Can You Use Influencer Content About Your Brand? The Short Answer Is No
When speaking to influencers about their experiences when working with brands, one of the biggest and most common issues is the use of influencer content following the campaign. Many brands and marketers wrongly assume that when an influencer shares an image about your brand, either organically or as part of an organized engagement, that image can then be
used, shared, edited and repurposed in any way and distributed. Unless otherwise confirmed and approved by both parties, using influencer content in any way is a breach of copyright, which can ultimately land you in serious trouble.
Unfortunately, it happens more than you think, and certainly, more than it should, in the influencer marketing space.
So, to help you understand the grey area that surrounding the use of influencer content following a campaign, we have put together the following guide. Next time you want to share or use an influencer image in your own social or content marketing, whether that be regramming on Instagram, featuring on your onsite blog, adding to the product page or using in an email marketing campaign, make sure you follow this guide to avoid infringing copyright.
Acceptable usage of content
When working with influencers, they will no doubt be creating and sharing high-quality content as part of the campaign. This content is not automatically commercially available to the client and should not be used without prior permission. The below is the best practice in the industry for any content posted during the campaign.
Remember, you don’t own the content!
If an influencer has created content for you, you can:
Regram/repost the image onto your own social media but always credit the Influencer by tagging their ‘@’ handle in the caption and image.
Do not
Alter the image in any way with filters, editing software, or text
Use the image in any advertising
Use the image on your website to sell products or services
Screenshot — the influencer will be happy to provide the original image so that your social media reposts are not pixelated or compressed!
Commercial use
If you would like to use any of the influencer images commercially, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the influencer as this can be explored further. Typically, additional costs will apply for purchasing the copyright of an image so you can use it commercially across platforms.
If you have commercial usage rights you can:
Alter the images to suit your campaign
Use the images in advertising
Use the image on your website to sell products or services
The influencer still owns the image and can use it as they see fit unless agreed otherwise, the best policy is to be as specific as possible if you want to limit the use of the image.
The best policy is, if you are unsure, just ask! Influencers love working with brands and are often open to helping you get the most out of your campaign.
