Reposts come to Instagram: How brands and content creators can benefit

New Delhi: Instagram has launched its repost feature that allows users to share public Reels and grid posts directly to their own followers' feeds. 

With this update, reposted content will now appear in a dedicated tab on user profiles and remain permanently visible, unlike Stories, which disappear after 24 hours.

The global rollout began on August 6 and is aimed at enhancing engagement across the platform for brands, businesses and creators.

The repost button, which appears below eligible posts in the form of a circular arrow icon, enables users to amplify content from other accounts while preserving attribution. A short note can be added to the repost, which is then visible to the sharer’s followers in their main feed as well as within a new 'Reposts' tab on their profile.

Impact on brands and marketers

For brands, the feature presents a powerful organic distribution tool. Any user, including fans, partners or employees, can now reshare branded content, allowing campaigns to travel further without the need for paid amplification. Since reposted content retains its original links, visuals and credits, it maintains the integrity of the brand message while expanding its reach.

The repost mechanism also qualifies for algorithmic recommendations, which means a single share could significantly increase a brand’s visibility beyond its immediate follower base. This is expected to influence social media strategies, with marketers likely to incorporate repost prompts into their content plans and encourage employees and partners to participate in campaign amplification.

The addition of default attribution also provides a layer of protection against plagiarism and makes it easier for brands to support user-generated content initiatives. However, the same mechanics that help amplify campaigns could also accelerate the spread of negative content. Marketers will need to strengthen their monitoring frameworks and prepare for faster response cycles.

Opportunities and cautions for creators

For influencers, the feature opens up new discovery and collaboration avenues. A repost from a large brand or celebrity can help creators, particularly those with smaller followings, access a much wider audience. This could lead to new forms of partnerships where reposting becomes part of a paid deliverable.

Instagram plans to introduce more granular analytics that will separately show reach and engagement for reposts. This could help creators better demonstrate value to brands, especially in performance-based campaigns.

At the same time, there are concerns about overuse. Excessive reposting could reduce originality and impact user experience. Influencers known for curated content may need to strike a careful balance between native posts and shared content in order to retain authenticity and avoid audience fatigue.

Strategic intent and broader context

This update reflects Instagram’s wider push to make the platform feel more personal and community-driven. Internal data presented during Meta’s antitrust trial earlier this year revealed that only 7% of user interactions on Instagram involve posts from friends. With the repost feature, Instagram hopes to restore social behaviour and encourage more peer-to-peer amplification, much like what already exists on TikTok and X.

According to Instagram’s Help Centre, reposted content will be visible in a dedicated tab on user profiles, making it easy to track and revisit shared posts. The platform has also urged users to be mindful of copyright and seek permission when reposting content from creators they are not directly tagged in.

The repost button is now available to most users and is expected to become a key element in Instagram’s evolving engagement toolkit for both brands and creators.