Cross Platform Social Media Strategy for Online Businesses

Cross Platform Social Media

By Siân Morgan-Owen

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase. I only recommend products I love.

What is Cross-Platform Social Media Strategy?

Cross-Platform Social Media Strategy isn’t about reinventing the wheel for each platform. It’s more like giving the same wheel a bit of a polish to shine in different settings. You can start with one core piece of content. Something like a great blog post, an engaging video, or an eye-catching infographic. Then give it a little twist to suit each social media platform.

You might take a longer video and cut it into bite-sized clips for Instagram Stories. Keep a shorter version for X (Twitter) with a punchy caption, and go for a more detailed breakdown for LinkedIn. The same goes for a blog post. You could use snappy, attention-grabbing highlights for X (Twitter), share a more visual, infographic-style version on Pinterest, and a longer, thought-provoking excerpt on Facebook.

The beauty of this strategy is that it saves you time and resources. You’re not constantly churning out brand-new content for each platform. Instead, you’re smartly adapting and tweaking what you’ve got to fit different audiences. This way, your message stays coherent and strong.

A Cross-Platform Social Media Strategy is about being a savvy storyteller, knowing how to spin your tale in ways to captivate. It’s efficient, effective, and brings out the charm of your brand in a way that feels authentic and engaging on every platform.

Why Use a Cross-Platform Social Media Strategy?

Social media platforms have become pivotal in shaping brand narratives and consumer relationships. Adopting a cross-platform social media strategy is more crucial than ever. This approach is not only, about maintaining a presence on multiple platforms. It’s about strategically harnessing the unique strengths and audiences of each to amplify your brand’s message and engagement. Whether you’re a startup or an established brand, understanding why a cross-platform approach is beneficial for your online marketing efforts.

Broader Reach and Visibility. – Different social media platforms cater to varied demographics and interests. By spreading your content across multiple platforms, you’re not limited to one audience or type of engagement. This broadens your reach, allowing your message to resonate with a diverse group of potential customers.
Optimised Content for Each Platform. – Each social media platform has its unique strengths and preferred content formats. Instagram is visually driven. Facebook is great for longer form content, supporting a mix of text, images, videos and is effective for storytelling and community engagement. TikTok excels with short-form video content. While LinkedIn favours professional and industry-specific content.
Cost-Effective Marketing. – By adapting a single piece of content for multiple platforms, you make the most of your resources. This approach is more cost-effective than creating new content for each platform. Saving both time and money while maintaining a consistent brand message.
Increased Engagement Opportunities. – Different platforms provide various ways for audiences to interact with your content. From likes and comments to shares and retweets. A cross-platform strategy ensures you are present wherever your audience prefers to engage. Enhancing your opportunities for interaction and building stronger connections with your audience.
Comprehensive Analytics and Insights. – Using multiple platforms allows you to gather a wider range of data and insights about your audience’s preferences and behaviour’s. This information is invaluable for refining your marketing strategy. Helping you to understand what works best and where to focus your efforts for the greatest impact.

A cross-platform social media strategy is all about maximising your reach by smartly tweaking content for each platform.

What Are the Best Tools for Managing Multiple Social Media Accounts?

Managing multiple social media accounts can be a daunting task for any entrepreneur. Fortunately, there are several tools designed to make this process more efficient and streamlined. Below are a few of my favourites.

Hootsuite: A versatile tool that supports a range of social networks including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and now TikTok. Hootsuite allows for scheduling, monitoring, and analytics, making it a comprehensive choice for managing multiple platforms.
Buffer: Ideal for straightforward scheduling and performance tracking across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X Twitter, and Pinterest. Buffer’s user-friendly interface simplifies planning and publishing content.
Later: Originally Instagram-focused, Later now also supports Facebook, X Twitter, and Pinterest, and is particularly effective for planning and scheduling visual content.
Agorapulse: A robust tool offering content management, scheduling, reporting, and team collaboration features. It’s a great all-rounder for businesses managing high interaction volumes across multiple platforms, including TikTok.
Publer.io: A rising star in social media management tools and a favourite of mine. Notable for its scheduling capabilities, analytics, and post templates, catering to a variety of platforms.
Meta Business Suite: Essential for managing Facebook and Instagram, this tool allows managing posts, insights, and messages across both platforms from a single interface.

Choosing the right one will depend on your specific requirements, the scale of your social media presence, and the nature of your audience engagement. If you are thinking about hiring a social media manager then they will sort this for you.

Not sure you’re ready for a social media manager? Then check out my blog – Am I Ready to Hire a Social Media Manager?

How Do I Track and Analyse Performance Across Platforms?

Tracking and analysing performance across different social media platforms is vital. You need understand the effectiveness of your cross-platform strategies. Each platform provides a wealth of data, but the key lies in knowing what to track and how to interpret it.

Most social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools that assess your content’s performance. For example, Facebook Insights and Instagram Analytics provide detailed metrics such as engagement rates, follower growth, and post reach. Similarly, LinkedIn Analytics offers insights into professional engagement, content performance, and audience demographics. These native tools are fundamental in gaining a basic understanding of how your content resonates on each platform.

For a more holistic view across multiple platforms, consider using third-party analytics tools like Hootsuite, Publer, or Buffer. These tools collate data from various platforms, allowing you to compare performance metrics side by side. This is especially useful for identifying trends. Such as which type of content performs best on which platform, or at what times your audience is most active.

Key metrics to track include engagement rates (likes, comments, shares), reach, impressions, and follower growth. It’s also important to watch click-through rates if you’re directing traffic to a website. Advanced tools will even allow you to track conversions and ROI if you’re running paid campaigns.

Remember, the goal of tracking and analysing performance is not just to gather data. Its to gain insights that can inform and improve your future social media strategies. Regularly reviewing these metrics will help you understand your audience better.

How Can you Create a Unified Campaign Across Multiple Platforms?

Creating a unified campaign across multiple social media platforms is essential for delivering a consistent marketing message. This coherence ensures that your brand is recognisable and memorable, regardless of where your audience encounters it.

Consistent Branding:– Ensure that your visual elements like logos, colour schemes, and fonts are uniform across all platforms. This creates instant brand recognition. For instance, your Facebook cover photo should resonate with your Instagram aesthetic and LinkedIn banner.
Coordinated Posting Schedule: – Timing is important. Plan your posts on different platforms to go live at the same time. This helps create excitement about your campaign. Using scheduling tools can make this easier
Cross-Promote Across Platforms: – Use each platform to promote your presence on others. For example, mention your Instagram Live session on your Facebook page, or share snippets of your LinkedIn articles on Instagram stories. This not only unifies the campaign but also helps in cross-platform audience engagement.
Unified Hashtags and Call-to-Actions (CTAs): – Create campaign-specific hashtags and CTAs across all platforms. This not only aids in tracking the campaign’s performance but also encourages user participation and content sharing across different social media channels.
Engage and Interact Consistently: – Engagement is a two-way street. Make sure your brand’s voice and manner of interaction are consistent across all platforms. Whether it’s responding to comments, messages, or participating in discussions, the tone and style should align with your brand personality. This consistency helps in building a reliable and trustworthy brand image.
Leverage Platform-Specific Features for Cohesion: – Each platform has unique features that can be used to reinforce your campaign message. For example, Instagram Stories can be used for quick, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your campaign. LinkedIn’s Articles feature is excellent for in-depth explorations of your campaign’s theme. Utilising these features strategically can enhance the campaign experience for your audience, making it more immersive and cohesive.

The secret to a great campaign across all social media is not only to keep your message the same everywhere, but also to use the special features of each platform to get more people interested. It’s also good to regularly check how your campaign is doing on these platforms. This gives you useful information to make quick changes and get better responses from your audience.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to have a Cross-Platform Social Media Strategy. It saves you time and avoids creating new content for each platform. It ensures your message stays consistent across different channels.

Adopting a cross-platform strategy supports with reaching a wider audience. It’s cost-effective, enhances engagement, and offers valuable analytics insights. These aspects are crucial for amplifying your brand’s message and improving online interaction.

For managing multiple social media accounts, there are plenty of tools you can use. Each offers unique features for scheduling, monitoring, and analytics.

Remember it’s important to track and analyse performance across platforms. Using built-in analytics tools and third-party apps is key to understanding a campaigns effectiveness.

Focus on consistent branding, coordinated posting schedules, and cross-promotion. Use unified hashtags and consistent engagement. Leveraging platform-specific features is essential. This unified approach maintains a consistent message and effectively engages diverse audiences.