Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... I do love me a controversial topic, and this blog post definitely falls into this category. Depending on your views and uses of Instagram, you may be one of those who vehemently denies the use of stock photos on Instagram. Or, you may be one of those who finds it a reliable to solution to minimal content options. Or, you may be confused all together and not sure what you are allowed to do when it comes to posting stock photos on Instagram.

Before I bombard you with my thoughts on this topic, let's first look at what Instagram actually has to say about this, because, you know, legally protecting yourself and whatnot.

So, back in the day, Instagram had clear rules in their Terms of Service that stated you were only allowed to post content that you exclusively owned. This meant you could not post content you hadn't created or owned the copyrights to. Of course, regramming and other photo sharing practices introduced a gray area into this conversation.

Now, Instagram states "You are solely responsible for your conduct and any data, text, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, links and other content or materials (collectively, "Content") that you submit, post or display on or via the Service."

Ok, I'm not a lawyer by any means, but basically, Instagram is saying that you are responsible for anything you post to the platform. Therefore, if you post something that you don't have the legal rights to share, you are legally responsible for the restitution of that legal course of action.

So, yes, Instagram is technically saying you can post anything you want on your profile and it doesn't violate their ToS. However, that doesn't mean you can just go around using any old piece of content you find out there in the interwebs.

Finding an image on Google (or other search engine) and saying "this looks good" does not qualify as finding content that you have the rights to use. There are a ton of things you need to consider about copyrights and posting content that is owned by others onto anything related to your business, including your Instagram account. I won't dive into this too much here, but you can read this previous post with a bit more information on the legalities of regramming others' content on Instagram.

The reason I won't dive into this here is because we're talking about stock photos, which typically avoid any copyright concerns because they are royalty free, or you have purchased the images, covering the cost of the royalties, and therefore, owning the content for commercial use. So let's talk about that for a second... When you purchase a photo from a stock photo site, or download one from a free stock photo site, you are verifying that you have attained the rights to use that image, most of the time without being required to provide attribution to the original photographer, and that the image may be used for public and commercial distribution. This thereby releases you of any implication in residual fees that would be need to be paid to the content creator, in the event it could be shown that you generated revenue from using their content.

Sound scary enough yet? 😉 It is! But as long as you make sure that you are sourcing content that is royalty free, does not require attribution, and that you have the right to use it for personal or commercial use, and that it can be edited, copied, or distributed, then you're good! It sounds complicated, but these terms are listed on any stock photo site that you visit.

Ok, so now that we have legal implication out of the way, let's say you find a site that offers these types of images and now you want to use them on your Instagram account. Should you? If so, when?

In my opinion, no, you shouldn't use stock photos on Instagram.

Before you go freaking out, hear me out for a second.

I am a BIG believer in authenticity online and for your branding. And for all the preaching we hear about authenticity, we don't really see that much of it.

Think about it.... profile photos are filtered and edited. Post captions are carefully edited to sound better than normal. Our lifestyles are displayed in only the ways that make us look glamorous or better than others. Marketing content is edited and manipulated to put only the best positive perspective out there. Websites are loaded with stock photos that show perfection and unrealistic ideal standards.

Our lives and brands have turned into glossy magazines with unrealistic ideals.

Sorry if I sound cynical, but seriously though, it's true.

Because when you meet people in real life, they look nothing like their profile photos. They're sitting at home in smelly sweat pants eating chips out of the bag on a Saturday night. Brands are struggling to make revenue goals. Employees don't love the companies they work at. Well, not all the time, but you know what I mean!

And for all the beautiful, perfect Instagram accounts out there that are full of beautifully staged, stock photos, that's not what their brands actually look like in real life (most of the time).

Honestly, I'd rather see your best photo on Instagram. One that genuinely represents your brand, your styling, your vision, your voice. It may not be as perfectly staged as a stock photo. It may not have perfect lighting. But if it's your best content, and you have a purpose behind that post, that will speak volumes to your audience. Much more so than another perfectly staged stock photo.

Alright, so you listened to my ramblings, and maybe it altered your opinion slightly on the idea of using stock photos in your Instagram strategy. But maybe you still can't pass up the justification to use stock photos to some extent.

Fine.... I'll give in. Here are the select few situations and caveats I have for using them. Oh, and some alternative options too!

Fillers

Look, I get it. Sometimes you just don't have enough of your own content to stay on top of your Instagram posting schedule. Especially if you're managing the account on behalf of the company and you can't readily get your hands on quality content. So, having a back up of stock photos can help save the day.

Ok. I agree. BUT, these "filler" images with stock photos should be significantly limited in use. I'm talking one in every 10+ posts to Instagram. They should be a last resort. Also, the photos need to be well aligned with your account's styling and voice. Having stock photos that stand out completely against the rest of your content will not help your brand. Fortunately, today, there are a ton of resources out there that provide non-stock-photoy type images that look more "real" and less cheesy.

An alternative though is to create your own stock photos. Take time to do your own photo shoots (even with your own smartphone) to create stock photo type content that you can pull from at any time. The next time you're out walking your neighborhood, take photos of the scenery or local areas that you can use as your own stock images. Get creative and start thinking about photography every time you have your phone handy!

Promotional Content

Let's face it, sometimes a great promotional piece is so good that you want to post it to your Instagram account (or you're required to). And it probably has some stock photo as the base. I know, it happens. I also occasionally use stock photos in my blog post images - which I then share to Instagram. So, yes, promotional content can actively incorporate this content.

But, let's not overdo it, ok? We all know promotional content shouldn't dominate your Instagram strategy. And, your audience doesn't want to see that kind of content in their feed all the time. Instead, taking one of your own great photos, telling a story, or including some background, and then including a great call-to-action in the caption can be even more effective.

Those are quite honestly the only two reasons why I feel you would want to include stock photos in your Instagram strategy. What do you think? I'm open to a healthy debate on this topic! Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.