Facebook Tests the Ability to Cross-Post Facebook Updates to Instagram
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Loading... - Mary Campbell
- 25 Jun 2021
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Facebook is testing the ability for users to cross-post single image Facebook updates to Instagram, furthering the gradual integration between The Social Network’s various apps.
The update's been spotted in the wild by Social Media Today influencer Dhariana Lozano and social expert Mari Smith (and shared by Matt Navarra), but there’s no word as to how widespread it’s availability is just yet.
As noted, the capacity only appears to relate to single image posts at this stage, though it seems logical that multi-image updates would also be added in future.
Really, the option's fairly logical – you can already create Facebook ads which cross-post to Instagram, so it only makes sense that Facebook would provide the same translation to regular posts. But a word of warning – the formatting on Instagram is different, and your posts may not look the same on both platforms.
This is the same for Instagram Stories – while you can cross-post your Instagram Stories content to Facebook, Instagram-specific functionalities ('swipe up' links, polls) are not available on Facebook, which can be annoying for those viewing the content within the Facebook format.
In my own experimentation, I’ve created Facebook ads, formatted for Facebook post style, only to see them lose that formatting when they appear as Instagram ads. If you do choose to cross-post, make sure you check how your content appears on both platforms.
As noted, this also further adds to the cross-integration of Facebook’s apps.
To recap:
-You can now cross-post from Instagram Stories to Facebook Stories
-You can cross-post Facebook posts to Instagram (in testing)
-When you post to Facebook Stories, they also appear in Messenger Day(and vice versa)
-Facebook is also testing the ability to cross-post from WhatsApp Status to Instagram Stories
It can get a little confusing as to what reaches where, but it seems likely that, eventually, you’ll have the capacity to cross-post almost all of your updates to every Facebook platform in just one click. Which could save you time, but as noted, be wary of formatting differences, and changes that can get lost in translation.
You also need to consider whether your audience really wants to see the exact same content on each platform. Cross-posting absolutely saves time, but it’s not always the best option. There will always be exceptions, but just keep in mind that the time saved may also result in attention lost, if you go about it in an inconsiderate way.
