Why Meta Should Never Have Allowed Cross-Posting Between Facebook & Instagram
Meta gives accounts the ability to crosspost between their Facebook and Instagram accounts in Meta Business Manager.
This functionality should not have ever been introduced because of the subtle, yet important ways posts differ between these two channels. Posts that work on Instagram will not work on Facebook, and vice versa. There are a few limited use cases where it does - if you are posting Instagram Stories without link stickers, for example, those can be cross-posted as Facebook Stories. Anything else just simply doesn’t work.
Multiple Hashtags Used on Instagram Don’t Work on Facebook
People don’t want to see the amount of hashtags on Facebook that you usually put on Instagram. The general rule for best practices is 1-2 hashtags, tops, on Facebook. While Meta doesn’t list numbers, here is its guide to hashtag use on Facebook for media, which can reasonably be extended to small businesses.
Savvy minds out there are probably just thinking “OK, so I’ll use 1-2 hashtags on Instagram to get around this.” No. While the days of massive hashtag sets are thankfully over, you still need about 10-12 to amplify the reach on your Instagram post.
Posts on Facebook are Missing Links Because They Were Meant for Instagram
My favourite restaurant pulls this one all the time. They’ll post about an amazing event that they are putting on, and then I have to visit their website to find information about it because they’re cross-posting their Instagram post, which doesn’t have a link. Since I’m a die-hard, I’ll hunt up the information, but casual fans probably aren’t doing that.
Posts on Instagram Have Dead Links
In the rarer case where a Facebook post is being cross-posted to Instagram, the Instagram post has a dead link, and usually not enough or zero hashtags. It’s super cringey to have a dead link in the content of your Instagram post. If you want to drive to content, write that the link is in the bio and use Linktree or a similar service to list your content on your Instagram profile.
Link Stickers on Instagram Stories Don’t Work on Facebook Stories on a Computer
I’m the first one to acknowledge that this one is a bit nitpicky, but when it comes to your content, I believe everyone should be able to access it.
Facebook doesn’t allow links to be posted on Facebook Stories. The workaround people have been using is to crosspost instagram Stories to Facebook Stories with a link sticker. The trouble is, this doesn’t work for your audience unless they are on mobile.
While it is true that 80% of Facebook users are on mobile, let’s not forget that it still has the largest user base - meaning 20% of its three billion monthly active users can’t click on your link.
In this case, your old school Facebook feed post (which, hopefully, you are doing as well) is enough to spread your content.
A Social Media Management Tool is Your Best Friend
If the last time you looked into a social media management tool like Hootsuite was a few years ago, you can be forgiven for most of the above minor crimes. Many of these tools did not have the ability to schedule various forms of content for Facebook and Instagram back then - but they do now.
Hootsuite and Later are both great options that allow scheduling for multiple formats on Facebook and Instagram. While neither are free, the cost is definitely worth it to both save yourself time and avoiding the above issues that you’ll inevitably run into if you rely solely on Meta Business Manager.
If you want to stick with free, just dip into the Content or Planner tabs on your Business Manager to make sure your content is customized properly for each channel.
And, of course, if you want to avoid any sloppiness at all, you can hire us to manage your social channels for you.
