Setting the Record Straight: How to Repost on Instagram

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Let’s be honest: coming up with engaging, original content for Instagram isn’t always easy. Even when you have a top-notch content strategy in place, it’s always a good idea to shake things up every now and again.

One of the best—and simplest—ways to do this is by reposting others’ Instagram content to your own account.

Despite the popularity of reposting—or regramming, as it’s called on Instagram—there still seems to be a lot of confusion regarding how to repost to Instagram.

How do you do it properly? Even more importantly, how do you make sure you don’t get in trouble when you do it?

Don’t fret—we’re here to set the record straight.

How to Regram

There are a couple of different ways you can repost a picture on Instagram, so that’s a great place to start. First, you can do it manually. The process is pretty simple. After you find a photo that you’d like to share on your own account, take a screenshot. It’s important to remember that when you screenshot, you’ll also have the rest of your phone screen in the photo, too.

Before you post it, you’ll need to crop out the unwanted parts of the image using your phone’s editing tools or when you upload the image to Instagram. Once the image has been uploaded, you can simply enter your caption and share your post, just like you would with your own Instagram content!

The other way to repost Instagram content is by using a third-party app to automate part of the process. We’re going to talk about a number of different apps you can use in this blog to bypass the need to manually copy and paste every post.

Important note: whenever you repost a photo be sure to give credit to the original creator. You can do this by either DMing the account or commenting on the photo asking permission to repost the picture. You must wait for their approval before you post. Once you have permission, you still need to tag the original account either in the photo or in the caption to give them credit. If all of your photos are reposts, you can take a shortcut and not ask every time but you must make it clear in your bio that the photos are not your own and give credit to the creator in each caption. Check out our Instagram to see how we do it!

Finding Regrammable Content

You have several options available for finding quality content to share on your own account. One of the simplest methods is to monitor content that either tags your own account, uses a branded hashtag or was uploaded at your store’s location. These photos most likely highlight users enjoying a positive experience with your brand, combining social media with word-of-mouth advertising.

While you can invite users to submit their photos to your account at any time, one of the best ways to generate high-quality user-generated content is to run a photo contest. After all, few things encourage user engagement like a prize!

By incentivizing photo submissions, your users will be far more likely to submit their best photos, which will increase your overall account engagement and provide more than enough content to fulfill your posting needs—in fact, some companies have gone so far as to only share user-generated content.

You can also watch hashtags that are related to your brand or industry. Maybe someone isn’t sharing about your particular product, but they have a great inspirational piece of content you know your audience would love to see. Consider regramming that type of content, too! Following or checking on hashtags is a great way to find content to regram.

Finally, consider partnering with non-competitive brands in your industry. Whether your products or services are complementary or if you just share a similar target audience, consider reaching out to other companies in your industry. You can promote each others’ content to get in front of a new audience. And, if you choose your partner wisely, you know the content you regram from them and what they share from you will resonate with your audiences. This can be a great way to grow your following and attract new customers.

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Asking Permission

The tricky part of reposting on Instagram is getting permission. Even if a consumer posts a picture of themselves using your product or eating at your restaurant, this doesn’t mean that they’re willing to have you share it on your own account.

Brands that simply repost any content that uses one of their branded hashtags can quickly find themselves in a dicey situation. There have even been lawsuits when companies have used social media photos without permission.

In other words, the saying “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” doesn’t apply for reposting user-uploaded Instagram content.

When an amazing photo pops up in your hashtag search, comment before you copy. Reach out in a personal way (this will humanize your brand), praise their photo, and then specifically ask for permission to use it on your own account.

If you’re running an Instagram contest, make sure that your contest rules clearly state that any submitted photos can be used by your brand.

Finally, when you post the photo to your own account, make sure to give credit where credit is due! Tagging the original photographer is essential Instagram etiquette, and it will only increase your post’s engagement.

These steps take only a small amount of your time, but they can help you avoid upsetting your followers—and that’s well worth the effort.

5 Third-Party Regramming Apps

So now that you know the etiquette behind regramming, let’s take a look at some of those third-party apps that can save you time and energy.

Using Repost for Instagram

Repost App is available on both iOS and Android, and it’s an easy way to copy over another account’s picture and automatically give them credit. Once you have the app downloaded, here’s what you’ll need to do:

Go to Instagram and find the post you want to regram. Click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner of that post. Click “Copy Link.” Open Repost App, and you’ll see the link you copied there. Choose the post you want to regram, then follow the prompts. You can add a watermark to give clear credit on the photo, or you can skip the watermark (but remember to give credit in your caption!). From there, click “Repost” and “Copy to Instagram.” Finalize your post in Instagram, then share it!

Using InstaRepost

InstaRepost is another option you can use that’s available on both iOS and Android. With InstaRepost, you have a completely different process to regram content.

Log into InstaRepost and give it access to your Instagram account. From within the app, search for the post you want to use. It’s helpful if you know the handle of the account that posted it. Or, you can search various hashtags directly from within this app like you would on Instagram. Once you find the post you want to repost, tap the arrow in the bottom left hand corner and hit “repost” twice. This will copy the photo to your camera roll. Open the Instagram app, and when you go to your library to upload a photo, this one will be there. From there, add your caption and anything else you’d like (don’t forget to give credit!) and post when you’re ready.

Using Buffer

Buffer, the popular Instagram scheduling app, also has a reposting ability built-in for its customers. You can do this with the Buffer app, available for iOS or Android. Since Buffer is a scheduling app, this is a great way to plan ahead if you want to repost content in the future. After you get permission from the content creator, here’s what you do:

Find the photo you want to repost within your Instagram app. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner, click Share and Copy Link. Open the Buffer app, which will automatically ask if you want to repost the content you copied to your Instagram account. Edit the caption and schedule a reminder for yourself. Buffer will remind you when you want to publish your content, and you can go in and post quickly.

Using DownloadGram

If you don’t want to download an app to repost Instagram content, consider using DownloadGram. There’s not a separate app you need to use, just a website: downloadgram.com. Here’s how it works:

Find the post you want to repost in Instagram. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner and click Copy Link. Open your browser and go to downloadgram.com. Paste the link and scroll down to tap the green “Download Image” button. When it takes you to a new screen, hit the download button located in the middle of your navigation bar at the bottom of your phone. Save the image to your camera roll. Open Instagram and find the image there. Add your caption, finalize your post and make sure you give credit to the original creator.

Using Regrann

Regrann is the only solution we’re listing here that isn’t available for iOS. Android users, listen up! Here’s what to do:

Find the image you want to repost within Instagram. Tap the three dots and choose “Copy Share URL.” Regrann will be triggered and you can choose to repost now, save to repost later or share with any other app that uses photos and videos. If you want to repost now, click on the Instagram icon and then make any changes or edits you’d like. To repost the original caption, simply press and hold on the caption screen, then click “Paste” and Regrann will paste the caption. Regrann will automatically add credit to the caption so you don’t have to worry about forgetting.

How Reposting Fits Your IG Strategy

Reposting can be a great part of any business or brand’s Instagram strategy. It can be a great way to mix up the type of content you’re publishing to keep your followers engaged and excited. Let’s look at four key ways you can use reposting to enhance your Instagram strategy.

1. Create UGC

User-generated content is one of the best ways to showcase social proof on Instagram. People trust other people, often more so than they trust brands. It’s easy for a business to say that they’re wonderful, but if another person shares that they believe in and love a particular brand, it becomes more believable.

Sharing user-generated content shows your followers that other people love your brand and are excited about your product or service. UGC is often some of the most creative, visually-appealing content. Instagram users can be incredibly inventive when it comes to making their content look interesting.

2. Establish Brand Partnerships

By working with complementary brands, or even influencers, you can reach new audiences with your content. Find a brand that doesn’t compete with yours but whose audience is similar to your target audience. When you promote one another’s content, you’re beginning to build that relationship while still reaching a new audience.

This can then evolve into a bigger brand partnership, that includes things like Instagram takeovers or perhaps an affiliate partnership, depending on the relationship between the two brands. Reposting one another’s content is a great way to begin a relationship with another brand.

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3. Host Photo Contests

Putting on your own photo contest can be an excellent way to get access to the user-generated content we discussed earlier. You can ask your audience to take and post photos for you that you know you’ll be able to repost. Make sure that in your rules you let your audience know that you might be using their content on your account. Depending on your brand, you could either offer the chance to be featured as the prize or another type of prize – a product giveaway, a call with your company’s founders or something else creative.

4. Promotion of Branded Hashtags

Branded hashtags, when done well, are a good asset for brands to have. They can help you sort through your own content as well as any UGC your followers may create for you. And, they can be especially helpful when you’re hosting a photo contest. Having one particular hashtag you use for the contest will help your followers see who else is posting and what they’re sharing, and it will help you easily access all of the entries.

10 Examples of Reposting Done Correctly

So now that we’ve talked a lot about how to repost and how to fit it into your Instagram strategy, let’s take a look at some examples of brands and accounts that have done it well.

1. In this repost, @poetic_realist_ gave credit both on the image and in the caption. They added their own comment above the original caption to give a bit more context, too!

2. Here, @seaworldmommy promoted a cake shop with this repost. She encouraged her followers to take action and order a cake for Father’s Day.

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3. In this repost, @healing_empathy_ shared a graphic that they knew would appeal to their audience and gave credit on the image and in the caption.

4. Here, @barchasf shared a photo posted by someone who got their hummus for takeout and shared about it.

5. In this repost, @beanandbearcreative reposted a product they designed for a client. Not only are they showing their great work, they’re also promoting brands they worked with on the project!

6. For a UGC example, look no farther than @gopro. They use reposts to showcase the great things their community is doing.

7. Here, @balancedbites didn’t outrightly say they were reposting, but they did give credit to the original content creator.

8. Even @instagram themself reposts content from users on the platform!

9. For beautiful photos of the planet, visit @discoverearth, where reposts of nature, people and architecture are common.

10. Finally, @livefolk showcase photographers from around the world and repost their adventure shots.

5 Reposting Best Practices

At the end of the day, there are 5 key best practices you should incorporate into your reposting strategy for Instagram. If you follow these five steps, you’ll be well on your way to rocking the reposting game.

1. Find the right content

Finding the right content isn’t always as easy as you may think. You want to share content your audience will be interested in and want to engage with to make the most of your efforts. While you certainly want to share posts that praise your company, sometimes a more subtle nod to your brand will work better in your feed. Also, don’t be afraid to try new things! Sometimes the experimentation can make your feed more exciting than ever!

2. Ask for permission

If you take nothing else away from this post today, please remember this. Ask permission to repost a photo before you do so. You can send a message or comment on the post, but wait for permission before you post. This is really important to protect your brand from any negative backlash, and it’s also common courtesy.

3. Use the best tools

You don’t have time to screenshot and edit every post you want to regram. Find a tool that works for you, whether that’s an app or website we listed here or one that you find elsewhere. Investing in the proper tools can make a major difference in the success of your reposting strategy.

4. Give credit

This is the other most-important thing we talked about today: give credit to the original poster. Even when you have permission to share, make sure you credit them either on the photo itself or in the caption. Again, this is a courtesy to show your followers who created this so that they can go follow them, too, if they love the content.

5. Improve your IG strategy

Adding a reposting plan to your Instagram strategy is already going to help you up your game. The more strategic you can be about the content you’re creating and posting, the more you’ll be able to attract followers who like you and increase their engagement on your account.

Wrapping Things Up

As you can see, there’s no great secret to unlocking the mystery of how to repost to Instagram. As you use branded hashtags, contests and other methods to find and share high-quality user-generated photos, you’ll be able to increase your engagement and build excitement for your Instagram account.