It can be hard to plan a solid social media strategy for your small business with so much contradictory information circulating. Some marketing agencies say you need to be on every social media platform; others say that isn’t necessary. Some will say you need to post on Facebook every day, while others say posting a few times a week is perfectly fine. Today, we’re hoping to settle the score on the controversial social media practices of “cross-posting” and “reposting” and explain why they actually benefit your business and help you to get the most out of your content.
What Is Cross-Posting?
Cross-posting is when you post an identical or very similar post across multiple social media platforms. For example, you might post the same picture of your dog to your Facebook and Instagram with similar captions. From a business perspective, you might post your latest blog link to LinkedIn and Facebook with similar captions.
Some marketers insist that each platform should have its own unique content. That might work for companies with large marketing teams and several social media managers, but for most small businesses, cross-posting can effectively increase the longevity and value of your content.
However, as with any social media strategy, there is a right way and a wrong way to cross-post. If done incorrectly, cross-posting makes your social media strategy seem lazy, spammy, or sloppy. But this is where we can help. Here are the basic do’s and don’ts — although your strategy may have to be tweaked further based on your industry and overall social media strategy.
Don’t:
- Create “carbon copy” profiles, where you have scheduled the same posts at the same time across all platforms. This looks lazy and also will de-incentivize people from following you on multiple social media platforms.
- Cross-post every single post. Some content should be exclusive to certain platforms for the best results.
Do:
- Resize images and videos to be the correct dimensions for each platform before posting them.
- Spread out your cross-posted content so it’s not released at the same time on every platform.
If done properly, cross-posting is a great way to get the most bang for your buck. Now, instead of creating entirely unique content for every platform, you can utilize the content you already have across multiple platforms.
What Is Reposting?
Reposting is when someone posts the same or very similar content on a channel where it has already appeared before. For example, you might post a picture of your birthday invitation on your Facebook page, then you post the same picture again the next week to remind everyone. For your business, you could post a great testimonial from a client on your LinkedIn, and then repost it again 4 months later. This practice can be a great way to stretch the potential of your current content and take some pressure off of your social media team.
However, reposting has some of the same controversies and pitfalls as cross-posting. If done incorrectly, reposting makes it appear as though your team isn’t willing to put in the effort to create fresh content. However, this doesn’t have to be the case as long as you are reusing high-value content and spacing it out appropriately. Here are the basic do’s and don’ts.
Don’t:
- Repost on platforms like Instagram, where reposted content will be obvious.
- Repost the exact same content word for word.
- Repost too quickly.
- Repost exclusively without adding new content.
- Repost content that isn’t seasonally appropriate (e.g., Christmas content in June or Halloween content in January).
Do:
- Repost to platforms only where it makes sense (like Facebook and LinkedIn).
- Switch up the copy associated with the post.
- Wait 4–6 months before reposting content.
- Mix old content with new content for a full-bodied content calendar.
- Make sure all reposted content is high-quality evergreen content.
By following these simple tips for successful cross-posting and reposting, you too can expand the worth of your prior content and improve the reach of your message. Now, that’s pretty cool.
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