• by Colin Kirkland , August 26, 2024

As part of its initiative to further popularize its new social microblogging app, Meta has officially rolled out the option for users across the globe to cross-post content between Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Cross-posting theoretically allows users to gain the most possible traction for their social posts. By amplifying a single post across these three Meta-owned platforms, which boast a combined user base of over 2.5 billion daily active users, creators may feel a greater draw to utilizing Threads, which is still in its early stages, yet to roll out ads.

This new update builds off Instagram and Facebook users' years-long ability to cross-post between both platforms.

Meta has been testing this three-way cross-posting capability for the past few months. Although it is officially live, the update still lacks complete cross-posting potential.

For example, users cannnot cross-post Reels or Facebook videos, only text and link posts. When users cross-post from Instagram, the post caption becomes text for the Threads post, and hashtags are converted into regular text.

Cross-posting may also help social media managers and business owners appeal to a wider audience, saving potential time and effort drafting a third of all posts that are intended for these apps. However, with regard to more specific posting strategies, it may be difficult to capture each platform's unique feel while targeting distinct audiences in a mindful way.

The cross-posting options are currently available in users’ advanced composer settings on Facebook and Instagram.