While scintillating, original content should always be the aim for any of your social media channels, let’s get real- sometimes it’s impossible to produce enough. Rather than drag your brand down with low-quality posts, a quality reshare from influencers inside your industry can be a smarter choice. Yet only a minute on Instagram and you’re likely to notice the ‘share’ button isn’t exactly conspicuous- in fact, it’s non-existent!
From sharing a pithy industry post to re-sharing your customer’s content for your brand, that poses quite a sticky problem. What’s a smart brand manager to do? Here’s Zebra 360 Online Marketing’s top tips for content re-sharing on Instagram.
Check Your Permissions
Attribution and permission are the keys to any content sharing.
Because Instagram has made attribution harder than usual, getting that permission is even more important than usual. Especially as it is a visual-heavy platform.
There’s nothing more classless than simply screenshotting and re-sharing someone else’s content without their knowledge – and not giving them credit. Believe us, you’ll likely get caught, too. Technically, content theft (as published content is covered under copyright acts) can also get you sued, so take it very seriously!
There’s a few ways you can get them to see the post – and give credit where credit is due. Credit them in the caption, or thank them for the content in your post. BUT the best way to do it though, would be to simply send a quick DM off to the source, let them know why you want to re-share the content, and you’re 100s. This has a profound benefit, too – you’ll likely be able to ask for the original image, keeping quality high.
We’d also caution you to check that the account you’re sharing from is public to start with. While a private profile may let you reshare something, they probably don’t want the attention.
Add That Attribution
As we mentioned above, the other important step is attribution.
Make sure your audience know this is someone else’s content. Not only does this protect you (and them) under copyright laws, it’s polite- and people will notice. If you have a history of fairly acknowledging fellow content-creators on your platform, others will be more likely to feel comfortable with you using their work. Imagine the quality sources you will have at your disposal then!
This doesn’t have to be a massive deal, either. Add something like:
Photo by @(username)
Or use the ? emoji in a similar way.
Want to take it a step further? The #repost or #regram hashtag was specifically designed for this purpose.
Correctly resharing content on Instagram ethically and legally really couldn’t be easier, despite the lack of a native ‘share’ button. With these quality tips for Instagram resharing under your belt, the (content) world will soon be your oyster.
Remember, Zebra 360 Online Marketing are the local content experts, so feel free to get in touch with the team to revamp your Instagram strategy today.
