A Guide to Using Instagram Collab Posts to Boost Visibility

Published on 10.02.2026 by Chizoba T

With over 2.4 billion active users, Instagram ranks among the top social media platforms. This also makes it a good choice for brands looking to engage with their audience. However, as Instagram's organic reach declines and brand competition increases, there is a need to be creative in boosting visibility on the platform.

One way to increase your brand's visibility on the platform is to leverage Instagram collab posts. In this article, we will guide you on how to integrate Instagram collab posts in your social media strategy.

What is an Instagram Collab Post?

In late 2021, Instagram introduced Collab post features, enabling two creators to co-author a post or reel that appears on both creators' profiles to increase IG engagement. That means the original author of the post or reel can invite others to collaborate, or both can publish a post from multiple accounts.

This feature is a good choice for encouraging collaboration across accounts, while offering significant potential for brands or individual content creators. When two accounts collaborate on a post, you can expect:

The post header prominently displays the names of both creators and provides credit where necessary.
The post will appear on both feeds’ accounts and be visible to everyone following those accounts. This can ensure that both audiences can see or interact with the post's content.
The comments, reviews, and likes generated by the post will appear on both accounts.

Any two people on Instagram can create a collaborative post, whether they use a public or private account, as up to 20 accounts can make the Instagram collab posts.

Difference Between Instagram Collab, Tags, and Mentions

Mentions and tags on Instagram are key for giving shout-outs to other accounts and acknowledging them; however, Instagram collab posts take the game to the next level. When someone tags or mentions your brand, it's an informal mention with no other impact beyond the mention.

Collabo posts, on the other hand, are a form of partnership where both accounts collaborate to create and share content in an organized way. Having such collaborative posts helps showcase the synergy between the partnering accounts and enables deeper engagement among followers.

When two accounts co-create content, it leads to deeper engagement from followers. That means co-creating is an effective way to leverage each other's strengths and create more memorable, impactful posts. Collaborative posts can, therefore, have higher engagement and reach than tags, as they are perceived by the target audience as more genuine and authentic.

When you collaborate on a post, you are essentially introducing yourself to each other’s followers, which can result in more customers and followers. This can help increase your brand awareness, visibility, and growth. Therefore, collaboration differs from tagging and brand mentions in that it is usually mutually beneficial and visible to the profile's followers.

While both the collaborators' profiles appear at the top of the post, the original creator is highlighted below the added media. It's an excellent tool for influencer marketing because when you collaborate with an influencer using the collaborator feature, your name and the influencer's will be displayed on the post.

As a creator, you can accept or decline a collaboration request. You can also receive the request via the Message tab in the far-right corner of the main feed.

Benefits of Using the Instagram Collab Posts

If you are wondering if it's worth investing in the Instagram collab post, here are some benefits:

Higher Reach

Through the Instagram collab post, you can reach your collaborator’s audience, therefore increasing your brand's visibility beyond its usual audience. This improved exposure allows the brand to gain more followers and higher engagement, which can increase brand awareness among its unique customers.

For instance, Rolex collaborated with Wimbledon, enabling the brand to reach the tournament's large fan base. The collaboration was successful, with one of its recent posts reaching 60,000 likes.

Leveraging UGC for Brand Authenticity

User-generated content can be an excellent tool for ensuring authenticity. Even when you are working with influencers, having real customers recommend your brand can offer a more persuasive and authentic form of influencer marketing. This is because their trust often stems from real experiences, which customers trust more than advertisements. In fact, UGC can impact buying decisions more than an influencer campaign.

Take time to check out the images and reels customers are tagging your page with. Go through the posts to find the most authentic ones that align with your brand’s mission and values. Then, you can contact these profiles for an Instagram collab post opportunity.

Increase Content Creation

After collaborating with another Instagram process, you can get ideas from their creativity and content creation process. This can offer a unique perspective that resonates with the target audience. For instance, if you have a brand that sells cameras, you can collaborate with photographers to gain insights into their aesthetic and visual storytelling. We recommend you check out our guide on Instagram stories content ideas.

Increase ROI on Your Ad Campaign

Each amount spent on promoting an Instagram post will yield the desired results. With customer acquisition costs rising quickly, you can use collab posts to boost your ad campaigns. According to a recent influencer marketing survey, 63% of consumers aged 18 to 34 find an influencer's messaging more trustworthy than a brand's. That means using ads to boost a collab post can improve your ROI.

Reduce Duplicate Content

When you co-author content, you help creators and brands distribute content easily without having redundant content. Additionally, you will have access to shared analytics to see how your best-performing reels or posts are doing.

Better Community Building

Hashtags such as #ShotOniPhone have enabled brands to foster a sense of community by encouraging users to share videos and pictures taken on their iPhones on Apple’s forums. You can collaborate on Instagram with accounts that tag your brand while ensuring you use hashtags effectively.

For instance, if you are a fitness brand, you can launch a 100-day running challenge and collaborate with other participating customers. If you are a food brand, you can showcase the recipes you created and engage with other users to showcase their cooking skills.

Save Content Creation Time

When you create all your content, you might get to a point where you encounter writer’s block. This is why it can be helpful to take a break and use content created by others. Through Instagram collaboration posts, you can reduce the pressure to regularly brainstorm and create content from scratch. Through content collaboration, you can get new ideas you might not have thought about earlier.

Increase Your Instagram Shop Sales

If you have just begun using shoppable posts, collabo posts can help you increase your conversion rate.

Steps in Creating an Instagram Collab Post

To create an Instagram collab post, start by logging in to your Instagram account and tapping Create New Post. You can then invite an influencer or brand to collaborate before you publish. Before creating an Instagram collab post, you need to understand the following:

You cannot invite a collaborator after a post is published.
The account setting of the original author applies, as they are the original creator of the post.
Only the original creator of the post can edit it, but not the collaborator.
For the post to be shared on the collaborator’s feed, they need to accept the invitation.
Collaborators can withdraw from the collaboration at any time.

Once you have accepted the above, follow these steps to create the Instagram collab post.

Begin by launching the Instagram app and tapping the plus sign at the bottom.
You can now choose the type of content you would like to create for the post: a single image, a collection of photos, or videos.
Once your content is ready, you can add a caption. Then click the tag people option before adding the post details.
You can now add a collaborator to the post by tapping the invite collaborator button.
Type the username of the person you will be collaborating with. After their name appears on the list, tap it.
To add the collab tag to the right place, drag it around. You can then click done after you have finished.
Add any other setting to the post. Tap the Share button to make the post go live.

How to Collaborate on an Instagram Reel

An Instagram reel collaboration can offer a unique chance of leveraging other people’s creativity to ensure a wider reach. When using an Instagram collabo in a reel, you should remember the following:

Have some clear goals. Start by determining the exact goal you need to achieve from the Instagram collaboration. This can be increasing brand awareness, increasing engagement, or promoting a particular product.
Be creative. Ensure you align with other collaborators to increase authenticity and consistency in the reel's content. Discuss different visual styles, themes, and ideas to ensure an impactful and cohesive reel.
Use viral reels. Leverage the potential of a reel to go viral and create one that resonates with your target audience. Add some trending hashtags, sounds, and challenges to increase your audience.
Be consistent in your communication. Coordinate with your partners in the collaboration. From idea brainstorming to video filming and editing, effective collaboration and communication will enable you to create outstanding reels.
Engagement optimization. Make sure the reels you create are informative, entertaining, and relatable to drive engagement. Also, encourage engagements such as comments, shares, and likes to increase reach and visibility in the collaboration.
Foster a community. Engage with your audience to foster a sense of community. You can do that by asking questions, responding to comments, and encouraging your audience to participate. When you build a community around the reel, you can increase engagement and loyalty from your followers.

How to Accept an Instagram Collab Post

On the other hand, if you are invited to a collab post, here are the steps to accept it:

You will receive a notification on Instagram as a pop-up, in the DMs, or in a feed alert. The notification will appear in the same way as a tag or mention.
When you click on the notification, you will be taken to the post that you are invited to collaborate on.
You can tap Review on the post preview screen. This will enable you to review the collaboration.
You can accept, cancel, or decline the invite. If you choose to cancel, this notification will remain in the DMs.
Once you click the Accept button, the post will go live on your profile and the original creator's profile.
After the post goes live, you can interact with it like any other post by commenting, liking, or sharing. This will help to improve its performance and show your followers that you are part of the colab.

Key Features of an Effective Instagram Collab Post

To make sure your Instagram DM is effective, follow these steps:

Understanding Your Target Audience

Gain key insights into your audience's preferences and demographics. This information will help you select the right collaborators and ensure your content resonates with your target audience. You can leverage the built-in Instagram analytics feature in third-party social listening tools.

Choose the Right Collaborators

If you are working with influencers, ensure they align with your target market’s needs. In addition to your own research, you can use third-party tools such as Sprinklr to discover influencers and identify potential partners based on audience overlap, brand affinity, and engagement rates. Take time to research the influencers most suitable for brand collab posts, and remember that some influencers may have a high follower count but still be unsuitable for a collabo post.

Focus on Creating Relevant Content

You want to ensure your collab post aligns with the creator's aesthetic and values. Having such a level of consistency can give you a common ground with your audience and increase your social media engagement, so be creative with the content you want to collaborate on.

Avoid relying solely on product photos; experiment with user-generated and behind-the-scenes content instead. These can be great ideas for ensuring your collab posts remain fresh and engaging.

Track the Impact of the Collab Post

Pay attention to your social media metrics to determine whether your Instagram collab posts are delivering the desired results. If the collaboration is producing meaningful results, it can be considered successful. Some of the key metrics when tracking the performance are:

Total engagement. Consider the total number of comments, saves, shares, and likes across the different accounts.
Reach expansion. This metric shows the total unique accounts of the profile of the collaborators.
Performance comparison. This shows the performance of Collab Posts compared to solo content.

Content Planning and Scheduling

Content can be an essential tool for planning and scheduling collab posts to reach the right target audience at the right time. For instance, a brand that sells sports merchandise can schedule its collabo post with athletes during a major sports event such as the Olympics. This can ensure maximum visibility of their content, resulting in higher engagement.

AI Automation Tools

You can improve efficiency and automate repetitive tasks by leveraging advanced AI capabilities to respond to audiences quickly and boost engagement. AI tools can provide you with content ideas tailored to your brand's needs and current trends. Whether it's creating captions using ChatGPT or resizing your image using Canva, you can leverage AI tools to take your collab posts to the next level.

How to Troubleshoot Common Instagram Collab Post Problems

At times, you will encounter problems when dealing with Instagram collab posts. Some of the most common are:

Lack of an option to invite collaborators. If you can't find the option to invite collaborators, ensure your account is public or that your Instagram account is updated. You should also have a Creator or Business account, not a personal account.
The collaborator doesn't get the invite. When you send a collaboration invite, this goes to the direct messages or activity feed. If the collaborator didn't receive an invite, verify that you chose the correct username. Ask the collaborator to check either their DM or activity feed.
Inability to accept a collaboration invite. In any given post, you can only invite a maximum of three collaborators. Therefore, if you are unable to ask one, check if you have reached the possible limit.

In Conclusion

Instagram collab posts can help you reach a new audience and increase engagement with your posts. Whether in the form of joint product launches, discounts, and giveaways, or influencer marketing, there are different content collaboration post ideas. It can, therefore, be a good strategy for lead generation on Instagram reels. If you are getting started, our detailed guide will prove helpful.