This practice is called "Repost" and consists of republishing a photo of a user on your own profile or page, giving them credit for the image.

Using User-generated-content is an excellent strategy for having content on Instagram that does not entail costs for the brand and, on the other hand, convey an idea of ​​trust and openness to other potential customers.

However, Instagram Repost seems to be in a gray area in legal terms, not being very clear whether it is legal or not. If your brand is about to republish content from your followers or if you already do, but do not know the Instagram Repost rules, read this article.

1. Always give credit to the photo owner

Repost's first rule is to give credit to the photographer or owner of the image. Identifying him/her in the photo is not enough, you should write in the description of the photo to whom the photo belongs. There's no getting around this rule: using another person's photo without the proper credit is theft and can bring legal issues to your brand as well as leave bad impression on your followers.

2. Ask permission to republish the photo

Before republishing another person's photo, you must also ask permission to do so. Here are some questions: For example, if a person has identified my brand in a photo, does that mean that he/she gives me permission for my brand to reuse the content? When in doubt, it is best to always ask the user directly.

Users are generally happy to have their picture republished by a brand, as the resulting exposure is usually associated with an increase in followers.

3. Create User Generated Content Terms of Use

Creating a Terms of Use document is also a good way to protect your brand. Take Airbnb as an example: almost all the publications of the platform of rental of real estate are republications of photos of clients.

To avoid problems, Airbnb requests permission to republish these photos in the users' profile through comments by sending a link to its Terms of Use. Responding to Airbnb's comment with a hashtag defined by the tag (#Airbnb), users give Permission for the company to publish its content.

If you choose to use this strategy on your company's Instagram page, be sure to follow these rules, which protect your brand from any legal issues.