It's a tech company rite of passage. As Facebook's and Twitter's ad businesses matured, they opened certification programs for ad- and marketing-tech vendors. Now it's Instagram's turn.

Earlier this year Instagram made it possible for ad- and marketing tech providers to build tools that marketers can use to manage their brands' Instagram accounts, find content to post to those accounts and buy ads on Instagram. More than 100 companies have built such tools, and Instagram has picked 40 companies to certify and join its new Instagram Partner Program.

"Now that that ecosystem is blossoming, we want to make it really easy for partners and the companies that are building these tools to get visibility," said Jim Squires, director of market operations at Instagram. "And we want to make it easy for businesses and marketers that want to connect with partners to understand what each of the partners does."

Instagram is certifying companies in three categories. The ad-tech category includes companies that make tools for brands to buy, plan and customize their ads for Instagram. The community management category includes companies that offer tools for brands to manage their Instagram accounts. And the content marketing category encompasses companies whose tools can be used by brands to find content to post to their Instagram accounts.

In addition to the attention boost, Instagram plans to provide certified vendors with training through Facebook's Blueprint education program as well as resources around how to best use Instagram for business purposes.

There are no economic requirements for a company to gain entry into the partner program, Mr. Squires said. The only requirements are that a company proves its technology is proprietary, demonstrates market leadership, offers resources to marketers, has a successful track record and participates in training, according to an Instagram spokeswoman. While Instagram has picked an initial 40 companies to certify, other tech providers can apply for approval into the program.

Marketers will be able to visit a dedicated site to find out more about each of the companies in the Instagram Partner Program. The full list is also available below with companies sorted by category. Curalate, Percolate, Salesforce and Sprinklr are listed multiple times because they were approved in more than one category.

Ad Tech

• 4C
• Adaptly
• adMixt
• Adobe
• AdParlor
• Adphorus
• Adsmurai
• Ampush
• ADTZ
• Bidalgo
• Bornlogic
• Brand Networks
• CitizenNet
• Esome Advertising
• Facelift
• Glow Digital Media
• Kenshoo
• Kinetic Social
• MakeMeReach
• Nanigans
• Salesforce
• Septeni Original
• Smartly.io
• SocialCode
• Sprinklr
• Marin Software
• Torchlight
• Unified
• Wisebirds

Community Management

• Conversocial
• Curalate
• Expion
• HootSuite
• Momentfeed
• Percolate
• Salesforce
• Spredfast
• Sprinklr
• Sprout Social

Content Marketing

• Curalate
• Flashstock
• Olapic
• Percolate
• ReFuel4
• Salesforce
• Tongal