How to Share a Reel from Instagram to Facebook

Published on 05.05.2024 by Chizoba T

Most people, nowadays, use Instagram to share short videos with their family and friends. Businesses also use reels to market their products and services. If you would like to enhance the reach of your Instagram reels, you can share them on the Facebook platform. In this article, we will guide you through the process.

What Is Crossposting On Facebook and Instagram?

Cross-posting is among the Facebook advertising tips that involve sharing the same content on different social media sites. You can do that by posting the same reel in its format on Facebook and Instagram. On the other hand, you can edit your Instagram reel before posting it on Facebook. You can also change a simple video element, such as slightly updating the caption or adding emojis.

The same strategy can work the other way around, where you share your Facebook reel on Instagram. All in all, the goal is to reuse the same reel on different platforms. Since you spend a lot of time creating high-quality posts, it's only reasonable that you make the most out of it.

Benefits of Sharing a Reel from Instagram to Facebook

Whenever you create an Instagram reel, you put in the best effort to ensure high quality. You can have your Facebook audience watch the reel by sharing it on Facebook. Here are some benefits of cross-posting:

Reach More Audience

Different social media platforms have different groups of people. According to a report by AudienceProject, 36% of people follow their favorite brands on Instagram, while 18% follow their favorite brands on Facebook. That means your target customers are on either of these platforms. When you cross-promote your reels on Instagram to Facebook, you can reach a broader audience that isn't on Instagram.

Save Time and Effort

Creating content takes a lot of time and effort, from brainstorming content ideas to shooting videos, editing, and promoting them. Instead of creating unique content for each platform, you can simply share your reels on Instagram to Facebook and save time and effort. This is especially important for people with busy schedules or who manage several social media accounts.

Improved SEO

When you cross-post your reels on Instagram to Facebook, you increase the visibility of the content on social media. Each platform has its own optimization strategies and ranking algorithm.

By sharing your reels on Instagram to Facebook, you increase the chances of your videos appearing in the search results of these platforms. You can also embed videos from different platforms on your social media platform to increase the chances of your videos appearing in the search results.

Improved Brand Visibility

When you cross-post, you can reach a bigger audience and increase your brand's visibility. If you are only posting on Instagram, your reels, and by extension, your brand may not be seen by a lot of people. If the reel you posted gets shared by your followers, this can also help to grow your followers. In fact, this is one of the top Facebook marketing tips.

Better Insights

Both Facebook and Instagram provide different ways of delivering insights to their viewers. You get data for each platform when you cross-promote on Facebook and Instagram. This can give you better insight into views, engagement rates, and demographics. You can get a complete picture of your reels' performance by analyzing these insights on different platforms. These insights can help you get better campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.

Drawbacks of Sharing Reels on Instagram to Facebook

At times, cross-sharing reels on Instagram to Facebook isn't the best idea for several reasons. These include:

Each Platform is Unique

While the same Meta company owns Facebook and Instagram, each platform is unique and caters to a diverse audience. That means a reel that performs well on Instagram won't necessarily perform well on Facebook.

Possibility of Audience Fatigue

Nobody wants to see the same thing repeatedly. The fact is that there is still a good percentage of Instagram users who are on Facebook. If these people follow your brand on both platforms, they might get bored of repeatedly seeing the same video. While cross-posting is a great tool in content marketing, it can also have a drawback because your audience may get tired of repeatedly seeing the same content.

How to Synch a Facebook and Instagram Account

Now that you understand the benefits and drawbacks of crossposting reels on Instagram to Facebook, let us look at the process of sharing your Instagram reels. First, it's essential to note that you can only cross-post your reels on Instagram to Facebook if the two accounts are connected. Therefore, you must ensure your Instagram profile is synced with your Facebook account. Here are the steps to follow to interlink the two:

  1. Visit your Instagram profile to get started.
  2. On the top right corner of the page, click the menu icon.
  3. Visit the account center.
  4. Click on Profiles.
  5. Tap on Add Account and enter your Facebook profile details.

After syncing your Instagram profile with Facebook, you can share different Instagram posts, including reels, on Facebook.

How to Share Reels on Instagram to Facebook

Here are the steps to follow when posting Instagram reels to Facebook:

  1. Begin by creating an Instagram reel. After you have finished, you can click on Next.
  2. You should scroll down the same page until you see Recommended on Facebook.
  3. You will see a toggle button that is set to off by default. Turn it on. You should also select the option to post only that reel to Facebook or all your reels.
  4. Once you have selected the right setting, tap the back button. Once your reel is ready, you can now click on the share button.

Sharing an Instagram Reel to Facebook Stories

Facebook stories provide a unique opportunity to reach another audience on Facebook. In fact, using stories is an advanced Facebook marketing method, as your reel is more likely to be viewed by more people. Since short videos are becoming popular on Facebook, you don’t have to limit the visibility of your reel to Instagram.

Unfortunately, you cannot directly share a reel on Instagram to Facebook, as Meta only allows you to post an Instagram reel to a Facebook newsfeed. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry as there is a way around this. These are:

  1. Start by opening the reel you intend to share on Facebook. On the side, you will see three dots that you should click on.
  2. Tap on save to device so your reel will be saved to your local device.
  3. After this, open the Facebook app and tap on Create Story. This can be seen as the first thing before other people's stories.
  4. Go to the gallery and select the reel you previously downloaded from Instagram.
  5. Now, you can add sounds, music effects, and stickers to your videos. If you choose to post the video exactly as it is, simply click the Share button.

Best Practices When Crossposting Reels on Instagram to Facebook

Follow these best practices for the best results when sharing reels on Instagram to Facebook.

Tailor Your Content

What may look good as an Instagram reel may not be good for Facebook shorts or stories. Each platform has its rules, preferences, and audiences. Therefore, it's important to adjust your content strategy to ensure that your reel meets Facebook requirements and caters to an older demographic that is more on Facebook. This is among key Facebook advertising tips.

Use Platform-specific Features

Instagram's video posting features differ from Facebook's, which has Stories, Live events, and Groups. Therefore, you must consider the best place to post your reel on Instagram for maximum exposure.

Consider the Timing

The time you spend posting on Instagram or Facebook affects the visibility of your posts. Before you share an Instagram reel on Facebook, you should consider when your Facebook audience is online and their time zones. This will ensure that the video gets maximum exposure. 

Use a scheduling tool to determine the best time for the Facebook video to go live. This will help you reach your audience when they are most active and avoid oversaturation.

Avoid Overdoing It

This is one of the common mistakes that individuals and brands make. When they cross-post reels on Instagram to Facebook and get positive results, they keep doing it, expecting similar results.

If you keep posting the same content across the two platforms, it might appear as spammy. Besides, as we noted earlier, you might also end up boring your audience. A good rule of thumb is to mix cross-posted content with unique and original content.

Consider the Format and Tone of Facebook

The audience on Instagram differs from that on Facebook; therefore, you should adjust the tone and format. For instance, Instagram has more images and videos, while Facebook is more text-driven. Therefore, you may need to include a longer description for your Instagram reels when posted on Facebook. Also, ensure you resize your videos to meet the Facebook format you upload to Stories.

Final Thoughts

You can easily reach a new audience by sharing your reels on Instagram to Facebook. Not only will you be expanding your reach, but you can capitalize on the gains of both platforms. Fortunately, this process is considerably simple. By following the above steps, you will easily post your reels on Instagram to Facebook and grow your audience. We recommend you also read our Facebook advertising tips guide.