Are you still trying to post to all social media at once? This is 2022, people! It’s time to rethink your social media posting strategy and bring your campaigns into 2022.
Posting on social media all at once is a little spammy. Worse, it can also impact the success of your campaigns if it’s not done the right way.
If you want to know how to post to social media in one go (and do it right!), there are a few things to remember. Here, you’ll learn:
Reasons why you should not post to all your social media at once
How to post on all social media at once using Hootsuite
How to post to all your social media at once the right way and avoid looking spammy
Read on for tips to take your social media scheduling strategy to the next level!
Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.
5 reasons to NOT post to all social media at once
You won’t generate the engagement you need
Your audience can’t be in the same place all at one time. They’re jumping between TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and more.
If you post the same message on many platforms at the same time, chances are they’ll see it on one channel and miss it on others.
When this happens it hurts your engagement rates and can set up your campaign for failure.
Instead, think about how to make sure your cross-posting doesn’t come across as spammy. Focus on how to drive the comments, likes, clicks, and conversations that your posts deserve!
Your audience will miss out on key messaging
Before launching campaigns, ensure you’re sending the right message, on the right channel, at the right time.
When you post to all social media at once, you fill your audience’s feeds with the same message.
This makes them less likely to engage with your content. They will skim past your post and miss out on your key messaging and CTAs.
Every channel has a unique set of posting requirements
The list of differences between each social media platform is wild!
Every channel has a unique set of posting requirements, such as:
Image file size
image dimensions,
formatting,
minimum and maximum pixel requirements,
copy length,
CTA inclusion,
the ability to post video content vs. copy-driven content
We recommend you follow the requirements for each platform to get the best engagement and performance.
For example, let’s say you’re a bakery specializing in cupcakes. You are running a campaign to increase awareness of your new chocolate flavor. You’ve created a killer Instagram Reel and cross-posted this to your IG account and YouTube feed.
The problem? The two social media channels have different upload requirements for video content.
Instagram favors vertical video. YouTube prefers content uploaded in horizontal or landscape format.
If you do need an app that posts to all social media at once for a campaign, Hootsuite makes it easy. Hootsuite also shows you the requirements of each channel, so you always have the best chance for success.
Audiences are active on different channels at different times
There are 24 time zones across the world, which means that your social media channels will be poppin’ at different times.
When we’re heading to bed on the west coast of North America, our European friends are waking up to start their day. What we’re getting at here is the idea that different audiences are active at different times.
If you post to all social media at once around 08:00 PST, you’re likely to miss any European followers. They’ll all still be working at 16:00 CET.
Rather, you need to stagger your posts and messages throughout the day. This way you can make sure you get the best visibility and engagement from your followers.
If you’d like to learn more, check out this blog post about how to find the best time to post on social media.
You’ll ruin your optimization strategy (and look unprofessional)
Social media marketing is all about optimizing campaigns for high performance on every channel.
For example, on Twitter or Instagram, you’re more likely to use hashtags to optimize the post for discovery. On Facebook, hashtags aren’t that important.
Posting the same content for each channel, without optimizing, looks unprofessional. You’re showing the world that you’re not clued up on how to manage social media.
Your social media feeds could end up looking spammy
There’s nothing worse than scoping out a cool new social account and getting the ick.
Cross-posting or posting to all your social media channels at once can look unprofessional at best and spammy at worst. This brings us to…
How to post on all social media at once (without looking spammy)
If you’re set on posting to all social media channels at once, fear not! There is a way to make this type of posting schedule seem professional, polished, and spam-free.
Connect your social channels to Hootsuite
There is an app that posts to all social media at once: Hootsuite! (We’re biased, of course.)
Connect the channels you use to Hootsuite or your preferred social media management tool.
Currently, you can connect your brand’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest accounts to your Hootsuite dashboard. This way you can ensure full coverage for each of the major social media networks.
After you’ve logged in (or signed up!), follow these steps:
Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.
1. Click +Add social account
2. Click on the drop-down menu that says Select destination. Choose the account you want to add profiles to, and then click the social media account you want to add.
3. Choose the profile you want to add (personal or business). Note that this option may not be available for all channels.
4. Follow the prompts on-screen to connect your network to Hootsuite. Hootsuite will ask to authorize the account if you are connecting Instagram or Facebook Business profiles.
Continue to add profiles until you’ve connected all your social media accounts to Hootsuite’s platform.
2. Create your social posts
Now you’re ready to see how to post to all social media at once using a single post template that you can repurpose for each channel.
1. Click on the Composer icon in the top left corner of your Hootsuite dashboard, then click Post.
2. Under Publish to, select the drop-down menu, and choose the channels you want your post to appear on.
3. Add your social post copy into the New post planner under Initial content, and add images via the Media section.
4. To preview your social media posts, tap the relevant favicon next to the initial content. Here’s an example of how our chocolate cupcake post will look on Facebook.
4. You’ll then need to edit and optimize each post for the channel you are posting on. To do so, click on the favicon next to Initial content, and add hashtags, image alt text, or location tags that are relevant to each platform.
Pro tip: Don’t forget that each platform’s audience is different, so you’ll want to craft your messaging accordingly. For example, a post for TikTok might sound very different from a post for LinkedIn.
3. Schedule your social media posts
Now that you’ve crafted social media posts for each channel, you’re ready to get ‘em live!
1. If you’re ready to publish immediately, click on Post now in the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Alternatively, click on Schedule for later to select a date and time to post your content, and then click Schedule.
Pro tip: If you’re scheduling your posts for later, use Hootsuite’s recommendations for the best times to post. They are based on your accounts’ historical engagement and reach data and will help you post at a time when your followers are most likely to engage with your content.
And that’s it! It really couldn’t be easier to post to social media all at once using Hootsuite.
Posting to multiple social media accounts checklist
We recommend doing a full-on sanity check of your posts before hitting the publish or schedule button. Here are a few nuggets to look out for.
Is the copy the right length?
It goes without saying that the copy you wrote for one channel might not fit onto another:
Twitter has a maximum character limit of 280
Facebook is 63,206
Instagram is 2,200
Research the ideal post length for each platform and optimize.
Are your photos the right size?
Make sure you know the exact dimensions your images need to be for each social platform. This keeps your content looking professional and eye-catching.
Oh, and avoid pixelated photos, period. They look bad in people’s feeds and your brand will appear unpolished and unprofessional.
If you need a hand, check out Social Media Image Sizes for Every Network, which also includes a helpful cheat sheet!
Pro tip: Hootsuite customers can use the in-dashboard photo editor to adjust the size of their images before publishing. This is an easy way to make sure all images are both the right size and on-brand!
Does the content match the channel?
As we mentioned earlier, different channels have different audiences. Make sure your social media posts reflect who you’re speaking to.
For example, LinkedIn is mainly used by men aged 25-34. In contrast, Gen-Z women predominantly use TikTok.
The way you communicate to each audience should match the group’s demographics. Double-check that your campaign messaging is consistent and on-brand.
But most importantly, make sure it resonates with the audience you’re communicating with!
Have you tagged the right accounts and used the right hashtags?
Nothing is worse than crafting the perfect social post, only to tag the wrong person or use a misspelled hashtag. Believe it or not, this does happen!
So when you’re double-checking your social posts:
make sure that you’ve tagged the right brand or person.
Ensure that you spell your hashtags correctly
(and don’t accidentally cause a Twitterstorm a la #susanalbumparty or #nowthatchersdead.)
Posting to social media all at once doesn’t have to be difficult. Imagine if you could:
schedule and publish multiple posts for the best times of day
engage with your audience
and measure performance all from a single dashboard!
With Hootsuite, you can easily do all of that. Try it free today!
Stop guessing and get personalized recommendations for the best times to post on social media with Hootsuite.
The post Why You Shouldn’t Post to All Social Media at Once and What to Do Instead appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.