Buffer Launches Instagram Reposting Feature

Out of all the social media scheduling tools out there, Buffer is bae for me. It’s easy to use, it’s interface is appealing, and it’s compatible with pretty much every social media outlet. And they’re changing the game again by adding the feature of Instagram reposting. Yes, I will give you this moment to fully appreciate what this means and get excited.

Via GIPHY

Why Are We Getting Excited?

In a world where people respond to things that are more visually appealing, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat have really taken off for connecting people to brands in more intimate ways. Instead of cold marketing and advertisements with people we don’t know or care about, the usage of these social media outlets has brought a new face to the marketing and advertising worlds. Buffer making it 1-step easier to re-post these images is big because it makes engaging with these brands or people that much easier.

How Does Re-posting Affect Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

According to eMarketer.com, 48.8% of brands currently use Instagram. This is expected to almost double in 2017 with the numbers being in the 70th percentile. Instagram is a big deal now but it’s expected to become an even bigger deal next year as it pertains to marketing. The anticipated growth is based on the current success with engagement experienced by brands currently using it.

But the real question you may be asking is how this can fit in to your own Instagram strategy. Here are some tips on how to make this happen:

1. Use it how you would with the retweet feature on Twitter.

When you’re at an event and do a search for the related hashtags, repost images that are inline with your own aesthetic. The great thing is that you can see the event through a different lens while engaging with someone else that was there.

2. Help to create your own aesthetic.

One of the more popular strategies of more popular Instagrammers is to have a color palette. But in order for your strategy to be successful, regular postings is a must and let’s be real, sometimes it’s hard to get the color balance you’re looking for. So finding pictures that fit in with your aesthetic works wonderfully as you aren’t having to sacrifice your look and you’re engaging with others while introducing your followers to a potentially new account.

3. Repost to get the attention of a brand you want to work with.

Whenever I pitch a brand that I’d like to work with, I research them on their social media accounts looking for what they’re current business focus is on. What better way to support them and show your interest than to re-post their content?

It’s important to note that while this re-post feature is all sorts of awesome and amazing, it can also open the doors for picture piracy. When re-posting other people’s/brand’s images, please be sure to do the following:

• Get permission/notify the owner that you’d like to use their photo.
• Give the original owner credit through tagging.
• Don’t make any changes to the original wording. You can add your own but don’t change what they had.

How do you see this new Buffer feature fitting in with your Instagram strategy?