Collaborative Content

Collaborative content refers to any type of social media content that is co-created, shared, or produced through the combined efforts of two or more individuals, businesses, influencers, or organizations. The content that these collaborators create together is more potent than anything they could do alone—which is why this is such a popular strategy among brands, and for good reason. The content can take many forms;for example, a brand can partner with an influencer to co-develop an Instagram Reel that combines the influencer's message with the brand's. If two creators wanted to take their partnership to the next level, they might co-develop a series of TikToks that surf in the same space their individual accounts occupy.

Key to understanding collaborative content is that it is not just about two accounts boasting or even half-heartedly supporting each other. The partnership should as a rule be a genuine and good one, delivering more than just a good 'look' on either side—because with digital content, appearance and substance are inextricably linked. Collaborative content is a phenomenon bound up with the principles of social media marketing and influencer marketing, for sure, but it's hardly an uncontextualized or ahistorical drone through which to view these practices; nor should the viewer of a piece of collaborative content regard it as an undeservedly shiny now of good social media practices.