Here’s How To Use The Cross-Platform Messaging Between Instagram And Facebook To Your Brand’s Advantage

With Facebook buying over WhatsApp and Instagram, many similar features have been put on these platforms making them more similar than they were before. Two of these features are the disappearing messages feature that was launched on all 3 platforms and the stories feature on both Instagram and Facebook. 

Also, certain features have been put in place to make these different platforms work together better. Two of these features include the ability to share WhatsApp status updates directly from WhatsApp to Facebook Story and the ability to send messages directly from Instagram to Facebook and vice versa.

Here’s how they work;

How to Share WhatsApp Status Updates Directly to Facebook Story. 

To share your WhatsApp status updates to your Facebook story, ensure your WhatsApp is up to date. Also, ensure that you have Facebook or Facebook Lite for Android or Facebook for iOS on your device. Next, 

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Tap Status.
3. Create a status update.
4. Based on if you want to share an old or a new status, you have two options: 

• To share a new status update: Under My status, tap Share to Facebook Story. If prompted, tap Allow or Open to open the Facebook app. In the Facebook app, select the audience you want to share with, then tap Share Now. Note that the share to Facebook Story option disappears once you go to another tab.
• To share an old status update: Tap ‘My Status’ on iPhone or ‘More’ by ‘My Status’ on Android. Next, tap More (the 3 dots) next to the status update you want to share, then tap Share to Facebook. If prompted, tap Allow or Open to open the Facebook app. In the Facebook app, select the audience you want to share with, then tap Share Now.

5. WhatsApp will reopen after you share your status update. 

If you do not see a ‘Share to Facebook Story’ option under your status update, you can go the alternative method of clicking the more (3 dots) button beside your status update. This will bring out a list of applications you can share your status update to, click on the Facebook ‘your story’ to share to Facebook.

This will take you to your Facebook Story page. On it, you have the option of adding extra effects to your stories like stickers, texts, drawings, special effects or animations.

You can also tag people on your story and determine who will view your story through the ‘Privacy’ button at the bottom left of the screen. 

How to Send Direct Messages to Facebook Users from Instagram.

Before going on, make sure to update your Instagram messaging in the app. Once you do this, the messaging icon, at the top right corner, of Instagram will change to the Messanger icon of Facebook. Next,

1. Open Instagram.
2. Click on the messaging button.
3. Click on the search box at the top of the screen. 
4. Type in the name of the Facebook user you wish to contact. 

• Two listen will pop up, one of Instagram users and one or Facebook users. Click on the user you wish to contact under the Facebook list and send your message to them.

5. Facebook users that you are not friends with will be asked to accept the message.

5 Things You Can Use These Features For.

As an entrepreneur, exciting features like this on major social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram can prove to be very useful. Here are 5 things you can use these features for in your brand;

1. Keep Your Followers Up to Date on Your Brand.

To keep your brand at the top of mind of your customers, you always have to keep them updated about all the happenings in your brand. Details about collaborations, new collections, promotions and so on have to be shared with them. 

Since every brand has customers that fall into their target market on all social media platforms, sharing WhatsApp statuses to Facebook stories helps keep all customers updated with the latest news in the brand. Sharing from one platform to another also helps save time. 

2. Communicate Your Brand Voice.

For a brand to truly connect with their target market in their communication, their brand voice has to be consistent. Sharing status updates across multiple platforms help keep the brand voice the same without needing alterations. 

Also, being able to send messages from one social media platform to another directly without needing to copy, switch apps, and reduces the stress of marketing efforts. 

3. Boost Marketing With UGC.

Using User-Generated Content (UGC) on your social media platforms is one way to help your customers build trust in your brand. With these new features, UGC can be shared seamlessly from one platform to another to snag the attention of customers. 

4. Share Your Personality.

Customers want to feel like they are interacting with a human being. WhatsApp status is one place many people let their hair down and bring out who they really are. 

With this new feature, entrepreneurs can share their personality between WhatsApp and Facebook in the most authentic way yet. 

5. Save Time.

Everyone loves to save time. Time, as they say, is money. With these new features, entrepreneurs can save the time used to post status or stories on different platforms from one platform.

Also, entrepreneurs can save the time used to toggle between apps to message clients by messaging clients on Facebook and Instagram form one app.