Posted by Did you know that more than 90% of marketers agree that customers trust user-generated content more than the content created by brands?
Moreover, reposting content is a great way to fill your account with new content consistently. This explains why more and more brands are thinking about how to repost on Instagram right.
Instagram users often worry about falling into the trap of copyright issues when it comes to reposting content. These worries are valid.
However, does that mean that you should steer clear of reposting content altogether?
No.
Provided you repost on Instagram right, you can:
- Increase trust and credibility
- Nurture a close-knit online community
- Grow brand awareness and reach
- Boost audience engagement
Want to know the best part?
You can reap these benefits at little to no added cost.
We’ve put together some rules and best practices so that you can distribute your users’ content the right way.
Ready to up your Instagram marketing game?
Keep reading.
How to Repost on Instagram Legally
First things first, what do Instagram’s guidelines say about reposting content on the platform?
They clearly state that the moment one creates an original work, they have a copyright for it. The guidelines go on to specify what classifies as copyright infringement, and how to avoid the same.
Long story short, here are two steps you must take to avoid violating Instagram’s copyright infringement guidelines:
Step 1: Ask for Permission
Instagram’s policies clearly state that you can share another user’s content if you have explicit permission for the same.
But how exactly do you ask for permission?
One way is to simply ask the content creator via the comments section of the post.
However, if you want to use a more personalized approach, consider sending them a DM. Let them know how much you love their content, and that you’ll give them their due credits in the post.
If you want a quick response, you can even leave a comment on their post, asking them to check their DM.
Step 2: Give Due Credit
Simply seeking permission isn’t enough if you want to repost on Instagram right. When reposting content on Instagram, make sure you give credit to the content owner.
You must have seen big brands such as Airbnb and GoPro follow this practice.
Image via Instagram
A simple credit line like this can also go a long way in helping the owner grow their Instagram audience fast.
Asking for permission and giving credit is much easier than you think.
Besides, if your approach is right and fair, most people will be more than willing to let you share their posts.
How to Repost Content on Instagram
So you have received permission to repost content. Now what?
Depending on your preference, there are two ways you can use to repost on Instagram right.
Let’s take a look at both.
Option 1: Use a Third-Party Tool
Lucky for you, there are many online content posting tools that offer the reposting feature.
Some of the most popular ones are Sprout Social, Buffer, Repost for Instagram and Hootsuite. Based on your needs and budget, pick a tool of your choice.
The steps you must then follow are pretty straightforward.
Here’s a quick rundown of them:
Step 1: Identify a photo or video you want to repost.
Step 2: Click on the (…) icon, and tap ‘Copy Link.’
Step 3: Open the third-party app you’ve chosen. The post you copied the URL of should automatically appear on the home page, like this:
Step 4: Choose what you want to do with the post. Do you want to add it to your Instagram Stories, send it as a message, or post it to your feed?
Step 5: Once you’re ready to share the post, tap ‘Share’ as you usually would.
Option 2: Take the Manual Route
If you don’t want to use third-party tools, you can always repost on Instagram manually.
How?
By following these steps-
Step 1: Take a screenshot of the image you’d like to repost.
Step 2: Crop and resize the image to cut out unwanted parts.
Step 3: Add a caption if you want, and credit the original poster by typing “@ + [their username].”
Step 4: Lastly, hit ‘Share.’
However, the disadvantage of this approach is that you won’t be able to repost videos on Instagram.
Repost on Instagram Right: 6 Best Practices
Now that you know how to repost on Instagram the right way, let’s look at some of the best practices you should follow, apart from seeking permission and giving credit.
1. Make Sure the Content Matches Your Aesthetic
Instagram is a visual platform that’s all about aesthetics. So, make sure you repost content that fits with your account’s vibe. It’s a big mistake to repost anything and everything.
Creating an outline of the kind of content you want to repost is a good place to start.
List down content types, relevant hashtags and themes, and more, so that you don’t deviate from what matters to you.
Take a look at the way Airbnb maintains consistency across all of its user-generated posts:
All the visuals are made up of subtle, pastel, or earthy hues.
2. Add Value to Your Reposted Content
Reposting content is generally much easier than creating original content from scratch. For example, How to start a blog to make money is a valuable guide for your audience and you can create content easily to share it.
However, you should strive to make that post your own by adding to it in some way.
For instance, don’t just stop at copy-pasting captions from the original post. Add at least a line or two from your end, followed by credits.
Here’s an example:
This will not just give more context to the reposted content, but it will also make it seem like you actually care to put in that extra effort.
Should you need any help writing engaging Instagram captions, feel free to use tools to improve your content.
3. Avoid Making Unnecessary Edits
Remember — even when you have the original creator’s permission to reshare their content, don’t change it so much that it loses its original vibe.
Simply put, keep edits to a minimum.
Try not to crop images or add filters in a way that completely changes the original image.
This might land you in trouble. In addition, it could deter other content creators from allowing you to reshare their content.
4. Create a Branded Hashtag
If you’ve spent any time doing Instagram social media marketing, you probably know how to use hashtags.
Many brands on Instagram come up with their own custom hashtag, also known as a branded hashtag. You can create a branded hashtag and encourage your followers to create UGC and use that hashtag to get their content featured on your account.
If you have a decent follower count, many people would be happy to get featured on your feed. In turn, you will get good user-generated content that you can repost on Instagram.
For instance, Lego’s #RebuildTheWorld campaign celebrates children and their creative problem-solving capabilities. The hashtag has garnered thousands of user-generated posts on Instagram over the past three years.
Branded hashtags empower brands to build their brand identity, spark conversations, sell products, and even create user-generated content.
Making people compete for a chance to get featured is a smart way of taking permission for reposting content in advance.
5. Use a Mix of Original and Regrammed Content
An account that only features reposted content is a mere repost account.
Of course, this might work for certain accounts; for instance, Instagram meme accounts. But if you’re a brand selling a product or service, you’ll want to do more than just that.
Creating original content should still be your primary focus for your brand awareness. Sharing UGC should be more about sharing customer feedback and building credibility.
6. Share Influencer-Generated Content
Influencer content is not just of high quality, but it can also go a long way in generating social proof.
So, if you’ve run an influencer marketing campaign in the past, make sure you use the content that influencers generated if you have the right to do so.
You can even repurpose influencer content by optimizing it for Instagram and adding a value-loaded caption to it.
Take a look at how personalized skin and hair care brand Bare Anatomy does it:
How is this different from user-generated content, you may ask?
Well, people trust the opinions and recommendations of influencers. Because they are seen as experts and thought leaders in their niche, influencer-generated content is generally much more impactful.
However, it is important to find the right influencers and have a solid influencer marketing strategy to generate high-quality influencer content. If you don’t have the necessary resources in-house, you can take help from a professional influencer agency like Get Hyped or a consultant.
Ready to Repost on Instagram the Right Way?
As you can see, reposting content on Instagram can be incredibly beneficial to your brand. What’s best is that it can help you reach a bigger online audience without much effort.
And who doesn’t want that?
Make sure you experiment with different types of user-generated content to find out what’s working best for your brand. After all, what works for your competitor may not work for you.
You can try some of the Instagram stories hacks to increase engagement.
And most importantly, always stick to the right way of doing things. It would be best if you followed the steps mentioned in this article to avoid landing yourself in legal trouble.
Do you have any more questions about how to repost on Instagram right? Feel free to leave your comments in the comments section.