Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Currently, social networks are essential for those starting a new business who want to differentiate themselves from their competitors and show their values. And to be able to stand out, in most cases, an ingenious text is usually not enough. And you know it… In this sense, images are essential to make your messages beat and give life to your social networks. In fact, and this is already pure statistics, 80% of marketers claim to use visual content on their professional social channels. More data ?: Studies show that tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those with only text.

So far everything seems clear, but when brands want to use images on their social networks, some doubts or even a sea of questions may appear. Can that image for an article on your website also be published on social networks? Do the photographer’s credits have to appear each time the image is published? Do your rights of use allow you to publish on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn without mentioning the source of the image?

In this article we will dismantle some of the most common misconceptions around image licensing for social networks; so if you want to create your content without any worries, read on.

Know your platform

The first thing to know is that each social media platform has its own terms and conditions. Pinterest, for example, requires the user to be solely responsible for everything they post. The company has a team that monitors and responds to copyright complaints, and on that basis will remove any images that do not have the rights to be published. Instagram also requires users to be solely responsible for uploaded images; which means that each user (including a brand) has to ensure that the rights of use are fulfilled or appropriately credit the original creator of the image. This network encourages its users to ask themselves the following:

• “Have I created all the content myself?”
• “Do I have permission to use all the content that is included in my post?”
• “Does the use of the content correspond to an exception regarding copyright infringement?”
• “Is the content protected by copyright?”

Remember that just because you can click on an image and save it to a folder on your computer, that doesn’t mean you have permission to use the content – doing so could expose you to a claim for copyright infringement . So if you want to use images from other photographers on your social networks, think about acquiring a license for it from a stock photo agency. Once you select an image, look at the fine print and make sure it includes rights of use for social networks and digital environment and, if necessary, the right of use for commercial or promotional campaigns.

Do not take memes as a joke

The content has evolved along with the social networks themselves. These channels have given a twist to the visual content by means of animation or manipulation, or what is the same with GIFs and memes. A fact: every day 23 million GIFs are published on Tumblr. But are they legal? While people have more freedom when it comes to posting GIFs or memes, both individuals and brands are subject to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) guidelines in the United States. These guidelines stipulate that the endorsement , sponsorship, or paid posting should be clearly acknowledged (hence the inclusion of “#ad” or “ad” in a growing number of posts). So if you want to use a stock photo in a commercial or endorsement campaign, it is important that you make sure that the images are licensed for commercial use.

When a brand publishes a GIF or a meme (or even retweets one of a user), this act could implicitly be taken as an advertising action (although it really is not) if, for example, a famous person or a celebrity star appears in that content. sport. GIFs and memes, although they have creative work from a third party and add a touch of humor, are still subject to copyright laws with respect to the original creator who, in most cases, should appear in the credits. Brands have to be especially careful when retweeting or viralizing a third-party post and, of course, when creating GIFs and memes, since the publication of a content could be taken as an endorsement of an idea with which the creator of the original content might not agree. Brands must respect the right to confidentiality and publicity and not use a caricature or likeness of a person for commercial purposes without due consent, and this applies to GIFs or memes that can be retweeted or shared.

Choose an agreement that suits you

When it comes to acquiring your content, it is important to have everything tied up, from the coverage it offers you for social media platforms to compensation in the event of a claim. Therefore, securing the correct usage rights is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of any image license agreement. Your license will specify the type of media, territory, duration, and uses – editorial or commercial – allowed for visual files.