Digital Rights and Regramming
Assuming you have, have operated, or have seen Instagram, the likelihood that you have encountered a regram or repost is almost guaranteed. Similar to Facebook’s “share” and Twitter's “Retweet”, “Repostng” or “Regrammng” is a way to share content created by someone else on your personal or business account.
Generally, the content can be found due to tags that are industry specific or tags that you personally searched for. This is a great way for Instagram broaden the contents original audience, by making content generally more universal.
WHY #REPOST?
Business owners, did you know that 59% of millennials claim that they use User Generated Content to inform their purchasing decisions? That they trust UGC 50% more than content generated by brands? Beyond being more trusted, it has been said to be more memorable as well.
“Why is this?” you might ask. The answer is simple. Rather than be sold to via ads or direct marketing, they would rather purchase items recommended by a trusted friend. When we look at this objectively, of course, you would be more likely to buy something if someone you know or trust has had success with it. The sale feels more genuine, and you know that the review given isn’t because they are reading from a prompt, or have been paid to promote the item. This re-establishes trust in your brand and company and generates more conversions.
This is fascinating because generally, companies invest a lot of time and money into marketing campaigns and advertisements to reach their current and potential customer base. Now, with a branded hashtag, and community engagement you can share more trusted and generally better-received content at a fraction of the cost all with better ROI. Those “millennials and their smartphones” aren’t too big of an issue now, am I right? They have found a way to learn more about their purchases from sources they are most comfortable with. This is similar to word of mouth marketing but on a global scale.
HOW TO PROPERLY #REPOST
Just as in all things in life, there are guidelines to follow. Considering that you are pulling from your pool of customers, you want to ensure you are taking appropriate measures, and not infringing on their digital rights. Digital rights and best practices are a social contract that everyone is expected to participant in and abide by. If you don't, “Bye Felicia” - you misused your customer bases trust, and that is a hard thing to rebuild especially when considering the internet is forever.
Best Practices
ALWAYS ask for permission. There are a few ways you can do this:
Send them a direct message - explain who you are, what you intend to do with the content, and that you will tag their handle in the #repost
Comment on the post - tag them to ensure they will see the comment
Email - you can generally find the email associated with the account on their profile
Once permission is granted, tag the original content creator in your regram. Though there are a TON of ways you can do this, we listed a few of the most common:
📷: @username
#Repost via @username
📷 by: @username
What a wonderful post by @username
Feel free to get creative with tagging, but never omit it since it’s critical to give proper attribution!
Don’t edit their original post too much. Over-editing will eliminate the authenticity of the content and will look like direct marketing rather than letting the product and review speak for itself. Some general guidelines to avoid the need to edit is to find content in which the photo/video AND description match your brand.
OUR FAVORITE REGRAMMING APPS
We think regramming should be an essential part of your social media strategy. If it isn't already, you definitely need to integrate it! For more advice, or help on your social media journey, visit our website!