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Short-form video is everywhere nowadays. It's no surprise that social media marketers plan to invest in this format more than any other in 2022.
So far, TikTok has been the leader of short-form video and Instagram is not far behind with Reels. Recently YouTube joined the club with Shorts, and after reaching 5T views is now competing with leaders of the pack when it comes to trends in video consumption.
According to a study by Wyzowl from 2020, people share videos at twice the rate of any other content form, with 84% of people persuaded to buy a product or service based on a video.
The benefits of short-form videos are pretty obvious. It’s easier to digest and has delivers results. In 2021, short-form video content had the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy.
As a result, brands of many niches are looking to produce more video—both trending content, and evergreen content—especially in the short, vertical, immersive format that has all generations tapped into video sharing.
Why you should consider resharing videos
Most content requires minimal production and can be quickly recorded on a smartphone. Yet, a big misconception is that creating short-form content is "easy".
Each video can take considerable time to create, regardless of its length. So, it's no wonder that creators, businesses, and marketers are looking for ways to re-use the creative assets they already have.
By “reusing,” I mean resharing existing content. This is a bit different than repurposing. Resharing is taking the videos you create for one platform and sharing them on another.
Time is a precious currency, especially in content marketing. Identifying one platform that takes up a lot of your time and optimizes your efforts is an intelligent way to work more efficiently.
You will ensure that as more people see your content and create a more unified brand presence across different platforms.
Get started resharing content
We often see creators sharing their TikTok videos on other platforms. In addition, TikTok's only format is video, specifically short-form (up to 3 minutes), which makes it a natural starting point.
TikTok is the place to create short-form content, and it requires multiple posts each day for best results. If you are already established on TikTok you probably have plenty of great content in circulation there. It's the perfect place to start when it comes to resharing.
You can save time on Instagram by selecting some TikTok content and resharing it on Reels. I would suggest starting from there and then looking at resharing Reels on TikTok, if relevant.
TikTok's editing suite is also a lot easier to navigate than Instagram's and more sophisticated, which means you can often create the short-form content directly from the app without external software.
It's important to highlight that Instagram is pushing users to video content more than ever, by encouraging brands to start creating Reels. The addition of the Reels tab on Instagram translates to a very TikTok-like experience, similar to what users see on their Explore page.
By spending time on both TikTok and Reels, you'll start to identify overlapping trends, sounds, and even specific content, which will make it even easier to re-share across platforms.
How to re-share content you already posted
There are tools that make it possible for you to download videos without watermarks. However, there are also options within the apps to help you out. On Instagram, you can tap the option to download a Reel. This feature does not include a watermark, which is a bonus.
After you make and post your video, check out the three-dot icon—you should see a download option for your phone. You can also activate the option to Save reels to the device automatically in your Reels setting.
On TikTok, you can link your Instagram account and when you record a video, check Instagram as a platform to re-share your content. The video will be saved to your device, and you'll be able to re-share via Reels. The downside is that you will then have the TikTok watermark.
I re-share video content frequently these days. For example, you can see how I re-share some of my TikTok videos to Reels. Very important, I make sure I remove watermarks and find matching trends if applicable (something we'll cover in our don'ts).
Resharing effectively is possible, if you remember a few crucial details. Below is a selection of dos and don'ts to help you re-sharing content on TikTok and Instagram.
Produce videos using your device’s camera
Rather than opening the Instagram or TikTok app to record, start with your camera phone, This way you can avoid the watermark situation altogether and you can edit the video for multiple platforms.
Tools like the UNUM app are a great way to organize your videos, clone them, and make multiple versions of the same video to share on all your social apps. To become excellent at resharing content, get used to digital asset management, otherwise, your phone or cloud service is going to get crowded and messy fast.
Don’t underestimate the power of knowledge
Everyone wants to learn something new. Followers will be happy to see your content shining on multiple platforms if it adds value to their lives.
Educational content builds brand loyalty by winning the hearts and minds of your followers. How-to's, DIYs, and explainer videos add value to your content, but they can also be entertaining if you pair them with a trend.
Content like this can easily be created outside of Instagram or TikTok and re-shared without any watermark issues. Keep it short and sweet and they work well on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.
When sharing on TikTok and Instagram, you have a couple of options. You can overlay low-volume background music or songs that you may see trending for other videos with speech for talking head videos.
If talking is not your cup of tea, you can use the text-to-speech on TikTok and Instagram to share the same video twice. Educational content is more engaging than most other forms of video content, so it's a great way to boost lead generation and build stronger brand loyalty. It's a lot easier to produce.
Don't skip on audience research
Now that you understand how time-efficient it is to reshare content, you need to find out if it be relevant to your audiences.
When you share content across different platforms, know who your target audience is, and whether or not they overlap on Instagram and TikTok.
You can Imagine a Venn diagram of your audience to determine their needs and interests so you can re-share content that is going to help either strengthen the relationship with followers or get discovered by new audiences.
Repurpose content with overlapping trends
These days, most trends tend to gain momentum on both platforms relatively quickly. To identify overlapping trends, I suggest finding a few big players in your industry who are active on both TikTok and Instagram and keep an eye on their content to spot trends likely to travel across platforms.
Let's use a trending sound as an example. When you discover a trending sound on TikTok that you want to jump, create a video and share it. Then, do your research to see if a similar trend is also emerging on Instagram.
Search for the same exact trending sound in your Reels and re-share the original video with the original sound muted, carefully overlaying the "trending" sound from the platform.
If you do not find the original trend, you have two options. Wait for a big account to start a viral trend using the sound or be "a trend-setter" and share your Reel with "original sound" and hope others jump on the sound you used. Either way, you can make the most of trends to help you re-share the video.
Don't re-share content with watermarks
It is never a good idea to share content with a watermark. Neither TikTok nor Instagram wants you to share native content between the two platforms.
If the algorithms detect content with the watermark from competing platforms, your discoverability could be affected.
Watermarks can also be very intrusive, which arguably is the reason they are introduced in the first place, which is why, if you are resharing TikTok videos, I would recommend looking into a website to help download a clean version.
Popular options include:
The advantage of these apps is that they can remove the logos and allow you to download the original video without any watermarks. A word of warning: check the output as you may need to re-sync and adjust the audio after downloading.
Create consistency across platforms
The art of resharing content for different social media platforms takes practice and finesse. What works on one platform may not work on another. And, if not executed correctly, can even come across as spammy or fake. Even when it comes to short-form video, each platform is different.
TikTok creators rely heavily on Stitches and Duets, while Instagram users tend to use Collab, and lately, the Remix feature.
Differences exist not only in styles or editing features but in requirements. TikTok, for example, has less space for its video frame, which means if you re-share content from Instagram with text too close to the edge, it will cut off in the TikTok mobile app.
Small details like this can make or break your content. You may want to choose consistent branding on TikTok and Instagram Reels, and if relying on editing text within each platform, adapt the fonts accordingly. I prefer to keep consistent font styles to allow less friction when resharing.
The lesson is that you do not have to re-share every video you post on TikTok, for example. Only select ones that you can easily translate onto Reels, which will match your audience on Instagram. Quality is essential for resharing, as the content should feel as native as possible.
Don't ignore accessibility
One of the most critical aspects of using social media is making sure your content is accessible to everyone. Accessibility means considering visually-, or hearing-impaired people.
Audio captions will help people who are deaf or hard of hearing understand what is happening in the video. You can either create teh audio captions outside the app or place them within the central part of the video to ensure it does not get hidden by stickers, post captions, or handles.
Alternatively, you can use native captioning from Instagram and TikTok. This option is best to facilitate consumption for people using a screen reader. If you go down the native captioning road, ensure you have enough space in the video to add the caption without being too cluttered.
Resharing content saves time
You're essentially curating a playlist of the best of your video content across all of your platforms when you resharing content. This process can save you time and make it easier for your followers to find the best of your content and connect.
Make sure you take time to adapt, refine and create a simple system to make the most of resharing opportunities when it comes to short-form videos on TikTok and Instagram.
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