If your business utilizes social media, chances are you’re interested in sharing posts from Facebook to Instagram in one easy step. Since the two companies merged in 2012, the social media platforms have become more integrated than ever. In this article, we’ll discuss one of the most convenient features this integration provides business pages: being able to cross-post from Facebook to Instagram.
Both Facebook and Instagram have made large strides in improving the social media experience for their users. Since their foundation, these apps have taken steps to make their platforms more business-friendly. Instead of using Facebook or Instagram just for personal pleasure, people now use these platforms to promote their brands. Along with the innovation of social media users, comes the innovation of social media companies.
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Cross-Posting
Cross-posting is the act of posting across social media platforms. Instagram’s option to share posts and even stories to Facebook has been around for a while now, but for a long time, there was no way to cross-post from Facebook to Instagram. In recent years, Facebook has made this option available to business profiles. This opens more opportunities for companies to seamlessly post across platforms.
It can be incredibly tedious to move from one app to another just to put up the same content. When your business has an involved social media presence, this is your reality. Luckily, Facebook now makes it easy for its users to share posts to Instagram. Let’s walk through the process.
Why Should You Share Facebook Posts to Instagram?
Facebook and Instagram are two of the biggest social media platforms today, with over 3 billion collective users around the world. Businesses use these platforms to engage with and attract new clients. The easiest way to reach the largest number of people for your business is to run multiple social media accounts, but sometimes it’s difficult to stay on top of posting to each platform.
The simple reason for cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram is that it saves you time. Instead of having to re-format your content to fit the platform, with one click, you can post to both of your social media accounts. For businesses that maintain an active social media presence and must post frequently, this feature can be especially helpful.
Cross-posting also gives users a way of posting to Instagram via desktop. For years, third-party apps like Hootsuite provided this type of service for a fee. Now, Facebook cuts out the need for a middle man. The platform allows business accounts to post to linked Instagram profiles.
How to Link Instagram and Facebook
In order to begin posting, you must have a business Instagram account that connects to your Facebook page. Linking your accounts has more value than simply allowing you to post across platforms. It can help you see and respond to messages more quickly by condensing them into one space. In addition to that, you’ll find that when you combine platforms, you can run better ads and identify ways to improve your content through post-performance.
To link your accounts, follow these steps:
From Instagram
- Open Instagram on your phone or computer
- Go to your profile and select Edit Profile
- Click Page under Public Business/Profile Information
- Choose the Facebook page you wish to connect
From Facebook
- Log in to Facebook on your computer
- Go to the Settings page under your profile
- Select Instagram in the left sidebar
- Hit Connect Account
- Enter your Instagram username and password
How to Post to Instagram from Facebook
After you follow the steps to link your accounts, you should be ready to share posts from Facebook to Instagram. Now that you are able to post to both platforms at once, think carefully about how your posts will be received on both apps.
Facebook’s share to Instagram setting only shows up when you choose to upload a photo. The feature does not seem to extend to sets of multiple photos. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that the photo you select corresponds best with your message.
In order to ensure that your picture comes out looking the way you want it on both platforms, the only real restriction you have to worry about is Instagram’s crop ratio. Portrait photos with a ratio taller than 4:5 will be cropped on Instagram. On Facebook, you don’t necessarily need to worry about photo size limits.
Your caption will show up exactly the same on Instagram as it does on Facebook. This can be tricky if you want to integrate hashtags into your Instagram post because they are typically not an important part of Facebook’s usability. Here are a few ways around this problem if you’re not keen on posting hashtags to Facebook:
- Post initially with hashtags and edit the Facebook post afterward to delete them
- Post your content then add the hashtags in the comments of your Instagram post
- Upload your post and then edit the hashtags into your Instagram caption
Unfortunately, you cannot schedule to share posts from Facebook to Instagram at a later time. In that way, this feature only helps you post content immediately. While this relatively new component of social media is exciting to businesses and marketers, there are some limitations to what a business can accomplish with it.
Benefits of Cross-Posting
Of course, we’ve already discussed that sharing posts to Instagram from Facebook saves you time and energy on posting to multiple platforms, especially if you post frequently. It helps you and your business remain active on social media platforms. In this way, you avoid the burden of closing one app just to open another to type the same message. Maintaining a consistent social media presence helps keep your followers engaged while also attracting new ones, essentially growing your business’ reach.
Drawbacks of Cross-Posting
In general, there seem to be more positive aspects to cross-posting than negative; however, you must keep in mind that your audience will respond differently to your posts. Based on the social media platform you are using, some content is appropriate and other content is not. The main danger of cross-posting to platforms like Facebook and Instagram is that users might feel like they are being bombarded with the same content on each app. For this reason, you should only cross-post when your content is appropriate for all of the apps you’re sending it out to. Having a strong social media strategy before you begin posting as well as keeping yourself up to speed on your analytics and how users interact with your content will save you from the negative drawbacks of cross-posting.
Alternatives to Facebook’s Feature
As stated earlier, there are certainly some drawbacks to sharing posts from Facebook to Instagram. While this feature helps businesses cross-post in some capacity, it lacks the organizational qualities third-party apps offer. Your business might be interested in scheduling most of the content you post to social media. In this case, the feature that allows you to share posts from Facebook to Instagram might not cut it. It might be wise to look into a third-party app that will schedule your posts for you. Some of these apps include:
- Hootsuite: offers social media scheduling and analytics with free and professional plans available
- Buffer Publish: offers social media scheduling for free and some insights for the paid plan
- Zoho Social: offers social media scheduling with team features and a live stream of social media interaction
Each of these applications, as well as a host of others, offer a more planned approach to social media presence. If you’re looking to get your business organized online and are interested in reaping the benefits of cross-posting, these tools might be of use. However, if your business doesn’t have the budget for these programs, sharing posts through Facebook to Instagram can still be helpful.
Sharing Posts from Facebook to Instagram: Is It Necessary?
There are certainly more possibilities for Facebook and Instagram to collaborate and perfect this tool. However, these companies are surely headed in the right direction. For business accounts that want to share similar posts to Facebook and Instagram fairly often, this feature is for you. At the very least, linking your Facebook to your Instagram can give you a better idea of what content works for your company and what doesn’t.
Even so, this tool is not the end-all-be-all for social media strategy. It should be used in conjunction with a planned approach for sharing posts on Facebook and Instagram. This plan could contain anything from boosting your Facebook posts or learning more about Instagram’s algorithm.
Overall, sharing posts from Facebook to Instagram in this way can save you and your business time and energy for other projects. In some cases, it might be more lucrative to use Facebook’s feature and in other cases, a third-party app could be better suited to your company’s needs.
If you have any questions about sharing posts from Facebook to Instagram or if you’re interested in growing your business through social media marketing, contact SEO Design Chicago today. We offer expert services ranging from content marketing to SEO analytics to web design.
FAQs about How to Share Posts from Facebook to Instagram
- Can I share posts from Facebook to Instagram?
- How do I post to Instagram from Facebook?
- How do I link my Facebook to Instagram?
- What is cross-posting?
- Why is cross-posting important?
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