As a creator participating in a Later campaign, it’s important to understand how your content deliverables are connected to campaigns and how their performance data is gathered.

Some post types can be tracked automatically, through a process known as content binding, while others must be manually self-reported. This article covers how content binding works, when self-reporting is required, how to troubleshoot why a post isn’t being bound or tracked automatically, as well as frequently asked questions.

What is Content Binding?

Content binding is the process through which some posts can be automatically collected and displayed in Later. This allows the brand you’re working with to see your content, along with any associated performance and engagement data such as likes, comments, shares, and views. 

If your post type can’t be bound automatically, you’ll need to manually self-report it instead.

What Content Can Be Tracked Automatically?

The following table lists which post types support automatic content binding:

* Only when published through a unique link or linked to the campaign retroactively. Learn more

Instagram and Pinterest posts can be published following the guidelines below and they will be automatically tracked in the Live Deliverables section of your campaign manager within 24 hours.

TikTok posts must be published using a unique link provided by the brand, or be linked to the campaign retroactively—for details, see Publish TikTok Content For Campaigns.

Content that can’t be tracked automatically must be self-reported. If your content is not binding automatically for some reason (for example, due to a misspelled hashtag or profile connection issue), you can still self-report it as an alternative to automatic binding.

Ensure Content Binds Automatically

If your content draft has been approved, or if the brand hasn’t enabled a draft review, you’re ready to publish your content! To ensure your content will be automatically connected to your campaign, be sure to follow all of the guidelines below.

Connect Your Social Profile(s) 

Make sure your social profile(s) are connected to Later. The connections to your social profiles must remain active throughout the campaign (including when the post is published).

You’ll be prompted to connect any required accounts during the application process, and you can also check the status of your social profile connections from your Later settings.

If your account connection expires before posting, you’ll need to refresh the connection to maintain automatic content binding. Content from profiles with expired Later connections can’t be tracked.

Use the Binding Hashtags

Always use the campaign-specific hashtags, known as the binding hashtags, in your posts for a campaign. The campaign’s binding hashtags will be provided by the brand. You can also find them  in the Required Hashtags section of the campaign manager. 

Post Before the Due Date

Make sure your content is published before the campaign’s due date (if applicable) to ensure metrics can be bound and collected automatically.

Ensure It’s a Supported Post Type

Not all post types support automatic content binding—for a list, see above. If your post type can’t be bound automatically, you’ll need to self-report it instead.

One Campaign Per Post

A post can only be bound to one campaign. If a post is already bound to another campaign, it won’t be pulled into the new one.

Check Live Deliverables

After you’ve published your content, if it’s a supported content type and the guidelines above were followed, it will be pulled into the Live Deliverables section of your campaign manager. Most posts will appear within 2 hours, but in some cases it can take up to 24 hours. If your content isn’t appearing after 24 hours, you can self-report it instead.

Information Collected Through Content Binding

When your content is bound to Later, the following information is available to the brand:

Image & Video Files

Later captures your media at the same resolution as it appears on the social platform.

For higher-quality files, you might be asked to self-report original files directly to Later. For details, see Self-Report Campaign Content Manually.

Performance Data

Metrics including likes, comments, shares, views, and impressions are tracked. These will vary depending on the social platform and content type.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is content bound?

Later checks continuously for new content from participating creators. Generally, content is bound within 2 hours of posting, and performance metrics are updated automatically; however, it might take up to 24 hours for your post to appear in Later.

Later will continue to update the performance data of your content for at least 1 week (with the exception of Instagram Stories) after it has been bound. The specific time frames for different post types are listed below:

• Instagram Post: 1 week
• Instagram Reel: 1 week
• Instagram Story: 1 day (since all Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours)
• Pinterest Posts: 90 days
• TikTok Posts: 3 weeks

Do metrics include organic and paid performance?

Metrics for your content may include both organic and paid performance data, depending on the social platform’s API. For example, for Instagram, only organic metrics are available, and for TikTok, both organic and paid metrics are provided.

How is my engagement rate calculated?

Later calculates engagement rate using two methods:

1. For search-based reports (for example, when a brand sees a profile in the creator marketplace search results), Later calculates the engagement rate based on the number of engagements relative to the creator's follower count on recent posts (similar to public social platform metrics).
2. When you connect your profile for a campaign, Later reports engagement rates for the brand based on engagements divided by impressions, which is a more accurate metric.
   
   Note: Impression data is only available once your profile is connected to Later.

Do I need to manually self-report my content?

You will need to manually self-report content if:

• The content type can’t be tracked automatically, or
• Your published content isn’t binding to the platform after 24 hours
  • This could be for various reasons, such as a profile not being connected correctly, a network outage, or the incorrect binding hashtag being used

In some cases, the brand may also request that you self-report. Self-reporting involves manually uploading your content and entering its performance metrics in Later. For details, see Self-Report Campaign Content Manually.

My post isn’t being pulled in to Later. Why isn’t my content binding?

The most common reasons that your post isn’t being pulled into your campaign (that is, Later isn’t binding to it) are that it’s already bound to another campaign or something is wrong with Later’s connection to the social platform to which it was posted.

Here are some troubleshooting steps:

• Ensure you used all the campaign's unique binding hashtag(s) in your post—these would have been provided to you by the brand
• Check the connection status for your social profiles via your Later settings
  • If your connection is expired, you’ll need to refresh it for automatic content binding to resume
  • If you’re having trouble with Instagram content, you can also try resetting your Instagram connection to ensure Later has the necessary permissions
• If you only recently published your content, give it some time—posts might take up to 24 hours to appear in the campaign manager

If you’re still having trouble with content binding automatically, don’t worry—you can manually self-report your content and its metrics instead.