TikTok and Instagram are two of the most popular social media platforms today. TikTok has exploded in popularity in recent years, especially among Gen Z users. Instagram, owned by Meta, has been a leading platform for over a decade. As of 2023, Instagram currently has over 2 billion monthly active users, while TikTok surpassed 1 billion monthly active users in September 2021 (Source). Both platforms are excellent for sharing short videos, photos, and connecting with an audience. With their massive audiences and popularity, it’s no surprise many creators want to cross-utilize TikTok and Instagram to promote their content.
Why Cross-Post Between Platforms?
Cross-posting content between social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram allows creators, influencers, and brands to reach a wider audience and drive more engagement ( Buffer). By sharing the same content across multiple platforms, you can expose your posts to new followers who may not be on all the same networks. This gives your content more visibility and provides more opportunities for people to like, comment, share, and otherwise interact with your posts (Dripify).
Additionally, cross-posting makes it easy to repurpose content without having to create new posts from scratch for every platform. This saves time and effort while still allowing you to cater your content to each platform’s audience and algorithms (Hubspot). The key is to add value by customizing captions, hashtags, tags, etc. for each network.
Connecting TikTok and Instagram Accounts
The first step to cross-posting between TikTok and Instagram is to connect your accounts on the two platforms. You can link your Instagram account in the TikTok app settings:
1. Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
2. Tap on the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner and select “Settings and privacy.”
3. Tap on “Link other accounts” and select Instagram from the list.
4. You’ll be redirected to the Instagram login page to enter your username and password. Enter your Instagram login credentials and tap “Authorize.”
Once your accounts are connected, you’ll see a confirmation that your Instagram account was successfully linked. Now your TikTok and Instagram accounts can communicate with each other and allow for cross-posting.
According to TikTok’s support article, linking your Instagram account will “allow [you] to share TikTok videos to Instagram feed and stories.”
Automatically Reposting TikToks to Instagram Feed
One of the easiest ways to get your TikTok videos onto Instagram is by using third-party apps that can automatically repost TikToks to your Instagram feed. Apps like Repost allow you to instantly share TikTok videos to Instagram with just a few clicks. Repost handles downloading your TikTok videos, adding your watermark, and posting them seamlessly to Instagram.
The main benefits of using an automated reposting app are convenience and time savings. Once your TikTok and Instagram accounts are connected, new TikTok videos can be automatically sent to Instagram without any additional work required. This allows you to easily extend the reach of your TikTok content without having to manually repost videos or download and re-upload. Automated reposting is a simple way to gain more visibility for your TikTok videos on Instagram.
Automatically Reposting TikToks to Instagram Stories
One of the easiest ways to get your TikTok videos in front of more eyeballs is to automatically repost them to Instagram Stories. Services like LinkinBio and Feedpress allow you to instantly share new TikTok videos to Instagram Stories with just a few clicks.
To set this up, you simply need to connect your TikTok and Instagram accounts to the third-party service. Once connected, you can configure settings to automatically cross-post any new TikTok to Instagram Stories as soon as it’s published. Many services give you options to customize the content before reposting, like trimming the video length or adding overlays.
The main benefit of auto-reposting to Stories is that it takes no effort on your part. As soon as your latest TikTok goes live, it’ll appear on Instagram as well. This “set it and forget it” approach helps drive more viewership with minimal work. Just be sure to monitor analytics to see if your audience responds better to manually curated reposts vs. automatic ones.
Manually Reposting TikToks to Instagram
If you want more control over how your TikTok videos are shared on Instagram, you can manually repost them. Here’s how:
1. Download the TikTok video to your camera roll. You can do this by clicking the share arrow on the TikTok video and selecting “Save video”.
2. Open the Instagram app and create a new Reels post. Upload the video you just saved from TikTok.
3. Edit the video as needed, adding music, effects, trimming, etc. Make sure to give credit to the original TikTok creator either in your caption or with an on-screen text tag.
4. Write your Instagram caption, including relevant hashtags. Consider adding a call-to-action inviting viewers to also check out your TikTok account.
5. Post the Reels video and enjoy wider distribution on Instagram while still giving proper credit.
Manually reposting your TikTok videos gives you more creative freedom compared to auto-reposting. It also shows you care about providing attribution to original creators when leveraging their content. Just make sure to always download and re-upload TikToks when sharing to Instagram rather than using third party apps, which is against Instagram’s policies.
Best Practices for Cross-Posting
When cross-posting between platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it’s important to follow best practices to get the most out of your efforts. According to Buffer, some key tips include:
Post consistently but not too often. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience across platforms with duplicate content. But you also want to maintain a steady presence. A good rule of thumb is to repost no more than once per day or a few times per week.
Optimize captions for each platform. Tailor your captions slightly for each platform’s audience and platform-specific features. For Instagram, be sure to include relevant hashtags.
Monitor engagement and analytics. Keep an eye on how your cross-posts are performing on each platform. This can help you determine optimal posting cadence and times.
According to Publer, other best practices include:
Link back to original posts when possible. This gives proper credit and drives traffic between platforms.
Reshare old evergreen posts. Repurpose your previously successful content, especially if it aligns with trends or current events.
Overall, be strategic about which content you cross-post and when. Follow each platform’s best practices, while providing value for your audience across social channels.
Analytics for Cross-Posting
Tracking engagement across multiple platforms is an essential part of cross-posting strategy. Analytics tools like Google Analytics, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite allow you to connect your social accounts and view key metrics in one dashboard.
Some of the key analytics to track for cross-posting include:
- Reach and impressions across platforms
- Engagement rates per platform
- Link clicks
- Content shares
- Audience demographics and interests
Tools like Sprout Social provide an integrated analytics platform to compare performance and optimize your cross-posting strategy over time. You can view top posts across channels, when your audience is most active, and which content resonates best on each platform.
Analytics give you the data to determine the best times and frequencies to cross-post content. You can also gauge which platforms and content types drive the most traffic and engagement for your brand.
Potential Drawbacks
While cross-posting content across multiple platforms like TikTok and Instagram can have benefits, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider.
One major downside is content fatigue. Frequent cross-posting of the exact same content can lead your audience to get bored. Even dedicated followers may feel frustrated seeing duplicate posts over and over. According to one source, “Users do not want to see the same content repeatedly. They want to see creative and customized content for each platform.” (Source)
Another issue is that each platform has a distinct culture and audience. A video or post that thrives on TikTok may not translate well to Instagram. As one expert puts it, “Your content may not be appropriate for every social media platform.” (Source) The best practice is to customize content for each platform rather than just cross-posting identically.
In summary, potential drawbacks of excessive cross-posting between TikTok and Instagram include content fatigue for your audience and ineffective content due to platform differences. Strategic, customized cross-posting is better than simply duplicating every post.
Conclusion
In summary, while there is no native option to automatically cross-post TikTok videos to Instagram, there are a few good third-party tools like Sprout Social and Later that can help streamline and automate the process. The main takeaways are:
- Connecting your TikTok and Instagram accounts allows for easy reposting.
- Third-party social media management tools like Sprout Social and Later enable auto-reposting from TikTok to Instagram feed or stories.
- You can also manually repost TikTok videos to Instagram, but this takes more time and effort.
- Best practices for cross-posting include customizing captions, using relevant hashtags, posting consistently, and analyzing performance.
- Cross-posting expands your reach across platforms, but too much duplicate content may seem spammy to followers.
In the end, cross-posting TikTok videos on Instagram can be a solid social media strategy if done thoughtfully and consistently. The right tools and tactics will ensure your content reaches and resonates with wider audiences across both platforms.
