Does your target audience speak mostly English, but also Portuguese or another language? When you publish content on Facebook and Instagram, do you do it using those different languages at the same time in each post, and separating them with the respective flags or another language sign?
If your answer is yes, then we have some clarity for you! Let's see how to post in multiple languages, i.e publish in two or more idioms, on Instagram and Facebook.
Before starting, we need to know in how many languages are you posting on these two social media, and understand the current differences between them:
- Facebook has, at this time, and in addition to the direct posting on the feed, two options for publishing and scheduling content – the Publishing Tools and the recent Creator Studio.
- Instagram allows you to publish content (either images or videos) through the mobile app, and in the desktop version it allows you to upload videos.
Currently, and given how Meta is wired, there is no tool that posts on both platforms (Facebook and Instagram) in multiple languages at the same time. Damn you all, Meta, and Facebook, and Instagram! This is because Facebook has a user language detection system (which is based on the language we have selected in our personal profile) and it adapts, accordingly, for each person; a feature that does not exist on Instagram.
As Facebook adjusts and displays content in your language, it is important, when publishing in several different languages, to add your own translation or review the one suggested by this platform (certainly, as a user you have already noticed posts with translations that do not make sense, and we’re not talking about small, and relatively harmless, mistakes we all make from time to time!).
Let's now have a look at what is the most effective way to post content on Facebook and Instagram, knowing in advance that we will have to do it separately. Yes, separately! And yes, it is possible to share Instagram content on Facebook using the flag signs (or whichever differentiator you like) featuring the language in the post itself (but please note that doing this is limiting your reach on Facebook). So, to post and make the most of these two social media, for free:
- On Facebook, create your post in the ‘Publishing Tools’ (option visible on your page in the left-hand side menu), and in the option ‘Write post in another language’ add your translation (or review the one that is automatically generated). Here you can also preview your post, publish it immediately, or schedule it for later.
Please note that to post in multiple languages this option needs to be turned on on the Facebook page you’re managing (on your computer access the settings of this page on its left-hand side menu; on the now opened General menu look for the ‘Post in multiple languages’ option; click edit, check the box ‘Allow people who manage this page to write posts in multiple languages’ and save the changes).
But, just to keep us on our toes, Facebook decided a while ago to gradually move all users who manage commercial pages on this social media to the Meta Business Suite (formerly Facebook Business Suite) – if you don't have it yet, don't worry, it will be coming sooner or later! Now, in said Business Suite there is no option to publish in two or more languages (damn it!), and if you already have it and click on ‘Publishing Tools’ you will be redirected there, and goodbye multiple languages in your posts. If you want to continue posting in multiple languages in the Business Suite and you're not succeeding, here's a trick to help you. Let's see how to get out of there and back to the publishing menu with the possibility to post in multiple languages, step-by-step:
1. On the page you manage, on the left-hand side menu, click on ‘Publishing Tools’, which will open the ‘Meta Business Suite’. Scroll down its left-hand side menu until you see ‘All Tools’ (immediately after ‘Insights’) and click on it.
2. A new sub-menu will open and you need to scroll down once more to ‘Advertise’, and then click on ‘Ads Manager’ which will open it in a new tab.
2.a) Alternative route: if, for some reason, the ‘All Tools’ option is not listed on your Business Suite (it’s Facebook so you never know!), click on the last option, ‘Give Feedback’, at the left-hand side of the page, and select ‘Switch to Business Manager’ (here Meta will ask you to state the reason for this change, and you will have to do so to proceed).
2.b) You now have your ‘Business Manager’ open. Here click on ‘Ads Manager’.
3. On the ‘Ads Manager’ page (and regardless of which way you took to get there), go to the hamburger menu (three horizontal parallel lines) on the left-hand side at the top, under the home symbol, and look for the ‘Page Posts’ option.
4. And voilà, the publishing page, as you are used to, will appear. Write your post in multiple languages like we explained before for the ‘Publishing Tools’ option and you're good to go!
- On Instagram, you have two options – directly in the Instagram app on your mobile phone, or through the Creator Studio available on Facebook in the Publishing Tools option. The two biggest advantages of this studio are that when you create your posts for Instagram here, you can get the visual resources (images, videos, etc) of the posts already published on the Facebook page, without the need for a new upload. Here you can also schedule your posts on Instagram, without leaving Facebook.
However, there are exceptions – a video does not allow you to use the post in two or more languages’ functionality correctly on Facebook. In this case, you need to choose a language to post in, and, if that's not an option, then all that's left is to resort to separating the languages somehow (by using the flags we talked about before, for instance).
Ready to post in multiple languages and get the most out of Instagram and Facebook for free?
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at yourdigitalclarity.com.
