Social media networks offer different tools to connect with different audiences. However, it can become tedious to post updates to every network. This post provides a comprehensive guide on how to cross-post to Facebook, Twitter, and other services at the same time, using two methods: IFTTT and Buffer.

Option 1: Grow a few extra arms

Option 2: Get IFTTT

IFTTT stands for “If This Then That”. It’s the internet equivalent of a telephone exchange, and allows you to make disparate web applications talk to each other. There are various other services that will do the same job in more advanced ways (Zapier and Integromat being prime examples), but IFTTT is a great tool for social media management as it’s free and easy to set up.

IFTTT is free and easy to use for social media management, and can also be used for various other purposes, such as sending emails, updating wallpapers, saving text messages, and more. It can be used for all kinds of things, for example:

• If snow is forecast tomorrow, send me a text
• If the time is 7am, update my Android wallpaper to NASA’s image of the day
• If I receive a text message, save it to a new line in a Google Spreadsheet
• If I gain a new follower on Twitter, send them a welcome tweet
• I receive a text, change the colour of my smart lightbulb
• If I favourite a track on Soundcloud, download it into a Dropbox folder

IFTTT has Services that you can connect together in Applets, using Triggers and Actions. Here’s the explanation:

Services

After signing up for an account activate the services you’d like to cross-post between (like your Facebook page, Twitter account etc) in your IFTTT account at IFTTT services. There’s a ton of connectable services available there- my cursory search identified about 680.

Applets

Then once they’re connected IFTTT can get them to talk to each other, and this is achieved by setting up an Applet. These are little IFTTT “do this” instructions that make the magic happen. They’re dead simple to set up, but if you need any help here’s their very own ‘How to build and Applet‘ page.

Triggers and Actions

When you build an Applet you’ll first be asked to specify a trigger. This is the activity in one service you’ve connected that will trigger the action you specify in the second service you select. So the “if” is the trigger and the “that” is the action.

So let’s make it practical. Let’s say we want every photo we post to Instagram to be shared automatically as a proper photo post on Twitter (rather than as an Instagram link which is the annoying default). First we’d connect IFTTT’s Instagram and Twitter channels, allowing IFTTT to communicate with our Ig and Tw accounts.

Then we’d create a new Applet and select the Instagram service as the “if”, with Any new photo by you as the specific trigger. Note that you can select quite a few options for triggers, like “new photo by you in geographic area” or “new video by you with a certain hashtag”. Clever stuff.

After that we’d choose Twitter as our “then”, with post a tweet with image as the specific action. Again, there are more possible actions than this simple example, e.g you can update your Twitter profile image, update your Twitter bio etc.

Lastly we’d need to specify the specific order that IFTTT puts stuff into your new Twitter image post when it pulls post data through from Instagram. The potentially available ingredients for this specific combo are the IG image caption, IG post URL, image source URL, post creation time and post embed code. IFTTT helpfully chooses the most logical ones for you by default.

Then click ‘create action’. That’s it. You can temporarily turn off your Applet without losing its settings if you ever want to.

This can be set up to manage automatic posts between Facebook personal profiles, Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Soundcloud…

Option 3: Use a post scheduling site like Buffer

Taking a different approach to IFTTT, Buffer allows you to draft a bunch of posts that it will then publish in the future, spaced out through time (hence the name Buffer). This allows you to write a maximum of ten posts at once without flooding your followers with updates all in one go.

Buffer allows you to fully customise which days and times your posts will publish on a site by site basis.

As Buffer can connect to several social media sites, when you draft your posts you can select several services for it to post to at once.

Now if you’re really clever…

It’s a well known fact that the best time to post to social media varies according to each service.

Now, I noticed that Buffer is available as a service on IFTTT. If you used Buffer as an action in an Applet you could publish posts using your favourite social media website or app and have IFTTT automatically add them to Buffer’s schedule for other social media sites.

That way you can, for instance, manually send out tweets at the best time for your Twitter audience and have IFTTT then put them into your Buffer queue for your Facebook page, publishing a copy of the tweet as a Facebook page post at a future time that best suits your Facebook audience.

Clever stuff.

Option 4: Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a big-hitter in the social media management world, being relatively long in the game for a social media tool. They’ve innovated aggressively and built up some powerful tools with a surprisingly impressive list of app integrations. They’re not cheap but they’re probably the best cross-application social media management tool for large teams with a big workload and big ambitions.

They do have a free plan but they keep it quite hidden from view – sign up for a free Hootsuite plan. This allows you to connect up to three social profiles and queue up to 30 posts for each. Paid plans allow you to connect up to 35 social profiles with unlimited post scheduling and additional users.

The main features of Hootsuite are:

• Post scheduling for publishing posts at times that suit your audience
• Streams, which are columnized feeds of your activity on all your social networks
• Publisher, where you can see your schedules posts in a calendar format
• Analytics for all your interactions on social accounts
• Assignments, which allows teams to collaborate by assigning tasks for responses to social conversations in a consolidated view
• A colossal app directory

How to schedule posts using Hootsuite

After signing up for an account you’ll be directed to connect it to your social media accounts and fill in some account details. Then Hootsuite will bounce you through an easy tutorial explaining how to use each area of the service.

1. When you click the New Post button you’ll first be directed to select the social networks you want your post to be shared with.
2. Then you can enter your post text, upload your own media or easily select from a massive range of providers including Pixabay, GIFs, Adobe Stock and many more
3. Then pick a date and time for the post to be published, click schedule and it will be posted to all those networks at the chosen time.

In the posting interface you can also tag a location in the post, add Facebook audience restrictions and if you set up advertising accounts with your social media providers you can choose to promote your posts from right there within Hootsuite.

Option 5: Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management tool that simplifies scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow these steps to post your content to all three networks simultaneously using Sprout Social:

1. Step 1: Connect Your Accounts
   Before you can post, you need to connect your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to Sprout Social. To do this, log in to your Sprout Social account and navigate to ‘Settings.’ Under the ‘Connected Profiles’ tab, click ‘Connect a Profile’ and follow the prompts to link your accounts.
2. Step 2: Create Your Post
   Once your accounts are connected, head to the ‘Compose’ button located in the top right corner of your dashboard. Click on it to open the post composer.
3. Step 3: Select Your Platforms
   In the post composer, you’ll see icons for each connected social media platform. Click on the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram icons to highlight and select them. This will ensure your post is published to all three networks.
4. Step 4: Craft Your Message
   Now, create your post by adding text, images, links, or videos. Keep in mind that each platform has its character limits and media restrictions, so craft your message accordingly. Sprout Social will help you monitor your character count and image compatibility for each platform.
5. Step 5: Customize for Each Platform (Optional)
   If you want to tailor your message for each platform, click on the ‘Customize for each network’ button. This will open separate tabs for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, allowing you to modify your message and media for each platform.
6. Step 6: Schedule or Post Immediately
   Once your post is ready, you can either publish it immediately or schedule it for a later time. To post right away, click the ‘Send Now’ button. To schedule, click on the calendar icon next to the ‘Send Now’ button, choose your desired date and time, and click ‘Schedule.’
7. Step 7: Review and Analyse
   After your post is published, you can review its performance using Sprout Social’s analytics tools. Navigate to the ‘Reports’ tab to access insights about your post’s engagement, reach, and other metrics across all connected platforms.

By following these steps, you can efficiently post to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the same time using Sprout Social, while also taking advantage of its powerful analytics features to optimize your social media strategy.

Option 6: Social Bee

SocialBee is a versatile social media management tool that offers content scheduling, curation, and analytics features for multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow these steps to post your content to all three networks simultaneously using SocialBee:

1. Step 1: Connect Your Accounts
   To begin, log in to your SocialBee account and connect your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Click on the profile icon in the top right corner and select ‘Social Profiles.’ Then, click on ‘Add Profile’ and follow the instructions to link your social media accounts.
2. Step 2: Access the Post Editor
   Once your accounts are connected, navigate to the ‘Posts’ tab in the left-hand menu. Click on the ‘Create Post’ button in the top right corner to open the post editor.
3. Step 3: Select Your Platforms
   In the post editor, you’ll see icons for each connected social media platform. Click on the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram icons to highlight and select them. This will ensure your post is shared on all three networks.
4. Step 4: Craft Your Message
   Compose your post by adding text, images, links, or videos. Be mindful of each platform’s character limits and media restrictions while crafting your message. SocialBee will help you track your character count and inform you if any media is incompatible with a specific platform.
5. Step 5: Customize for Each Platform (Optional)
   If you want to tailor your message for each platform, click on the ‘Customize by Platform’ button. This allows you to edit your text and media separately for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
6. Step 6: Schedule or Post Immediately
   After your post is ready, you can either publish it immediately or schedule it for a later time. To post right away, click the ‘Post Now’ button. To schedule, click on the calendar icon next to the ‘Post Now’ button, choose your desired date and time, and click ‘Schedule.’
7. Step 7: Monitor and Analyse
   Once your post is published, use SocialBee’s analytics tools to track its performance. Click on the ‘Analytics’ tab in the left-hand menu to access insights about your post’s engagement, reach, and other metrics across all connected platforms.

By following these steps, you can streamline your social media management and post to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram simultaneously using SocialBee. Leverage its analytics features to optimize your social media strategy and maximize your online presence.

Cross-posting to multiple social media sites can save time and effort. By using IFTTT, Buffer or Hootsuite, you can manage your social media presence with ease. Take advantage of these tools to reach a larger audience and simplify your social media management process.

Social Network Crossposting FAQs

Honourable mentions

• Airtable
• CoSchedule
• Planable
• Post Planner