Nowadays, it is really important to keep up with all the social media platforms, but honestly, it is not something that everyone can keep up with all alone. So, creating individual content for each of the social media platforms is practically out of the question.
This is why the best and most efficient way of posting content on all social media platforms is through cross posting. It is a very effective and efficient way to post across all the social media platforms where your target audience is most active.
For Whom Cross Posting Is Good?
If you wanna know who is cross posting suitable, then go through the list down below.
- Companies that have small budgets.
- Founders and startups who have socials alongside everything else.
- Newer brands who don’t have a lot of content till now.
- Creators who are time-conscious and want to free up their time and spend some time engaging with compelling posts.
How To Cross Post On Social Media Without Looking Spammy?
“Posting the exact same message to every network without editing it for the specific requirements and audience demands of those networks can make you look amateur or robotic at best and untrustworthy at worst.”
“Cross posting might sound quite simple to you: you’re sharing your content on different networks. How tricky can it be? But, there are essential conditions to the cross posting process that marketers need to understand.”
1. Learn How To Speak Multiple Networks
If you are cross posting, then you have to know one thing, which is all social media platforms are different and require different types of posts. For instance, Twitter has tweets, Pinterest has images, and Instagram, on the other hand, has images and videos.
Now, when you are cross posting on each of these platforms, the posts have to be a little different, so you need to learn the language of all the platforms you wanna post on.
Let’s say, for example, “you’re the newest coffee shop on the block and want to create a social post to reach your audience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Each of these social networks has a unique set of parameters for posting, and your cross posting strategy needs to take these into account.”
Now, you should be aware that the character limit on Facebook is 2000, on Twitter, it is 280, and on Instagram, it is about 2200. So, depending on your need, create and modify your content accordingly.
Well, let’s say, “There’s no point using a handle tag for a brand on Twitter, cross posting that post to Instagram, and realizing they don’t have an account on that platform.” Here is a list of the parameters that you need to take care of while creating the content for cross posting.
- Audience
- Clickable links
- Hashtag usage
- CTA
- Messaging
- Vocabulary
2. Schedule Posts In Advance
When it comes to posting on social media, timing is key. So it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the best time to post on each of the social media platforms.
The timing for each of the social media platforms is different, and it is also to be noted that based on your target audience, the timing for your social media content will definitely vary.
3. Consider The “One And Done” Rule
We all have that one friend who repeats the same stories at every party, and everyone just tunes them out till they are done. That is exactly what happens when you give your audience the same content across multiple platforms.
So, let’s take, for example, “Instagram lets you link your profile to your other social media accounts and automatically share each post (along with its caption and hashtags) to all of them.”
“As as result, you miss out on the engagement a visual would generate, and maybe part of your caption too. The result is a hasty-looking post that won’t impress your followers or inspire them to click.”
“But if you’re short-changing your followers on one platform by sharing content optimized for another, they’re going to notice. Seeing a post with a cut-off caption or a weirdly cropped image looks lazy at best and spammy at worst.”
4. Stay On The Right Side Of The Social Media Tracks
When it comes to posting content on social media, there are no cutting corners. Even if your audience doesn’t catch on to you posting the same content on social media.
Certain social media platforms like Twitter easily catch it since they have limited automation and also identify identical content to stop spam accounts and curb the increase of bot accounts.
“Repeating content can result in more than disengaged followers: Your account could get suspended. Instead, stay on the right side of anti-spam rules by taking the time to ensure each message you post is thoughtful and deliberate.”
5. Get Creative, Show Your Social Flair
A great way to boost your social media engagement is to start becoming more and more creative with your posts. And one of the best ways to do that is through cross posting; with this, you can actively show your creative flair when it comes to creating social media content.
For example, “lengthening captions and copy, adding or removing hashtags, and formatting images to match the needs of oyur audience.”
“When it comes letting your creative juices flow, it’s essential to keep top of mind that different demographics hang out on different platforms. For example, on a global scale, LinkedIn’s users are 43% female and 57% male, with most of their audience over the age of 30.”
“On the other hand, Instagram has more women than men, and their biggest demographic are those under 30. As a result, the people who engage with your content on LinkedIn will likely favor an entirely different post than those on lnstagram.”
For example, “The eyewear brand Warby Parker is great at adjusting its content to make sure it looks perfect on each account. A post about their Fort Worth, Texas store getting a new mural was shared as a photo on Twitter. But on Instagram, they took advantage of the option to combine multiple videos or photos into a single post.”
“Instead of sharing just the ‘after’ photo, they included a video of the mural in progress and invited audiences to swipe to see the final result.” When you are cross posting, even the smallest of details create the biggest difference when you are posting something on social media.
For example, “Moe the Corgi doesn’t have a Twitter handle, but he has an Instagram account. If Warby Parker had copied their caption from Instagram, there would be a dead-end handle in the middle of their adorable tweet.”
6. Analyze Your Cross Posting
If you wanna create a successful strategy for cross posting, then it is very important that you do an in-depth analysis of your results.
“Use your social media analytics as a springboard to see whether your campaigns are getting the desired result that you want or not.”
How To Boost Your Social Media Engagement Using Cross Posting?
“Social media isa total must-have for businesses to market themselves. But with so many platforms out there, it can be a real challenge to connect with your audience effectively. That’s where cross-posting comes in – it’s the key to success! This involves sharing personalized content across multiple social media channels.”
1. Choose The Right Platforms
If you wanna make the best and most creative cross posting strategy, then it is very important that you choose the right social media platforms to do so.
This should be determined only after analyzing where your target audience is mostly active, whether it is on LinkedIn, Instagram, or it is on Twitter.
The social media platforms where your target audience hangs out is the best place for you to cross post content.
2. Tailor Your Content
The main concept of cross posting is to post similar content across different social media platforms. But that doesn’t mean you should post the exact same content across all the platforms.
To have an efficient and effective audience engagement, you should tailor the content based on the social media platform you are about to post.
“Adapt your message to fit each platform’s style and tone, so you’re not a snooze fest – yes it’s important to fit the platform’s format, tone and style. For instance, the way you write a tweet may differ from how you craft a LinkedIn post.”
“Make sure to follow the best practice requirements of each platform when cross posting. That means checking how to tag accounts, what high-performing hashtags to use and ensuring imagery is realized to the dimensions.”
3. Use The Right Visuals
“A picture speaks a thousand words, and in the case of social media, visuals are everything. Share high-quality images and videos that are optimized for each platform. Make sure they’re eye-catching and grab your audience’s attention. Visuals are crucial to social media engagement and will help your content stand out and capture your audience’s attention.”
“Again, sizing is super important! There’s nothing worse than a poorly cropped graphic or a pixelated photo. Instead, make sure to check the ideal posting dimensions for each social media channel you’re planning to harness!”
4. Schedule Your Posts
“Timing is everything on social media. To ensure that your content reaches the most people, schedule your posts to go live at the optimal times for each platform. This can help you reach different time zones and maximize your social media engagement.”
“Not sure where to start? Dive into your Plann workspace’s analytics dashboard to discover when your audience is most active and most online!”
5. Engage With Your Audience
“Finally, don’t be a stranger! Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and posts. Building a loyal following is key to social media success. Plus, it’s fun and exciting to interact with your fans.”
“Our tip? Dedicate a few minutes every morning to respond to your community, proactively reach out to new followers, and spark conversations on your social channels. This is what will help you grow an engaged audience on every platform!”
Learn How To Cross Post With Plann
“The world of social media is constantly changing, and at Plann, we know it can sometimes feel like you’re on a roller coaster that you’re no longer having fun on. That’s why we’re dedicated to bringing you features like Cross Post that make life easier and allows you to put your hands up and enjoy the ride.”
“Simply create a post, tick the platforms you want to post on, tweak the post for each platform, and hit Auto Post (you can also Auto Post at different times for the individual platforms). It’s easy peasy lemon squeezy; we’ll show you how below!”
Step One
“Choose a platform to start with and create a post by adding a caption, hashtags, uploading images and even choose to schedule it for a time that works best.”
Step Two
“Find the new Cross Post (+) button where you can select which social platforms you want to share that same post across other your social media networks too.”
Step Three
“Click into each social media platform you’ve selected; it’s here where you can make magic.”
Now that you have selected the different social media platforms, it’s better that you add some tweaks here and there to make some minute changes before posting. Changes such as updating the image ratio, updating the caption, and adjusting the hashtags.
Wrapping Up!
Well, there you go; you can very well understand the need and importance of staying updated on all of the social media platforms.
And since we all know that it is not always possible to post creative and unique content on each of the platforms, it is really time-consuming.
So cross posting is the best option for you since you are posting the same content but with minor changes as per the social media platforms you are posting the content on.
Now if you think this article was quite informational and helpful for your understanding of the term cross posting, then all you need to do is give this article a like and also comment down below.
More Resources:
- 5 tips for remote-working social media managers
- Animating your social media strategy: how animation boosts engagement and reach
- The role of organic and paid social media in driving car sales