4 Must-Do’s Before Reposting Content

Did a customer post a photo of your product or service? Or, did you see another user's image that totally fits your brand? Before you repost, make sure you're following the right reposting etiquette.

Using other people's content is an excellent strategy for filling your feed with beautiful content. Plus, every post with your product or handle created by your customers (or potential customers) is valuable free marketing for your business — especially when you re-share it on your account.

But if you want to start curating your feed with other users' content, it's essential to understand proper reposting manners so that you can protect your brand and treat other creators fairly.

Here are some etiquette rules you should remember to follow:

Rule "#1" Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due

It's incredibly frustrating when you scroll through Instagram or Facebook and see your content on another user's page with no credit given back to you. Giving credit is the easiest and most important way to make sure you protect your brand and share the love with others.

How to give credit?

• Tag the person who originally created the content at the end of your post. Ex: "photo by @UserName," or use the camera emoji 📷

• Include the credit in your caption. Ex: "Isn't this photo by @UserName amazing!!!"

• Add the user's handle to the image itself. The credit is built into your photo, but you should still tag the creator in your caption.

• Don't forget to mention them in your stories.

• Tag them in the photo so the post will appear in their tagged photos on IG.

Rule "#2" Just Ask!

Ask for permission! It's straightforward:

• You can DM the user or comment on the post, asking if you can repost.

• Some more prominent companies will leave a comment with a link to guidelines and ask them to respond "yes" if they agree. You can check out Zoom's Agreement here.

Rule "#3" Don't alter other people's content and try to pass it off as your own

We talked about transparency in our last blog 6 Tips to Achieving Authenticity in Your Social Media Marketing. This move is a big no-no on openness. How can you expect customers to trust your service or product when you are not transparent and real yourself? #amiright

If another user gives you permission to repost his/her content, do not alter it for your own purposes (i.e., add a filter, crop, etc.). It's like a slap in the face to the creator to completely rework their content.

Rule "#4" Don't use others content for promotion

Caveat: Unless... you have permission and the creator knows their content will be used for promotion.

Your brand can get in trouble quickly if you use someone else's photos for ads or paid campaigns without his/her knowledge.

It's all about asking for permission and openly crediting the original creator!

Creators have the right to know what their content is being used for and who uses their content, so just be transparent! It's a compliment to love someone else's content so much that you're willing to repost it, so just be open and honest.

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