3 Simple Steps to Cross-Post from Facebook to Instagram | Online Digital Marketing Course

Facebook has existed for over 15 years now. Being the largest Social Media platform in the world with over 2 billion monthly users, Facebook has also become a great factor in Digital and Social Media marketing. Instagram, owned by Facebook, is also becoming a great factor in Digital and Social Media marketing, with over 800 million monthly users. For businesses and other users that have both Facebook and Instagram, you may have wondered if it is possible to simultaneously post on both platforms, and how to do so. This is an available feature known as “cross-posting”.

This cross-posting feature has made it easier and more efficient for users (especially businesses) to post the same content to both platforms at the same time without the aid of a third-party tool and be able to reach more engagement in less time. The feature allows more efficiency and by being able to post to a larger audience in less time, there is a more reduced workload and time saved. So how exactly does one cross-post? The process is very simple for posting on both desktop and mobile platforms. Let’s walk through the three simple steps to cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram.

Cross-Posting from Desktop

Facebook can be accessed on many platforms. The first ever platform Facebook was tailored to was desktop. Most businesses use desktop for Facebook. Instagram posts can only directly be posted through mobile devices. With cross-posting, businesses can also post on Instagram from their desktop. The cross-posting feature kills two birds with one stone, allowing users to simultaneously post to Facebook and Instagram, and post to Instagram from desktop. On top of that, the process of cross-posting is quick and easy. In this article, we will cover the three simple steps it takes to cross-post to Instagram from Facebook via desktop.

Before starting, you must ensure that the Facebook account you are posting to is linked to an Instagram Business Account. Cross-posting is only allowed if your Instagram account is a Business Account.

Step 1 – Create an Image Post on your Facebook Page

To start you must access your profile and post an image as you normally would. You will know that you have the feature if it appears as an option at the bottom of your post-prompt box. Do note that you can only cross-post from Facebook if the Facebook profile that you are posting from is linked to an Instagram business profile. You also need to have “two-factor authentication” disabled on your Instagram account in order to have cross-posting as an option. “Two-factor authentication” is just a security feature on Instagram used to notify users when someone is trying to access their account from a device that is not recognized. This prevents people from gaining access to an account that is not theirs.

Warning: Choosing to disable the two-factor authentication on your Instagram account is a security risk that should be considered. If you plan on regularly cross-posting, “two-factor authentication” must be disabled most of the time.

Step 2 – Add Your Content

This step is the easiest of the cross-posting process. Now you must add your content as usual for a Facebook post. In order to cross-post from Facebook to Instagram, your post must include only one image. Today, this will not work if you use a video or more than one image. However, we expect that shortly there will be an upgrade to the feature, allowing users to cross-post more than one photo or video from Facebook to Instagram. The only restriction there is to the one photo you must insert is a simple size restriction. Any vertical image with a ratio larger than the 4:3 ratio will be automatically cropped by Instagram to fit within that ratio.

After your single image is attached, you may also incorporate the caption of the post and include hashtags. There are multiple ways to incorporate hashtags in your cross-post. The hashtags can be included in the Facebook post, and from there would be a part of the Instagram post. The hashtags can be edited onto the Instagram post directly through Instagram after the post is shared. The hashtags can also be included in the Instagram post as a comment directly made through Instagram.

Step 3 – Access the Feature and Log Into your Linked Instagram Account

When you reach the final step of cross-posting, you will have to log into the Instagram Business Account that your Facebook account is linked to, using the email and password of your Instagram account. This step is quick, as all that is required from you is to log in so that Facebook can access your profile to cross-post.

After logging in, you will notice that at the bottom of the post-prompt box, the Instagram option will be checked off under post share options.

As soon as you click “Share Now”, your post will have simultaneously been published to both Facebook and Instagram!

Recommendations

It is recommended that when cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram that you are aware of all the requirements, security risks, and warnings that come with this highly productive feature. Always keep in mind that not having two-factor authentication on your Instagram account is a security risk. It’s also crucial to make sure that only one image is incorporated in the Facebook cross-post. This image should be no bigger than the ratio of 4:3 if vertical, otherwise, Instagram will automatically crop the image and it will not be you want it to be.

I also recommend that you always check to see if your content was successfully cross-posted from Facebook to Instagram that way if it did not post by mistake, you will be able to post what you wanted directly through Instagram. Keep in mind that you can lose potential followers if you post the exact same content on different platforms all the time. People will see that you post the same stuff on different platforms and will be less prone to follow you on multiple Social Media platforms. Always be able to keep your content unique to the platform.

Cross-posting is a new feature that will only improve over time. There can even be an additional feature to cross-post multiple images, videos, and stories from Facebook to Instagram in time to come. Cross-posting is good for Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing as it allows more accessibility in less time. With more accessibility in less time, this feature can give you more time to be put towards focusing on the content of your posts or even other social media platforms.

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