How To Source User-Generated Content On Instagram
Image Source: Pinterest
Whether your business is brand new, or you’ve been around for some time, sourcing content on Instagram is a great way to level up your brand’s online presence. When you source user-generated content, you’re accomplishing two main things: you’re adding content to your library that YOU didn’t have to create (hello time saver) and you’re getting your target audience involved, which makes them want to engage with you account even more! If that sounds like a win-win, you’d be 100% correct.
Before we talk about the steps needed to source, let’s break down some Instagram best practices for when you reshare someone else’s content.
#1: Ask permission to reshare. While this isn’t followed by brands 100% of the time (and honestly the legal on this subject is confusing), it’s a sign of respect when you ask before taking. Yes, if you’re having flashbacks to your mom telling you to ask before you take, that’s exactly what we wanted you to think about.
#2: Always credit, always. To take that one step further, don’t bury the credit at the bottom of your hashtags or in a separate comment. You don’t have to put it at the beginning of your caption, but it should be very easy to find. You also want to make sure to tag the creator in the actual photo. Thankfully, with platforms like Later, you can do this before setting your post to go live!
#3: Do not edit the pice of content, in any way. Imagine how you’d feel if you spent time creating a beautiful photo, with just the right edit and someone reshared it with a heavy filter on it. You’d be irritated, right? If you want to share this content but it doesn’t align with your aesthetic, consider creating a separate Instagram highlight and sharing it to your stories instead.
Can you tell that we are passionate about this subject?! We create and source content for our clients every single day, and these best practices keep everything in check.
Now let’s dive into the 2 main ways you can source content on Instagram.
Tagged Photos, Mentions + Branded Hashtags
If your brand sells physical products, you can heavily rely on this being one of your main sources of user-generated content. If your product is unique and adds value to their life, chances are they will share on social. Dependng on how big of an impression your product left on a customer will determine whether that’s a shoutout on stories, a hashtag mentioned in the caption of the post or a full tag on their feed. Remember, even though the customer has tagged you in the photo, it’s best to ask permission.
Community + Location Hashtags
After you’ve created your hashtag “buckets” (blog post on this coming soon), you’ll have a list of hashtags that represent your industry, community, and the locations that you want to target. Sourcing content from these hashtags is a great way to add to your content library. It’s okay if they haven’t tagged you in the photo or used your branded hashtag, these are the accounts that haven’t found you yet BUT fit the bill for your ideal audience. It’s even more important on these pieces of content to ask permission for use because they’ve likely had no contact with you. They don’t know who you are!
Bottom Line: User-generated content can be one of your strongest social marketing assets if done correctly. Follow these steps we’ve outlined above and you’ll be well on your way to growing you account with an audience who actually cares what you are sharing!
For more information on working with the Insight Social team, click HERE to contact us!