Re-Posting User-Generated Content on Instagram
All small businesses should know that content is key. Content marketing is the first step towards building a lasting relationship with your customers. A company’s content works to educate consumers about available products and services, which paves the way for a positive buyers experience.
But, as we all know, creating new and innovated content every week for every platform can prove to be a tedious and complicated challenge for many businesses.
In an attempt to save original content, yet still have an active online presence, many businesses have turned to the power of re-posting.
Re-posting user-generated content on Instagram means sharing customer’s photos, videos, and stories. Re-posting content can fill your Instagram feed with stunning content for no extra cost or efforts.
Curating user-generated content can be an extremely effective marketing strategy, but only if companies follow the rules and re-post legally.
Ask Permission
When a consumer posts an Instagram featuring your product, handle, hashtag, and any other branded feature, that content is considered valuable free marketing material. The most important aspects to remember when re-posting user-generated content is asking for permission.
If your company is interested in re-posting a photo or video on Instagram, be sure to ask the creator for post permission, either in the comments or through private direct messages. If the user agrees, you are free to post the content for your own marketing purposes.
With the development of Instagram influencers and creators, who make a living off publishing quality content for specific brands, the consequences of illegally re-posting content can be drastic.
In return for posting about products and services, brands typically pay influencers a percentage from the leads or sales generated from their posts. If this agreement is not in place, or permission is not granted, before re-posting occurs than companies can get in major legal troubles for stealing content.
Finding User-Generated Content
The most successful method of finding quality content is by checking your tags, mentions, searching relevant hashtags, and simply scrolling through the home feed or explore page.
For companies that sell specific products and services, utilizing tags, mentions, and hashtags might yield better results. For businesses who simply wish to post content that relates or matches a specific theme, exploring hashtags and feeds will be a successful route as long as you know what you are looking for.
Credit The Creator
Most creators happily allow companies to re-post their work, so long as they give credit where credit is due. A simple shout out to the original user is never enough – it is always best practices to tag the user, which provides a physical link by to the creator’s page.
A good rule of thumb to remember is: always give credit in the image and the caption.
If you would like more information about avoiding a social media crisis, need help managing a social media disaster, or other digital marketing services please contact Pink Dog Digital at (410) 696-3305, email us at info@pinkdogdigital.com, or visit us on the web at www.pinkdogdigital.com.