Get Noticed: How To Get Your Photos Reposted By Big Brands
Having your photos reposted on Instagram is a beautiful thing. It’s essentially free advertising and instantly exposes your brand to a new audience. Because the recommendation has come from the users already trusted source, they will most likely resonate with the content that you’re producing. And whenever we as consumers find new content on social media that is both interesting and relatable, we typically switch states from observer to follower.
From the brands point of view, content creation can be an expensive endeavour so reposting your photos to promote their brand is the ultimate, free alternative and they’re constantly on the look out for new, content-ready photos to take advantage of. You may not make millions from the exchange (yet, and this we’ll talk about this in another post…) but it can give your business a vital boost, especially in it’s infancy. If your photo is reposted by a brand that has 10k followers, that is good. If your photo is reposted by a brand with 500k then that is even better. Imagine all those eyes on your new business!
However, it’s time to come clean: there is no sure-fire way to get your photos reposted by big brands. But the good news is that you can pull out all the stops and follow these tips to give yourself the best chance of getting noticed by the big guns.
1. Take a good photo
Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised at how often people forget to consider the quality of work that they put out into the world. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone can be a professional photographer, nor should they be but everyone can still learn the necessary tricks to get the most out of the camera on their phone. No one is going to repost your bad photos and promote them in their feed so if you’re in need of some extra tips in this area, then try some of our previous blog entries linked here and brush up on your skills.
2. Target the right accounts.
Which brands are you targeting and why? Do your photos match the aesthetic of their feed? Does it relate back to your brand in a meaningful way? Does the brand even repost user photos!? Thinking these questions through will likely help you plan your approach. While it’s great to have any photo reposted by a larger brand, it’ll prove more effective for gaining new followers if the content is in the same vein as yours or has a similar aesthetic.
For example, if you’re a travel blogger and you’re hoping to have your photo reposted by a particular hotel, then you’ll want to highlight the positive aspects of that experience and reinforce their branding (color-scheme, brand voice, unique features within the space, etc). Be careful not to include any competing products or brands in the photo either and always remember to make it relatable and authentic to your own feed. Staying true to your brand voice while at the same time appealing to your target audience will only enhance your professionalism and legitimacy as a social media expert!
3. Tags on tags!
Tagging is the only way to directly connect your photo to your target brand. It’s likely that they will make use of hashtags and probably utilize a branded hashtag of their own. Find out and use them in your post. It’s extremely unlikely that the brand will stumble across your photo amongst the nearly 100 million posted to Instagram each day (seriously, that many!) so you want to do you research and make sure your photo turns up in as many localized collections as possible to maximize your chances of getting noticed.
It’s common for big brands to have multiple Instagram accounts, especially if they have more than one store or location and it makes sense to tag them all in the photo. And while we’re on the subject, make sure you use a relevant location tag. Tags on tags! But remember: no one likes a tag-bandit so only use the relevant ones- and it will look even better if you hide them in a comment below the post.
4. Credit where credit is due
This is where we need to talk about is the blurry realm of copyright. Simply put, the original content-creator always owns the copyright to the material unless it is formally passed on to somebody else. This means that no one has the right to repost your photos without your permission, which larger brands almost always do before borrowing your property.
This has become a bit of a grey area because of the mutual benefit that both parties receive from the exchange. While you may be elated that your photo is being shared across social media to a wide audience, you should always make sure that you as the creator receive proper credit within the caption or it defeats the whole purpose of having it reposted in the first place! And if someone has reposted your photo and you’re unhappy it, you are totally within your rights to request them to take it down or report it to Instagram.
5. Make a plan.
The last thing that I want to talk about is strategizing. All businesses need a business plan and any good business model will include a plan for a smart and modern approach to social media. Think about your goals for Instagram and how to achieve them and start ticking those boxes!
