If your brand has to save resources on SMM, it may be tempting to post the same publications on different social networks. What is the risk, and which method will be more effective; this is the topic of our new article.
What is cross-posting?
Cross-posting is the publication of identical posts on different social networks. This method is convenient if your brand has, for example, accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The main benefit of cross-posting is saving time on content production. More time can be saved when using delayed posting services. Posts on social networks are added to the queue for all platforms at once, so there is no need to post manually from mobile applications.
And if scheduled posting is really a helpful technique that reduces the load on the SMM department, the cross-posting might impose significant risks for the business.
The main problems of cross-posting
Loss of followers
The highest risk is when a client or potential client follows the accounts of a brand on different social networks, for example, Instagram and TikTok. If you constantly upload the same videos to both profiles, at some point, the user may feel tired of duplicated content and unsubscribe from the brand on both social networks.
Mismatching subscribers’ sentiments
Each social network has a specific set of unwritten rules developed by users over time. Most content creators adapt to the style of messages on a particular platform to avoid making a negative impression on users and, accordingly, losing a loyal audience.
When cross-posting, you have to create neutral posts that more or less correspond to the atmosphere of all social networks. The result is rather negative. Most likely, the publication will not be 100% in line with the atmosphere of any of the platforms. It means that the target audience’s attention can shift to famous travel bloggers’ or pop artists’ content easily.
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Misuse of resources
The most noticeable negative consequence of cross-posting is the low performance of the SMM department. After all, instead of building a loyal audience on one social network, the company promotes low-quality content on many platforms. If the marketing department does not have enough resources, it is better to put efforts into one account but do it as efficiently as possible.
Alternative to cross-posting
If you need to use several promotion channels, for example, Instagram and Twitter, it is advisable to use a scheduled posting system. Sharing similar posts on different social networks helps avoid duplicating posts if you analyze dates of publications over the timeline. However, you shall better avoid literal copying of posts. Let us consider simple methods that will allow you to maintain high-quality communication with the target audience.
Copy and cut
Let us say the most voluminous text post to publish is your Facebook one. Keep the message, but cut the text in half for posting on Instagram or Twitter. It will take much less time to shorten an existing text than write a new one.
The difference can be seen even in the tiny text of identical posts on New Balance accounts — Instagram and Twitter.
Apply different CTAs
SMM aims increasing sales, which means that sometimes it is necessary to use calls to action (CTA) in posts. It is vital to use various wordings. It greatly influences the sense of uniqueness of the post. On one social network, the user may not notice the CTA. But it gets their attention on another promotion channel. Most importantly, the audience will not feel like seeing repetitive content with this approach.
This method can be illustrated by a Nike post with the same video on Instagram and Twitter. SMM specialists created completely different texts for the two platforms and, naturally, added unique calls to action. In the first case — “What would be your Best Day Ever in sports? Share in the comment section.” In the second one, it was — “Watch and see how tomorrow could be the best day ever.”
Post at different frequencies
The audience of different social networks perceives information at various paces of updates. For example, Twitter allows skimming through headlines and finding news of interest. Instagram is a social network where users are ready to study visual content longer and, accordingly, spend more time on descriptions.
Accordingly, each platform should select the list of posts specifically for this network. In this case, only some of them will be similar. Compare WSJ’s Twitter and Instagram feeds.
Develop network-specific visual templates
If the core part of your visual content is photos and graphics, you can add custom templates for each platform. And you do not have to tinker with the visual if you publish several images in each post. After all, Instagram always displays one shot on the screen, and Twitter shows a preview of all frames. It creates visual variety.
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