How to Post on Facebook and Instagram at the Same Time

Posting the same content to both Facebook and Instagram simultaneously saves time, keeps your branding consistent, and can instantly double your content's reach. This guide walks you through the best methods for cross-posting, from the simple toggle in the Instagram app to the more powerful features within Meta's own business tools. We'll cover how to handle feed posts, Stories, and Reels, and share some best practices to make your content shine on both platforms.

Why Post on Facebook and Instagram at the Same Time?

In social media management, efficiency is everything. Posting to both Facebook and Instagram at once is about working smarter, not harder. Here’s a quick look at the benefits:

• Significant Time Savings: The most obvious benefit is cutting your workload in half. Instead of creating and publishing content twice, you do it once. Those minutes saved add up quickly over a week or a month, freeing you up to focus on strategy, engagement, or creating even more great content.
• Consistent Brand Messaging: When you share the same core message and visuals across platforms, you reinforce your brand identity. It ensures followers on both Facebook and Instagram receive a cohesive experience, strengthening your brand's voice and aesthetic.
• Increased Reach and Visibility: Your audience might not overlap completely between the two platforms. A follower on Instagram may have missed your Facebook Page, and vice versa. Cross-posting ensures your message gets in front of the largest possible audience within your immediate digital ecosystem.

While cross-posting is a huge time-saver, a smart strategy involves a bit more than just hitting "publish everywhere." We’ll get to the nuances later, but first, let's nail down the basic "how-to."

Method 1: Post From the Instagram App (The Quick and Easy Way)

The easiest way to get started is by using the built-in sharing features directly inside the Instagram app. This works great for on-the-go posting when you don't need to customize the content for each platform or schedule it for a later time.

First, Connect Your Accounts

Before you can share anything, you need to link your Instagram account with your Facebook Page. If you haven't done this already, it only takes a minute.

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
2. Tap the three horizontal lines (☰) in the top-right corner to open the menu.
3. Select Settings and privacy, then tap on Accounts Center.
4. Under "Accounts settings," tap on Accounts. If you don't see your Facebook account here, tap Add accounts and follow the prompts to log in.
5. Once your accounts are linked, go back to the Accounts Center main screen and tap on Sharing across profiles.
6. Select your Instagram account, and then make sure the option to automatically share your Instagram Stories or Instagram posts to your Facebook profile or Page is toggled on or off based on your preference. For manual control, it’s often best to leave these off and choose to share on a per-post basis.

How to Post Feed Photos and Videos

Once your accounts are connected, posting to your Facebook Page from Instagram becomes an option right before you publish.

• Step 1: Create your Instagram post as you normally would. Go through the process of adding your photo or video, writing your caption, and adding hashtags and a location tag.
• Step 2: On the final screen right before you hit "Share," scroll down to the Share to Facebook section.
• Step 3: You'll see your connected Facebook profile or Page listed. Simply tap the toggle next to it to turn it blue.
• Step 4: Tap Share. Your post will now go live on your Instagram profile and your connected Facebook Page simultaneously.

How to Post Reels

Sharing an Instagram Reel to Facebook follows a very similar process, but with a couple of key differences.

• Step 1: Create your Reel with all your clips, music, and effects.
• Step 2: On the final share screen, write your caption. You'll see a section called Also share to Feed - this posts the Reel to your Instagram grid. Keep this on for max visibility.
• Step 3: Look for the Recommend on Facebook option. Toggling this on will share your Reel with Facebook’s recommendation algorithm, pushing it not just to your followers but to new audiences on Facebook. This is often more powerful than just sharing it on your Page.
• Step 4: Hit Share, and your Reel will be distributed across both platforms.

Pros of this method: It’s fast, convenient, and perfect for posting in the moment.
Cons of this method: You have zero scheduling capability, and you can’t customize the post’s text for Facebook. The caption you wrote for Instagram will be used verbatim, which isn't always optimal.

Method 2: Use Meta Business Suite (The Powerful and Free Professional Tool)

For social media managers, brands, and creators who need more control, Meta Business Suite is the way to go. It's Meta’s official, free platform for managing your business presence across Facebook and Instagram. It unlocks two game-changing features: scheduling and customization.

Getting Started with Meta Business Suite

If you have a Facebook Page connected to a business or creator Instagram account, you already have access. Head over to business.facebook.com and log in. The interface combines your notifications, inbox, and content creation tools for both platforms into a single dashboard.

How to Schedule Posts and Reels for Facebook and Instagram

The content composer in Meta Business Suite is where you can create a single piece of content and tailor it perfectly for both platforms before scheduling it to go live.

1. Open the Composer: In the left-hand menu of Business Suite, navigate to the Content tab or the Planner tab. From either screen, click the blue Create post button. This opens the main post composer.
2. Select Your Accounts: At the top of the composer window, you'll see a section called "Post to:" Make sure to check the boxes for both your Facebook Page and your Instagram account.
3. Upload Your Media: Click Add photo or Add video to upload the content you want to share. As it uploads, a preview pane on the right-hand side will populate, showing you how your content will look on Facebook feeds, Instagram feeds, and other placements.
4. Customize Text for Each Platform: This is the single biggest advantage of using Business Suite. You’ll see a Text box. Click the Customize post for Facebook and Instagram button. This will split the text box into two tabs: one for Facebook and one for Instagram.
   • For Facebook: You can write a longer, more detailed caption. Importantly, you can include clickable links directly in the post text.
   • For Instagram: Write your Instagram-specific caption. You'll want to focus on using relevant hashtags here and placing your call-to-action accordingly (e.g., "Link in bio!"). Links in Instagram captions are not clickable.
5. Refine and Schedule: Use the preview pane to toggle between the Facebook and Instagram views to make sure everything looks right. Once you're happy with your post, look for the publishing options at the bottom of the composer. You can choose to:
   • Publish now: Push the post live immediately.
   • Schedule: Pick a future date and time for the post to be published automatically. Business Suite even provides "Optimal times" recommendations based on when your audience is most active.
   • Save as draft: Park the idea to finish later.

This same workflow applies to creating Stories and Reels, ensuring you have full control over your content calendar from one central location.

Best Practices for Smart Cross-Posting

Posting to both platforms is smart, but doing it thoughtfully will make your content more effective. Just because you *can* post the exact same thing everywhere doesn't always mean you *should*.

1. Always Customize Your Captions

As mentioned above, Facebook and Instagram are different environments. A good caption is tailored to each.

• Facebook: Audiences are generally more receptive to slightly longer storytelling. Links are clickable, so feel free to link directly to your blog, product, or signup form.
• Instagram: Captions are often more concise. Hashtags are essential for discovery. Calls-to-action should direct users to a link tree or the single link in your bio.

2. Mind Your Visual Dimensions

While a square (1:1 aspect ratio) photo works well on both platforms' feeds, video is a different ballgame. A vertical 9:16 Reel looks amazing on Instagram, but it can get awkwardly cropped in parts of the Facebook feed. Always use the preview function in Meta Business Suite to check how your content will look in different placements before you schedule it.

3. Tag Accounts Natively

When tagging another account, remember that user handles might be different on Facebook and Instagram. A brand might be @YourBrand on Instagram but have a full name like "Your Brand Inc." on Facebook. Double-check your tags for each platform in the customized text boxes to make sure they're correct.

4. Engage With Comments Separately

Once your post is live, comments will start rolling in on both Facebook and Instagram. Make a habit of checking your notifications on both platforms or using a tool that consolidates your comments and DMs into a single inbox. Responding promptly is critical for building a community, and you don't want to miss a conversation happening on one platform just because you were focused on the other.

Final Thoughts

Mastering how to post on both Facebook and Instagram simultaneously is an essential skill for efficient social media management. For quick updates, the Instagram app works perfectly, while Meta Business Suite gives you the scheduling power and customization a professional needs to run a cohesive content strategy.

While Meta’s tools are great for managing its own platforms, they can feel limited as you start adding other networks like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or X into your workflow. At Postbase, we designed our platform to solve this by creating a simple, modern hub for all your channels. We focused on making multi-platform scheduling, especially for short-form video, feel clean and reliable. Our unified inbox also makes it much easier to keep up with replies from all over, so no conversation gets missed. If you’re looking for a simple tool that just works across all your accounts, we invite you to give Postbase a try.