In the past, it was much easier to post to Pinterest and Instagram automatically. But It's clear that in the last few years social media have been fighting spam. And although this is good, it also makes it harder for marketers to use social media for digital marketing.
In this guide, I want to explain how you can auto-post from Pinterest to Instagram. This method takes a little time to set up, but as soon as it's working, it will auto-publish your latest blog post, first to Pinterest and then to Instagram.
Create a Buffer account
First, create a buffer account, it's simple and quick. Buffer is the best tool to schedule and publish on social media. Although they have the option to connect to your Pinterest account. This is no longer supported. So don't bother trying it...Also Read: 1300+ Profile Creation Backlink Sites For SEO - High DA List
Connect Facebook + Instagram & Create a business account
Next, you have to log in to Facebook (and Instagram). Make sure that the Instagram account that you want to publish to is a business account. And make sure that you have a Facebook page that is connected to your Instagram account. It's free to do, so don't worry.Buffer actually has a detailed guide on how to set up an Instagram business and connect it with Facebook. Check it out here.
Create Integromat account
Next, go to Integromat and create an account. It is easy and free to do. Integromat is a free tool that helps you connect different apps with each other, and then automate them. It's an advanced and easy-to-use tool. And the free version should be enough to post 1 or 2 times per day. Although, I recommend you buy the monthly subscription, for just 10 dollars you get 10 times more volume than the free version.Setting up your Pinterest account
Your Pinterest account has to be a business account. This is free and all you have to do is go to Settings > Account settings > scroll down to Account changes > then click on Convert to a business account. For more help go here.
Now that your website is claimed and your Pinterest account is a business account. You need to connect your RSS feed with Pinterest. It's possible (for now) to auto-post to Pinterest using your claimed website.
Just go to settings > Bulk create Pins, add your RSS feed and choose the board you want to auto-publish. Not sure how to find your RSS feed? Use this chrome extension. If the extension can't find it, you might have deactivated it, go here for more help on setting up an RSS feed.
Also read: 6 Expert Tips For Effective Digital Marketing Campaigns
Turn your Pinterest board into an RSS feed.
Get the RSS URL from the Pinterest board that you want to use for auto posting.Easy trick, add: ".rss'' without the quotation marks, behind the URL of the board. This will give you the XML RSS of any Pinterest board. You should only see text, no layout, this is correct. If you want a version with layout, I recommend you use Feedburner and add your RSS feed there. Either way, copy one of the RSS feeds URL.
Why can I not use an app, like IFTTT to post to Pinterest?
Like I said before, in the past it was much easier to auto-post to Pinterest. But this feature has been misused a lot. And to provide a better service for its users, Pinterest made it very difficult to auto-post. They try to prevent people from spamming Pinterest, hoping to get a ton of free traffic.
Ok, now that you have set up all the accounts, and you have connected Buffer with Instagram. The next steps will guide you through the process of setting up Integromat.
Also Read: Affiliate Marketing: What It Is And How It Works
Ok, now that you have set up all the accounts, and you have connected Buffer with Instagram. The next steps will guide you through the process of setting up Integromat.
Also Read: Affiliate Marketing: What It Is And How It Works
Setting up Integromat to Autopost
Go to Integromat and create a new scenario (big blue button in the top right corner). Then click the blue circle with a + and search for RSS. Click the RSS icon and then add the trigger: “Watch RSS feed items”. Now, under “URL” add the RSS Feed from Pinterest, and leave the rest as is.Now choose where you want to start posting from. You can start with the last or new post in the RSS feed. It depends on you.
Now we have to add a Parser that filters out images from the RSS feed. This is because Pinterest feeds don't have a separate tag for images.
Click on the red icon under tools named “text parser”, then select “get element from HTML”. Under "Element type" choose image (img). And under HTML select description. Press ok.
Lastly, add the Buffer app. Connect your buffer account first. Then under text, you can add the text you want to be displayed in your Instagram posts. You can add hashtags, text, etc. Then choose if you want Buffer to post right away or add the post to the queue. Next, we need to add the images.
Click the “attach media to the update” and fill in the fields as shown in the picture below.
Now, as you can see, I added some additional text to the "Link to an image" part. That is because the images in the Pinterest boards are in low resolution. Luckily there is a simple workaround. Integromat supports scripts, like JavaScript. So we can set up a simple replace script that replaces a small part of the URL, namely: "236x" with "564x".
Use this script: {{replace(4.attrs.src; "236x"; "564x")}}
And there you have it. Now everything you post to your Pinterest board will also be posted to Instagram. If there is an error, Integromat or Buffer will send you an email.
This is what it should look like:
Now, you can run the scenario once and test if it works.
If it works you can turn on the scenario.
One last thing, you can control the time between each run. Click on the clock icon next to the RSS logo. Determine how often the trigger has to fire. By default, it's 15 minutes. Change it to 1440 to run once per day.
Also read: How To Sell A Product Online in Simple Steps (Beginners Guide)
Please don't misuse this method, and don't spam. Your account will be banned, or worse. Pinterest or Instagram will change these features, making it impossible to auto-post… Besides, high quality always beats high quantity. You should focus on high-quality content that you can then auto-post on Pinterest and Instagram to get the most out of this feature.
Please don't misuse this method, and don't spam. Your account will be banned, or worse. Pinterest or Instagram will change these features, making it impossible to auto-post… Besides, high quality always beats high quantity. You should focus on high-quality content that you can then auto-post on Pinterest and Instagram to get the most out of this feature.
IFTTT alternative
If, for some reason, you don't want to use Integromat. You can use IFTTT. This is also a great automation tool. The downside is that you can't use scripts. I will soon publish an article on how you can use IFTTT as well. So please subscribe to notifications by clicking the bell in the left side corner or join my email list.____________
Ron Hoekstra is the founder of The Liberty OnDemand. With his many years of experience in the field of graphic design and self taught knowledge about business, digital marketing and leveraging wealth. He can give you valuable insights and content to help you grow and become more successful!
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