How to (Properly) Auto-Post from Facebook to Twitter

Should you set your Facebook page updates to automatically post to Twitter?

No.

Sometimes yes.

It depends.

Keep reading to find out how to properly auto post from Facebook to Twitter. It is generally NOT recommended, but there are some situations where it may be more accepted.

Perception

When you post a Facebook link directly to twitter, it automatically shortens to fb.me - Twitter-savvy users can tell immediately that the link will take them to Facebook. At this point one of several things could happen:

1. They ignore it. They don't like Facebook, and so don't want to be taken there no matter how interesting your tweet sounds.

2. They ignore it. Because you're auto-posting from Facebook you obviously don't have time to be on Twitter, and who wants to spend time interacting with someone who they believe is not listening?

3. They think you're lazy. This is actually the most harmful of the three. Not only will they ignore your tweet, they may form a negative impression of your brand because of it.

But I really DON'T have time to tweet - what should I do?

Here's where the "depends" part comes in. Are you ready?

Even though you don't have time to tweet, do you have time to respond when people engage with you?

If the answer is yes...

...then go ahead and auto-post from Facebook to Twitter. But there are 2 additional things you need to do:

1. Make sure your twitter bio tells your followers what to expect. For example: Tweets from Facebook, but account monitored daily!

2. Set up a scheduled tweet to go out once or twice a week that says something along the same lines (this will cover the people who don't look at your profile page).

If you don't already use any 3rd party software when managing social media, for straightforward scheduling I recommend Buffer or Hootsuite.

If the answer is no...

...consider the next statement:

Is your target audience really on Twitter?

If the answer is yes...

...and you really can't find the time to tweet or the money to hire a social media manager, then go ahead and auto-post from Facebook to Twitter. BUT you really need to take the following steps as well:

1. Make sure your twitter bio tells your followers what to expect. For example, you might put something like this: Account not monitored. Please contact ____________ for any inquiries.

2. As above, set up a scheduled to tweet to go out on a regular basis

If the answer is no...

...then why are you even considering Twitter? When it comes to social media, it's often better not to do something at all than do it poorly.

Anything I missed? Let me know in the comments!

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