Is Cross-Posting on Social Media A Good Idea?
“So little time, so much to do.”
This seems to be the mantra in 2018, of both the business owner and social media manager.
Enter automation and cross-posting.
Combining automation and cross-posting will save overall time and effort in a workday, and give the business or brand presence on all social media platforms, without having to be present.
Isn't this an oxymoron?
Alongside the words ‘automation and cross-posting' should be a huge ‘caution' sign.
We have come to answer this question “Is cross-posting on social media a good idea?”
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Even right here on WordPress, we are asked to connect our social media platforms and cross-post!
Answer: we don't!
Today, we will be taking a look at
- what cross-posting in social media means
- how cross-posting and cross-promoting are different
- if cross-posting can be done right, without looking like it is automated
Let's start with the definition of cross-posting.
What is Cross-Posting Exactly?
Cross-posting is the act of creating content and auto-posting it across multiple social media platforms.
Most often, cross-posting is done automatically with the use of scheduling tools or ‘recipes', however, sometimes cross-posting is done manually with just a few clicks, simply sharing one piece of content quickly and efficiently to all available platforms instantly.
Cross-posting is simple.
It's easy.
And of course, it is a huge time saver.
It also requires little to no skill.
However… and of course there's a ‘however', it can come across as lazy and spammy and people might not like what they see if you cross-post from platform to platform to platform.
Here is a simple truth:
There is no reason for anyone to follow you on all the social media platforms you are active on if you post the exact same thing everywhere.
Instead of cross-posting, maybe cross-promoting is a better option!
The Difference Between Cross-Posting and Cross-Promoting
As cross-posting is the act of creating content and posting it across multiple social media platforms, cross-promoting is similar yet with several distinct differences.
Cross-promoting is done in such a way that the posts are tailored and formatted for each specific social media platform. The original content might be enhanced, cut short, reformatted or highlighted to promote it; driving traffic back to the original content in an enticing way. Cross-promoted content is also shared at the most optimum time and with the right hashtags and/or headline and call-to-action fitting for each specific social media platform, keeping the audience who will be engaging with this content in mind.
In other words, cross-promoting is encouraged as it looks professional and is effective, cross-posting isn't any of these things unless you stop automating it and give it some thought and minimal effort.
What Not To Do When Cross-Posting
While cross-promoting is favored over cross-posting, cross-posting can be done successfully when keeping the following in mind.
- Do not automate and post all updates to all social media platforms at the same time! If you must cross-post, do it manually or, when using automated tools, select different times, timezones, or even days and weeks to push out the same content.
- Do not cross-post to incompatible platforms! Think about the audience of each social media platform and tailor, at a minimum, the headline to that audience to capture their attention. For better results, add hashtags to platforms where hashtags work.
- Do not forget to reformat the post! Sometimes, just uploading an adjusted picture (size wise) will make a difference in how the cross-posted content looks.
Next, we are going to look at Facebook, who recently added a new feature called video cross-posting!
How To Use Cross-Posting To Promote Facebook Video
Say what?
Yes! Facebook recently added a feature called ‘videos you can cross-post' to the back-end of your publishing tools.
According to Facebook
You can crosspost an already-posted video on Pages without having to upload it again, either within the same Page, or across Pages in a Business Manager.
Just in case you were wondering “how they do it” this is the feature that is being used when you are seeing multiple news outlets going live at the same time at the same event!
Cross-posting video can be useful for social media managers as they work with a business who
- is part of a franchise
- has multiple locations
- works with sponsors
- promotes events
- hires influencers
Cross-Posting from Twitter to Facebook Is a Thing of the Past
Have you ever seen tweets posted as Facebook statuses?
Do you like seeing Instagram statuses with all those hashtags, in your Facebook newsfeed?
Changes have already begun to take place and my guess is that auto cross-posting will truly be a thing of the past soon.
Case in point; you can no longer automatically cross-post your tweets on Facebook, which was something many people did. This change is attributed to Facebook restricting its API platform after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where data of 87 million users was breached. See the tweet below:
We’ve learned that Tweets and Retweets will no longer automatically post to connected Facebook accounts due to a recent Facebook update.
Don’t worry, you have other ways to share a Tweet ?https://t.co/fiwInkuyz7
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 1, 2018
The Final Call on Cross-Posting
Should you, or should you not cross-post?
I say do as you must but suffer the consequences.
My advice is to take a few extra minutes and cross-promote your content across platforms, instead of cross-posting it.
You will be giving your audience what they want, when they want it and how they need it to consume it and like it, vs just giving them something they might or might not be interested in!
As always, we as social media managers set the standard.
Go forth and be great!
I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You'll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
