Instagram officially introduced a new feature that allows users to reshare Instagram posts, greatly increasing the app’s value as a PR and marketing tool. The feature allows companies to reach larger audiences, gain new followers and increase awareness of their brands.
In addition, brands can share user-generated content, a potent PR and marketing tactic, and easily properly attribute the content to the original creators. Influencers and brands involved in influencer marketing will undoubtedly adopt the new feature with enthusiasm.
Substantial Source of New Followers
The potential source of traffic may motivate brands and influencers to create posts specifically designed to be reshared. Monitoring how audience’s share content and engage with posts will become even more important for PR and marketing.
To share an Instagram post in the feed to your story, tap the paper airplane icon. Tap “Add post to your story.” You can add commentary and move, resize or rotate the photo or video. When you share a post to your story, anyone who views it can see who originally posted it and tap to view the original. Resharing can only be done from public Instagram accounts, and users can also turn off the feature in the app’s settings if they don’t want others to reshare their posts.
The new feature is technically not the “regram” option some anticipated, as posts are reshared through Instagram Stories, not users’ feeds. Still, it offers important benefits.
The new ability, combined with other recently added futures such as the ability to follow hashtags, schedule posts, and add GIFs and polls, makes Instagram more attractive for PR and marketing. Instagram’s robust growth doesn’t hurt: The app has more than 800 million users and is one of the most popular social media platforms among millennials.
Instagram can help PR pros and marketers increase awareness of their brands, increase customer engagement and retention, connect with the media and influencers, increase sales and recruit new talent, says Gabby Howard, founder and CEO of Flaunter and former PR professional.
‘A Lucrative Part of Your PR Strategy’
“By leveraging the power of content to promote your product and tell your story, you can turn Instagram into the most lucrative part of your PR strategy,” Howard says.
PR pros can take advantage of Instagram to:
- Promote new products and announce when products are back in stock.
- Enter marketing collaborations with other brands.
- Offer behind-the-scene peeks at company facilities or events.
- Showcase company staff as a recruitment tool.
- Increase awareness of brands with hashtags that make their brands discoverable.
- Connect with journalists. Some journalists use Instagram to find story ideas and promote their work. Share their content on Instagram and tag the journalist to let them know you like their content
“Take followers behind the scenes to make a personal connection, it’s these stories that journalists are looking for,” she says. Tactics like double-tapping and tagging people help boost user engagement, and if reporters see people engaging with your brand, chances of media coverage increase.
Bottom Line: PR and marketing professionals may want to take advantage of Instagram’s new feature that lets them share posts to their stories. It’s likely to help PR pros develop relationships with journalists, and help brands obtain more followers and reach new audiences. As Instagram gains more users, more organizations will place greater priority on creating a stronger presence on the app.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
