There’s no doubt that the rise of TikTok has dominated the social media scene. Now, short-form video content is a non-negotiable for brands on social media, which can prove daunting and challenging to consistently create.
TikTok is more than a trend: it’s a powerful marketing platform that’s here to stay. So how do you maximize its fast-moving potential to grow your business or brand?
One of the best ways to extract more value from your short-form content is to ensure you’re repurposing TikToks to Reels. If you’re ready to maximize your reach, boost your engagement and grow a thriving community across TikTok and Instagram, discover the best practice tips and tricks you need to know about below.
What are the benefits of resharing TikTok videos to Instagram Reels?
Have you been wondering how you can maximize your reach, engagement and amplify your brand presence on social media? Cross-sharing your content could be the answer.
Not only does cross-sharing extend the lifetime value of your content but it also has long-term benefits for your content strategy, including:
1. Increased engagement potential: resharing content across platforms can boost your discoverability potential by exposing you to different audience segments and leveraging different algorithms.
2. Diversify your content strategy: whilst TikTok and Instagram share similarities in that they prioritise video-centric and short-form content, each platform has its own trend cycle and algorithm. By resharing TikToks to Reels, you can shake up your content strategy by understanding how to cater to different audiences, analyze performance, grasp unique preferences, and uncover missed opportunities in your content approach.
3. Maximize your time and effort: creating high-quality content can sometimes take longer than anticipated. By repurposing your content across multiple platforms, you can ensure your hard work goes the distance and has the highest potential of being seen across your channels.
How to reshare TikToks to Reels: a step-by-step guide
Resharing TikTok videos involves more than just tapping the share button. Here’s how to get started and reshare your content like a pro:
1. Download TikTok content: if you haven’t previously saved a copy of your video prior to posting or if you’ve filmed directly within the TikTok app you will need to download your content within the app.
2. Remove watermarks: any content downloaded directly from the TikTok app will feature a watermark or logo. To remove this, head to a third-party app such as SnapTik and follow the instructions to clean up your content.
3. Trim and tailor: to get your content ready for Instagram Reels, it must be within the 90-second time limit. Anything exceeding this will need to be trimmed and tailored to fit within Reels standards.
4. Prep your cover image: seamlessly integrate your Reel into your regular feed by picking a cover image that resonates with your current feed but is also visually appealing to your audience.
5. Schedule and publish: once your content is ready to go, head into your Plann workspace to schedule and auto-post your video to Instagram Reels.
Did you know that Plann’s cross-posting feature allows you to create, upload and edit a single post to share across multiple platforms at once? Just tweak your captions and thumbnails and you’re good to go! If you want to save the hassle of downloading and re-uploading content, this is a must-try hack.
Five best practice tips for resharing TikTok videos to Reels
Now you know the why and how behind resharing TikToks to Reels, here are some best practice tips to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success when sharing the same content across different platforms.
1. Timing
Currently, Tiktok allows for users to share videos anywhere from 15 seconds to three minutes long. On the other hand, Instagram Reels are typically shorter with the maximum length capped at 90 seconds.
This means that TikTok content that exceedes 90 seconds must be cut down when converting to a Reels format.
When resharing TikTok content its important to be strategic and intentional when deciding what content you will include in your final reel.
Top tip: videos between 15-30 seconds tend to have higher engagement rates and the first two seconds of content are critical for recall and awareness!
2. Captions
Recently, TikTok increased its caption character limit from 300 characters to 2,200 characters. Although sometimes beneficial, most TikTok creators tend to stay away from longer word counts and focus on concise, punchy captions.
On the other hand, Reels also allows for a maximum of 2,200 characters. Instagram creators tend to utilize longer, more informative captions by harnessing Reels’ unique call to action capability. Many creators leverage text prompts or text overlay instructions in their videos to entice consumers to read their captions and drive engagement.
As you migrate TikTok content to Reels, remember that captions can transform the context and impact of your video. Be sure to customize the length and structure of your captions to align with the best practice tips fo each platform.
3. Thumbnail
TikTok thumbnails are generally less curated, and often captured from the contents of the video.
On the flip side, Instagram allows you the option of posting a Reel to the grid which appears in your account feed.
This means that an eye-catching thumbnail is more important on Instagram and you should intentionally choose a cover image that resonates with your grid feed and brand identity.
4. Trend cycle
The trajectory of viral trends is constantly changing on social media. It’s important to stay aware of how trends exist on each platform in order to maximize virality potential and relevance.
Trends aren’t always happening on the same platforms at the same time. Commonly, viral TikTok trends won’t show up on Reels until a week or two later.
So, with Reels, you can either wait until your trending video shows up on the app, or you can become the trendsetter yourself and post your content under an original audio.
5. Watermarks
Instagram is in direct competition with TikTok, so resharing content with any watermarks or logos from competitors is definitely a no-go.
Instagram encourages users to share high-quality, relevant content (not reshares and branded reposts from different platforms). So, when resharing from TikTok ensure any watermarks or logos are removed prior to uploading.
When sharing to Reels, it’s also a good idea to select your audio directly from the Reels library instead of uploading your original TikTok sound. This will ensure your content is interacting with relevant Reels trends and increases the potential for the Instagram algorithm to prioritize your content.
Ready to supercharge your success on social media?
Looking for an all-in-one content creation suite that allows you to manage your social media channels effortlessly? From mapping out your strategy, and designing your graphics to repurposing your content, you’ll find everything you need inside Plann.
Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!
