Consider your Instagram account to be like a magazine … editors, writers and photographers must all be credited for their contributions to the publication. Loads of work goes into creating content so credit should be given where it is due.
Same goes for Instagram, particularly if you are a service based business OR a product based business using ‘filler imagery.’ Properly crediting an original source is so important. Here’s how to go about it dependent upon where the image was sourced…
FROM ANOTHER INSTA ACCOUNT
If you are reposting an image which you found off another Instagram account, be sure to tag the account in which you retrieved it from. By tag, we don’t mean that hidden tag that only shows up when you tap the photo. We want you to clearly state within the caption, the handle of the account where the image came from.
Sometimes an account may have reposted an image which already credits the original source. If this is the case, and you’d like to repost the image as well, be sure to use the original source in your credit.
PINTEREST
Oh my, Pinterest is a tricky one. Personally, we love sourcing content from this platform to repost on Instagram, however finding the original source can sometimes be difficult. It may take some serious internet stalking / google image reverse searching to locate the source.
If however you are unable locate the source, simply state in the caption that the image has been sourced from Pinterest – thus eliminating any confusion that may arise should someone believe you are trying to take credit for an image you did not take yourself.
FREE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY SITES
The great news about using stock photography sites is that you can use the images on your social media, blogs and EDM’s without having to credit. Photographers voluntarily upload their images to these databases for people to use, free of charge. The source is usually stated however so if you’d like to credit, then you totally are able to do so.
As for paid stock photos – if you’ve bought the images then feel free to use them as you please!
A few months ago we reposted an image for a client of ours. The image was sourced from a photographer’s Instagram account. Of course, we credited the photographer appropriately which is why we were surprised to receive a message from him asking us to pay for the image we used on Instagram. Bear in mind, there was no copyright disclaimer on his account OR on his website.
What should you do if you ever find yourself in this situation?
Well, at the end of the day – it’s his photos. We could either pay a hefty sum, or just let it go. To avoid a big fuss, we apologised and deleted the image, which he was happy with.
It’s not often you’ll come across a scenario like this. Generally, content creators on Instagram are happy for their content to be shared as long as it’s appropriately tagged, as it gives their work exposure and credibility.
Most of the time you’ll be trying to do the right thing, so don’t feel alarmed if someone tries to passive-aggressively have a go at you for reposting content.
Need a hand with managing your Instagram account? We can source all the images for you (and credit them accordingly!) Contact us to find out how.
X Cat
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