Instagram has finally introduced an in-app repost feature that allows users to share other people’s posts and Reels directly to their own followers’ feeds – no third-party “regram” apps needed. This long-awaited update (rolled out globally in August 2025) essentially gives Instagram a “retweet”-style function, something marketers and creators have been eyeing for years.
So what does this change mean for businesses? In this post, we’ll break down how Instagram reposts work and explore the opportunities they create for brands to deepen audience connections, curate content, and expand their reach in new ways.
What Is Instagram’s New Repost Feature?
Instagram’s repost feature allows any user (business or personal) to reshare someone else’s public post or Reel to their own feed with just a tap. Until now, the platform only supported sharing others’ content via Stories or DMs – meaning feed sharing was a cumbersome process often requiring screenshots or external apps. Now, with the repost button (two circular arrows forming a square icon), content can be shared natively and will show up in your followers’ feeds as if you posted it, labeled with a small “[username] • Original post” attribution to credit the original creator. All your reposts are also saved in a dedicated “Reposts” tab on your profile, so anyone visiting your page (and you yourself) can browse the posts you’ve reshared.
In essence, Instagram has joined the ranks of platforms like X (Twitter) and TikTok where resharing content is a core feature. (TikTok introduced a similar repost function in late 2021.) To use the feature, you simply tap the repost icon underneath a feed post or Reel, add an optional note or reaction in the little thought bubble (if you want), hit repost – and voilà, that content is now shared with your followers, with full credit given to the original poster. Only public accounts’ content can be reposted, however – private posts are off-limits for resharing. (Instagram also provides an opt-out in settings if you really don’t want others resharing your content, but most brands will welcome the extra exposure!)
Now that we know what it is, let’s dive into why this update is a big deal for businesses and how you can take advantage of it in your social media strategy.
Greater Reach Without Extra Ad Spend
One of the most exciting impacts of the repost feature for brands is the potential for massively expanded reach. When someone reposts your content, it can now be surfaced to all of their followers – even people who don’t follow your account. In other words, every repost essentially serves as a personal recommendation of your brand’s content, opening the door to new audiences without any paid promotion. As Inc. Magazine put it, this update “gives brands… increased opportunities to grow their audiences”, since compelling posts that followers feel inspired to share can “expand their reach far beyond their follower count.”. If your business posts something informative, inspiring, or entertaining enough that others repost it, you’re effectively tapping into a network effect where your message fans out to circles well beyond your immediate community.
This organic boost in visibility is especially valuable for smaller brands or those that don’t have huge ad budgets. Now your Instagram posts have a chance to go viral in-network. A clever call-to-action can encourage your followers to repost as well – for instance, a marketing professional might add, “If you found this tip useful, hit the repost button to share it!” to a particularly helpful post. It’s early days, but many social media strategists predict reposts (or “shares”) will become a key engagement metric to watch, perhaps even more telling than likes. The bottom line: great content can travel farther on Instagram than ever before, making it more important to create posts people want to share.
Building Trust Through Authentic Content
Beyond raw reach, reposting opens up powerful possibilities around user-generated content (UGC) and social proof – which are gold for building trust. Consumers today crave authenticity in marketing. In fact, 84% of people trust peer recommendations more than ads, and nearly 79% say user-generated content significantly influences their purchasing decisions. This means that content created by real customers or fans tends to carry more weight than polished brand-created promos. With the repost feature, brands can much more easily incorporate UGC into their feed by resharing posts from customers, fans, or employees.
When your brand reposts a happy customer’s photo or an influencer’s genuine mention of your product, it comes off as more relatable and credible than a traditional ad. You’re essentially letting real users do the talking for you – and that kind of social proof can directly translate into business results (indeed, one study found 82% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that regularly uses UGC in its marketing)
A Client Example – Tanaka PDX
Consider the example of Tanaka PDX, a Japanese comfort-food eatery in Portland and one of our clients. Tanaka’s social strategy already encourages diners to tag them in posts – you’ll see captions like “Tag us next time you visit – we love seeing what you order!” on their feed. Now, with the repost button, Tanaka’s team can easily share a customer’s mouth-watering photo of their signature katsu sando sandwich or a rave review from a foodie influencer directly onto Tanaka’s own Instagram grid.
This not only provides fresh, authentic content for Tanaka’s followers to enjoy, but it publicly spotlights customers and makes them feel valued. A follower who gets their photo reposted by the restaurant is likely to become an even more loyal advocate (and their friends might take notice too!). Such reposts are effectively customer testimonials in visual form – a powerful trust signal to potential new patrons scrolling through Tanaka’s profile.
Boosting Engagement
Not only do reposts make your feed feel more community-driven, they can also boost engagement rates. People tend to interact more with content that feels organic and created by peers. In fact, Instagram posts that feature UGC get up to 70% more engagement than those without, according to one analysis. Why? Because it resonates as authentic and fans love seeing themselves or others in the spotlight. Plus, when you repost an influencer’s content, you’ll likely get both your followers and the influencer’s followers engaging – a double win for reach and engagement. Brands that regularly highlight their community (like fitness apparel brand Gymshark, which often reshares photos and videos from fans working out in their gear) effectively turn their Instagram presence into a community hub rather than just a brand billboard. This strengthens loyalty: followers feel heard and included, not just marketed at.
Tip: When you do repost UGC, always add a warm caption or note to give context or appreciation. For example, “We love this photo from @happycustomer – thanks for spending your Friday night with our product!” This personal touch reinforces that there’s a human behind the brand account who values the community.
Brands as Curators: Sharing Posts that Fit Your Mission (or Humor)
Another exciting aspect of the repost feature is that it empowers brands to become content curators, not just content creators. In other words, your Instagram feed doesn’t have to be 100% original content anymore – you can strategically share posts from others that align with your brand’s mission, values, or sense of humor. This opens up a lot of creative possibilities to showcase what your brand cares about and engage your audience in a broader cultural conversation.
Think about Dr. Staci Whitman (@doctor_staci), a board-certified pediatric dentist (and Sproutbox client) known for her holistic approach to dental care. Her Instagram is full of educational reels about kids’ oral health, nutrition, and fun tooth facts. With reposting, Dr. Staci can easily reshare a great post from a fellow pediatric health expert or a relevant wellness infographic that her audience would find useful – adding her own commentary to it. For instance, if a medical journal’s Instagram shares a helpful graphic about how diet affects children’s teeth, Dr. Staci could repost it with a note like “Love this explanation – sugar truly is the cavity culprit!”. By doing so, she provides value to her followers (with credible content she didn’t have to create from scratch) and reinforces her mission of educating parents on healthy dental habits. It also shows humility and community spirit – she’s not just promoting herself, she’s amplifying others’ knowledge in her field for the greater good of her audience.
Of course, curation should be done thoughtfully. You’ll want to repost content that truly resonates with your brand voice and audience interests. Random or off-brand shares might confuse your followers. A good practice is to ask: “Does this post reflect our values, humor, or the lifestyle of our community?” If yes, reposting it could enrich your feed’s story. If not, skip it. Also, consider adding your perspective in the note (even a brief “This made our team laugh out loud” or “Couldn’t agree more”) to frame why you chose to share it. This keeps the reposted content connected to your brand’s narrative.
Lower Content Burden (and New Collab Opportunities)
Maintaining a consistent stream of original content on social media can be hard work, especially for small marketing teams. The repost feature offers a welcome relief by enabling cost-effective content creation through curation. Instead of producing every post yourself, you can fill out your content calendar by leveraging high-quality posts from others (with their permission implicitly given via the public repost feature). This not only saves time and resources, but oftentimes, it can improve your performance metrics too.
Another big win is in the arena of influencer marketing and partnerships. Instagram reposts make it frictionless for brands and influencers (or brand ambassadors) to boost each other. If you collaborate with an influencer who posts about your product, you can now repost that to your feed in one tap, instantly sharing the influencer’s take with your followers. This cross-posting exposes your audience to the influencer’s content (which they may find engaging since it’s a trusted voice outside the company) and also gives the influencer extra visibility when you tag them. It’s a mutually beneficial cycle: the influencer gains followers and credibility from being featured by a brand, and your brand gains social proof and potentially some of the influencer’s audience’s attention. Everyone wins.
For example, imagine Tanaka PDX partners with a local food blogger. The blogger creates a gorgeous Reel reviewing Tanaka’s new seasonal menu. In the past, Tanaka could only maybe share that Reel to their Story or repost by downloading and re-uploading (which is tedious and loses the original engagement stats). Now Tanaka can simply hit repost, and that Reel shows up on Tanaka’s feed for all their followers, labeled with the blogger’s handle and linked to the original post. Tanaka’s followers get to see an authentic review from a trusted foodie, and the blogger gets exposure to Tanaka’s followers (some of whom might follow the blogger for more). It’s seamless cross-promotion. Likewise, influencers can repost a brand’s announcement to support a campaign, say a charity initiative or a product launch, ensuring the message reaches far beyond the brand’s follower list.
Finally, consider how reposts might spark user engagement campaigns. Brands can now run contests or challenges where the entry or participation involves reposting. For instance, a brand could announce “Repost this post and tag us for a chance to win a gift card.” Previously, contests relied on Story shares or hashtags, but a feed repost is more visible and lasting (until you remove it). This could drive a viral loop if many followers repost your contest or cause-driven post. Of course, such tactics should be used judiciously to avoid spamminess, but the possibilities are intriguing.
Best Practices and Things to Keep in Mind
As with any new feature, it’s wise for businesses to approach Instagram reposting with a strategic mindset. Here are a few tips and considerations to make the most of it:
- Balance Original and Shared Content: Reposts are fantastic, but don’t stop creating original posts that showcase your brand’s unique offerings. Aim for a healthy mix. For example, you might pepper a few UGC reposts and curated shares in between your regular programming. This keeps your feed authentic and on-message.
- Choose Reposts Strategically: Only share content that aligns with your brand and will interest your audience. Ensure the tone and style fit your feed. If you’re a family-friendly brand, you’d repost a heartwarming customer story or helpful parenting tip, not an edgy meme with questionable language. Stay on-brand.
- Add Your Voice: Take advantage of that optional note feature when reposting. A short caption or comment from your brand can provide context or a takeaway. E.g., “We absolutely agree with this post – hydration is key!” or “Throwback to this amazing moment our community created!” It personalizes the repost and clarifies why you’re sharing it.
- Acknowledge the Original Poster: The app will credit them automatically, but it’s good etiquette to show appreciation. You might say “Thanks @originalcreator for this insight.” This fosters goodwill, especially if it’s a customer or small creator. It shows you value their content.
- Monitor Engagement and Feedback: Keep an eye on how reposted content performs. Do your followers engage with UGC more than polished ads? Which reposts get the most shares or comments? Use that insight to refine your content strategy. You may find, for instance, that behind-the-scenes posts from employees, when reposted, get tons of love – a sign to include more “human” content.
- Stay Respectful of Content: Generally, if someone’s post is public, reposting is fair game (and likely flattering to them). But if you’re ever unsure about sharing someone’s content (perhaps a sensitive personal story, etc.), it’s okay to shoot them a quick DM to ask or at least to inform them you loved their post and are resharing it. Most will be thrilled!
- Opt-Out Exists: As noted, Instagram does let users disable the ability for others to repost their content in settings. Very few brands will use this (since the goal is usually more sharing, not less), but be aware the feature is there. If you notice you can’t repost a particular user’s post, they might have turned off “Allow Reposts.” And as a brand, make sure your own setting allows sharing – you wouldn’t want to accidentally limit your fans from amplifying your content.
Finally, remember that quality and relevance rule. The novelty of reposting alone won’t make a mediocre post perform better. You still need to create or curate content that strikes a chord with your audience. The repost feature is a powerful amplifier – but what it amplifies is up to you.
Deeper Connections & New Possibilities
Instagram’s addition of a repost button represents a significant shift in the platform’s culture – from one of siloed content gardens toward a more open, interconnected community. For business owners and marketers, this opens up exciting avenues to strengthen relationships with your audience. You can now more easily celebrate your customers, showcase authentic stories, and engage in two-way sharing. In doing so, brands become less of a corporate monologue and more of a community facilitator on social media.
It’s also a chance to expand your reach in a way that wasn’t possible on Instagram before. A small boutique with 5,000 followers could have a post reposted by a local influencer to their 50,000 followers, instantly putting the boutique in front of a new crowd. Multiply that effect as more people share, and you can see why some are saying this feature “will definitely change how content spreads” on the platform. As one social media observer noted, it might even “single handedly change Instagram forever, giving small business owners and creators a powerful pathway to amplified reach.”
Of course, time will tell how businesses adapt and how users respond (will feeds become cluttered with reposts, or will high-quality content rise to the top more than ever?). But if the success of sharing-centric platforms is any indication, the repost feature could be a game-changer for engagement on Instagram. Brands that embrace it early and smartly – by encouraging shares, reposting community content, and generally weaving it into their content strategy – stand to build stronger brand loyalty and a wider audience.
In social media, the most meaningful connections often come from shared experiences and conversations. Instagram just made sharing those experiences a whole lot easier. So go ahead: experiment with reposting content that inspires you and your followers, and invite them to do the same with your posts. It might just supercharge your Instagram presence and create deeper bonds with your community. Happy reposting, and happy connecting!
Sources: Instagram/Meta Newsroomabout.fb.comabout.fb.com; Inc. Magazineinc.com; StackInfluence Blogstackinfluence.comstackinfluence.com; Hindustan Times Techhindustantimes.comhindustantimes.com; MyMobileIndia Newsmymobileindia.com. (And shout-out to our clients @tanaka_pdx and @doctor_staci for exemplifying how businesses can leverage these social media changes!)