic “one garment styled three ways” Reel focusing on an oversized suit by the retailer. Simple but effective (ENGAGEMENT RATE 9%).
6. Chloe Patton X Nikki Intimates: the lifestyle influencer promoted her first product edit for the brand, just in time for Valentine’s Day (ENGAGEMENT RATE 9%).
7. Bella Michelle X Sally Hansen: Michelle created an everyday nail care and manicure Reel for this partnership but it’s worth noting all of her adverts in the first two weeks of February have performed well. While this ad had an engagement rate of 9%, a post she produced with New Look delivered a 7% engagement rate and another partnership with Sally Hansen resulted in 5% ER.
8. Shu Lin X Visit England: the food and travel YouTuber visited Manchester with the tourism organisation and shared a gallery of her experience, plus insider tips for her followers (ENGAGEMENT RATE 9%).
9. Remi Sade X Speedo: where to start with this gorgeous film? Sade shares her lifelong love of swimming and how she grew up swimming at her local pool in Brixton. Now she is teaching her daughter as she believes it’s a crucial skill. Speedo is on a mission to help more children learn how to swim (according to the advert, one in four can’t). A commercial partnership that has heart, story and mission – and it was really successful. A must watch for everyone (ENGAGEMENT RATE 7%).
10. Sasha Ellesse X Shein: the fast fashion giant is never not doing the rounds on Instagram and this was a straightforward campaign. A dress styled well by Ellesse plus a discount code for her followers (ENGAGEMENT RATE 7%).
11. A’Whora X Pretty Little Thing: you know the drill, a killer look and a sassy caption (ENGAGEMENT RATE 7%).
12. Sandy Breitmeier X Camden Market Munch Club: the food and travel YouTuber shared a Reel promoting the initiative’s £5 meal promotion. Street food has never looked so good (ENGAGEMENT RATE 6%).
13. Jalal Sameja X Bad Brownie: the fitness influencer produced a “What I Eat In A Day” Reel promoting the bakery’s Keto range (ENGAGEMENT RATE 6%).
14. Kim-Joy X Honor UK: the Great British Bake Off graduate created a Tiger cake to celebrate Lunar New Year, discussing the significance of food in Asian culture (ENGAGEMENT RATE 6%).
15. Kenza Boutrif X Kerastase: the fashion influencer and model produced a Reel demonstrating the impact of the brand’s hair serum. Snappy and effective (ENGAGEMENT RATE 6%).
By Sara McCorquodale, CEO and founder of CORQ. Picture credit: Remi Sade/ Speedo.
