The beta cross-network publishing tool offers the ability to publish posts on multiple channels you have connected to Brandwatch from different networks, allowing you to save time while keeping your posts consistent across your networks. In this article, learn what post features are accessible in the beta and how to create a cross-network post in Publish.
Available beta features
Currently, the following general features are visible and accessible in the beta:
Cross-network publishing for Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn
Post scheduling (for draft-level posts)
Best time to post
Labels (for draft posts)
Iris AI writing assistant
Notes on posts
Available features for Facebook posts:
First comment
Link posts with link card
Alt text for images
Call to action
Add location
Post title and video title
Add hyperlink in the post
Tag business partner
Dark posts
Add video captions/subtitles
Available features for Instagram posts:
First comment
Add location
Share to feed
Rename audio
Custom thumbnail and frame selector
Tag users in images and carousels
Tag users in video (including invite collaborators)
Alt text for images (exclusive to cross-network publishing)
Available features for LinkedIn posts:
First comment
Link posts with link card
Alt text for images
Post title and video title
Add hyperlink in the post
Add video captions/subtitles
Available features for X (Twitter) posts:
Link post with link card
Alt text for images
Add hyperlink in the post
Tag users in images and carousels
Available features for YouTube posts:
Post title for videos
Privacy/visibility
Add hyperlink in post
Custom thumbnail and frame selector
Add video captions/subtitles
Available features for TikTok posts:
Comments, Duet, Stitch
Available features for Pinterest posts:
Board selection
Link
Custom thumbnail and frame selector
Usability considerations for the open beta
While cross-network publishing is in open beta, please be aware of the following usability considerations in-platform:
When posts are published, direct links on their native networks will not be available at this time.
If one channel, among many, in the draft fails with a publishing error, the entire draft will be categorized as Publishing error. This does not affect the statuses for the individual successful posts. All failed and successful posts will be visible in the calendar and in the content left-hand panel. If you use the trash can icon in the progress pop-up to delete the failed post, the entire draft will then be counted as a success. You then will need to attempt publishing to the failed channel(s) again.
The publishing progress pop-up can be closed before the posts finish posting on all channels. This will not affect the publishing process. The pop-up can be brought back via the left side content list panel. If after closing the pop-up, the draft is still in processing state (publishing posts), it can be found in the Processing folder. Clicking on it will bring the progress pop-up back.
Single-network posting and cross-network post designation will remain separate in some areas, so a single-network post vs. cross-network post toggle will be available where it applies:
At this time, single-network post vs. cross-network post sorting applies to posts in Draft, Scheduled, Processing, and Publishing error statuses.
After a post gets successfully published, it loses the single-network post vs. cross-network post designation, so at this time the single-network post vs. Cross-network post toggle in the Published content folder will not show a difference in the post.
Single-network posts vs. Cross-network posts in different statuses can also be sorted in the Publish calendar where the toggle is available. When a post is published, it will be show in both single-network post and cross-network post calendar modes regardless of the option picked. Use the post status filter to sort posts by status when also sorting by single-network post vs. cross-network post in the Publish calendar. When the post status is sorted to Published, you should not see any difference in your post when using the single-network post vs. cross-network post toggle.
If you add an attachment at the network or channel level and then remove it, the attachment field at that level will remain showing as customized. While it remains customized, changes to attachments at higher levels should not affect it. For example, if you remove the attachments from a channel, that channel’s will stay empty even if attachments are customized at the higher network level or All Channels level. Attachments will only be inherited from the parent post again when you explicitly use the Reset changes option on your post.
User permissions support
Cross-network publishing permissions will be available to users with the following user roles: Administrator, Editor, Content Creator. Their limitations will be related to permissions and the availability of the features in cross network.
Note: Users with unsupported roles may be able to access cross-network publishing, but they will not be able to complete actions because they lack permissions to use the features. For example, a View only role will not have access to the Create post button at all (regardless if cross-network publishing or single network). A View only role can access cross-network post drafts but they will not be able to edit them.
Creating a cross-network post
From Publish, you can get started with cross-network publishing by clicking:
Click Create Post in Publish’s left-hand navigation sidebar, then select Cross-network creation.
In the cross-network publishing menu, you can choose to either start building your post content first, or select your channels you would like to post on first.
If you build your post content first, you can enter your post text, upload the post media, and apply other components to your post such as labels, etc. Then, you can select your channels to post on afterwards. All your post content will be added for each channel, and you can then further customize the post on the network level.
Note: If you select the channels for your post first, your channels list will show red validation messages indicating the posting requirements for each channel. You can use these as guidelines to refine your post for each network to ensure it meet’s the network’s posting criteria.
Use the Select channels dropdown on the left side of the screen to multi-select the channels you would like to publish your posts to.
The All channels view will display your post options for all networks, while the network views will display the requirements for that network only. The Network preview panel on the right-hand side of the screen will display previews of how your post will appear on each network.
Note: Any post text and media you apply to the post in All channels view will carry over to the individual network posts. However, you can customize the text and media for each individual network post. The network will display an icon indicating that it has been customized.
Note: After you select your channels, they will be highlighted with a red indicator if you are missing components to complete your post, such as required labels, etc., or if you need to make required adjustments for the network such as editing your post media specifications. You can click on the red indicators to see more information about what components are required for your specific post.
In All channels view or each individual network view, you can click open the network-specific features panels to apply post features specific to those networks.
In All channels view or each individual network post view, use the Labels panel to apply labels to your posts.
Note: Whether labels are applied in All channels view or the individual network post view, those labels will be applied to your posts for all the networks you selected to post on.Note: If labels are required for your post, you will see a red indicator indicating that you must apply a label before publishing or scheduling your post.
In all channels view or each individual network post view, use the Schedule panel to schedule your post. Use the Best times to post suggestions to schedule your post for optimal performance.
Note: Whether you schedule your post in All channels view or on the individual network post view, your post will be scheduled on all the networks at the scheduling date and time you selected. If you need to schedule your post for a specific time on a specific network, we recommend creating a separate individual draft of your post so you can schedule it individually for the desired network.
After you have completed all the requirements for your posts on all networks, click Save to save your cross-network post as a draft, or Publish all/Schedule all to complete your cross-network publishing.
Viewing cross-network posts on the Publish calendar
Cross-network posts, whether published or in draft mode, can be easily filtered on the Publish calendar using the Cross-network posts toggle in the top navigation bar.
Clicking into a cross-network post that is scheduled from the calendar will display a similar view as the cross-network post editor and allow you to see the post previews on all associated networks.