Auto posting from one platform to another can seem like a convenient time saver, but often comes with some sacrifice.
The screenshot seen here is an example of a tweet I saw today – clearly pushed to Twitter from Instagram (note the period between paragraphs – something not needed in Tweets).
Unfortunately the juiciest part of this person’s tip has been cut off due to Twitter’s character count restriction.
While the Instagram version of this post was likely useful to their readers, the pushed-to-Twitter version is definitely not. Some may even be quite turned off by it, after reading to the end only to discover it’s incomplete.
Pushing posts from one platform to another can have a number of other unintended consequences, too:
Posts pushed to Twitter from Facebook often appear cut off as well, or with no text at all – only a (often cut off) link, which is not likely going to compel anyone to click!
Every social platform has a different vibe, culture and posting standard. Tweets and Facebook posts shouldn’t contain lines of periods (commonly used as spacers on Insta years ago, but no longer needed today) or long lists of hashtags (Twitter’s own best practices suggest not using many hashtags at all).
Worst of all, posts pushed from one platform to another are usually very obviously so… inadvertently announcing to your audience that you’re not making time to engage with them.
So what to do?
You want your biz to have a presence in as many places as possible, but don’t have time to visit each platform every day, right?
Consider the following:
It’s a common misconception that being active on every platform is “must”… but that’s not necessarily the case for every business – there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy, although this one is commonly touted.
So, which social platform(s) to use? This depends entirely on unique factors including your goals and your audience profile. Every biz has (or… should have!) a different strategy, so be sure to create your own in order to get the right answers.
If your strategy determines that your audience is active on 5 platforms, but you don’t have time to use all 5 each day, don’t! Determine how much time your biz can commit to social and utilize the platforms you’re most likely to stay active on – actively engaging with your audience is a key piece of building relationships.
What are your thoughts?
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