Level up your social media strategy with joint posting

Learn Meta’s latest collaborative options to expand reach and engagement for your brand

What’s happening? 

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among others, continues to focus on ways to support content creators on its platforms. Recent developments give brands and influencers the ability to collaborate through joint posts and subscription services, among other tactics, that not only boost reach for both parties, but also give their posts algorithmic preference.  

Why does it matter? 

Because joint posts combine the following and reach of two accounts to amplify a single post, they not only eliminate duplication for users but also combine insights and engagements for both posting parties. Additionally, brands that struggle to create enough unique content can utilize high-quality user- and/or influencer-generated content to enhance their feeds and engage their followers. The importance of high-quality UGC will only increase with the growth of the recommendations section on Instagram, so businesses that figure out how to use these features to their advantage gain a strategic, competitive edge. 

For example, restaurants and consumer packaged goods brands can utilize the joint posting feature with foodie influencers or home chefs who make recipe-centric content. Likewise, clothing brands can work with fashion influencers to show products on different body types with various styling choices. It can often be hard for these types of brands to continue to generate organic content on their own, but joint posting promises high-quality UGC and the additional benefit of reach and engagement through algorithms that prioritize collaborative posts. 

Another industry sector for which collaborations offer strong strategic opportunity is travel and tourism. Tourism brands can partner with travel influencers and destinations in their areas to showcase the travel experience in authentic, inspiring ways. In a recent example with our client Visit North Carolina, we tested a joint post with Visit Ocracoke Island. This resulted in their best performing reel to date at the time with a 131% increase in views.  

What should brands be doing about it? 

For brands interested in exploring the strategic opportunities in social collaborations, it is helpful to understand the different offerings to see which will best serve your goals and needs for content and engagement.  

Instagram Collabs: what to know 

Creating a joint post on Instagram can only be done natively in the platform. When uploading the post, users simply click “Tag People” and select the option “Invite Collaborator.” This will send a notification to the secondary publisher to accept. The secondary creator cannot make any edits at this time, only accept the post to be published to their feed. We recommend handling all editing and finalizing content ahead of time, outside of the platform.  

Once the post is published it will live on the pages of both parties. If the primary user deletes the post, it will disappear from both pages. If the secondary user eliminates it, it will only be removed from their page. Any monetization will go to the primary collaborator.  

Benefits of this option: Creating more organic content for both pages that will be favored in the algorithm.  

Facebook Collabs: what to know 

Facebook Collabs are unlike those on any other platform. These posts must be video content and are not created in the native platform – they must be generated in Creator Studio. Videos will be shared in Facebook Watch, Facebook Feed and the pages of both collaborators.  

Collabs are structured with a primary and a secondary creator. The primary collaborator does the initial upload and invites the secondary. Note that the primary creator has the option to remove the secondary from the post at any time. Secondary creators simply accept the posts. They will be able to view insights within Creator Studio but will be ineligible for monetization on the post. All monetization goes to the primary collaborator.  

Benefits of this option: An opportunity to gain more traction with organic video content in Facebook’s newsfeed.  

CoTweets: what to know (a look ahead) 

Twitter is currently beta testing the CoTweet feature for select accounts in the U.S., Canada and Korea. Like Meta’s tactics with Collabs, this CoTweet feature allows two accounts to co-author a post and have it live on both timelines and share data. This test rolled out on July 7, and we’re keeping our eyes on it to see what comes next. 

As you consider shifts in strategy and how best to navigate these new collaborative waters, here are some ripple effects to consider as you look ahead: 

• Expect a major shift across the board in influencer pricing. The cost of a joint post will be more for custom-made exclusive content, even though it benefits both the brand and creator.  
• The traction you can gain by incorporating collaborative posts multiple times a week will extend to your other content, benefiting your place in the algorithm across all posts. 
• Overall, expect to increase your budget, but expect your content quality and engagement to increase along with it.   

Could social collaborations benefit your brand?  

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