This step-by-step guide will walk you through setting up an automation system that posts your blog content (or anyone else’s) from an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed to the Meta's Threads app using IFTTT (aka IF This Then That) and Buffer. Perfect for bloggers, content creators, curators, and social media managers, this free method helps you streamline your content distribution effortlessly—no cost, just pure automation magic!
Who Is This Automation For?
- Bloggers: Those who regularly update their blog and want to share new posts on Threads automatically without spending a fortune on simple social sharing.
- Social Media Managers and Curators: Professionals managing multiple social media accounts looking to save time by automating content sharing from multiple sources.
- Content Creators and Small Business Owners: Individuals who produce or consume fresh content and want to maintain an active presence on Threads without manual posting.
Who Is This Automation Not For?
- Non-Technical Users: Individuals who are uncomfortable with setting up automation tools might find this process challenging.
- Those Preferring Manual Control: Users who prefer to manually curate and personalize each post for social media may not benefit from this automation, as this is kind of set it and forget it strategy.
Pros and Cons of This Automation
Pros:
- Time/Money-Saving: Automates repetitive tasks without spending a dollar, freeing up time for other activities.
- Consistency: Ensures your Threads account is regularly updated with new content.
- Broad Reach: Helps in reaching a wider audience by sharing your blog posts on another platform.
Cons:
- Initial Setup: Requires time and effort to set up the automation.
- Limited Customization: Automated posts may lack the personalized touch of manually crafted posts.
- Limits on Posting Frequency: Both Buffer and IFTTT have their limits for posting content through their platforms, so this free automation is not suitable for unlimited use case or for big organizations with hundreds of posts in a day. However opting for paid options will make this process optimal for big agencies and businesses.
- Potential Errors: Automation might fail due to technical glitches, requiring monitoring and troubleshooting.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Setting Up Buffer
- Sign Up / Login to Buffer:
- Add Threads Channel in Buffer app:
- Once logged in, go Publish tab, navigate to the "Channels" section (from left side of the Page).
- If Thread is not visible, click on "Show all channels".
- Select "Connect Threads" from the list of available channels.
- Follow the prompts to authorize Buffer to access your Threads account. This will involve logging into your Threads or Instagram account and granting necessary permissions and confirmations, just like below screenshots. (side note: Be sure, your Threads account is open for Public view and not set as Private profile from privacy settings).
- Set Custom Posting Times in Buffer:
- Go back to the "Publish" tab in Buffer app and you'll see the Threads Channel there.
- Select your Threads account from the list of connected channels.
- Click on "Settings" next to your Threads account. And then "Posting Schedule".
- Configure the posting schedule by setting the times, hours and days you want your posts to be published. Let's say you are a reader of Digital Information World (DIW) blog and you want to update your Threads feed after every 30 minutes as the RSS feed of DIW gets updated, you'll need to select the Threads channel in Buffer's "Publish" tab, then go to "Settings", and then in the "Posting Schedule" tab, look for the "Add a new posting time" section. Select "Every Day" from the drop down menu and choose a time according to your preferences, for example, if you want to auto-post the content from 12:06 AM and onward, you've to choose 12:06 AM along with "Every Day" in the "Add a new posting time" section and then click on "Add Posting Time" button, this will add just one posting/scheduling time, for more frequent updates, you can add more timings as per your requirement and content calendar. Here is how my posting schedule looks like for your inspiration.
- You can always edit, remove and change these time settings but be sure to have at least two three posting times.
Step 2: Setting Up IFTTT account
- Login to IFTTT:
- Go to IFTTT and create a new account with a free plan. You can safely skip the Pro or Pro+ trials. If you already have an account, move to the next step.
- Go to "Log In" page. Enter your email and password, then click "Sign In".
- Create a New Applet:
- In you IFTTT dashboard look for Create button, if you could not find it go to this page.
- Click on "Create" and you'll be redirected to a new page (like the below one).
- Click on "If This" or "Add" button. And you'll be redirected to "Choose a service" page.
- In you IFTTT dashboard look for Create button, if you could not find it go to this page.
- Configure RSS Feed Trigger:
- In the "Choose a service" search box, type "RSS Feed".
- Select the "RSS Feed" service from the search results.
- You'll be redirected to a new page called "Choose a trigger". On that page choose the "New feed item" trigger.
- Enter your RSS feed URL (that may look something like this https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/feeds/posts/default/?alt=rss or https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/rss) and click "Create trigger".
Side note: if you don't know how to find the RSS feed of your or any other website, be sure to read this guide.
- Set Up Buffer Connection and Action:
- Click on "Then That".
- In the "Choose a service" search box, type "Buffer".
- Select the "Buffer" service from the search results.
- Now you will get 2 actions. First, "Add to Buffer", this will post the link thumbnail to your Threads (which often get less user interactions). And second "Add photo to Buffer" action, which will upload a header photo from blog (if there is any in the post, if no this action will produce errors) along with a link in description, (which often gets more engagement from users). Pick your required option and in the next window you'll be asked to connect to your Buffer account with IFTTT.
- Click on "Then That".
Step 3: Connecting IFTTT and Buffer
- Authorize IFTTT to Access Buffer:
- During the first time setup of the Buffer action, you will be prompted to authorize IFTTT to access your Buffer account.
- Follow the authorization steps, which typically involve logging into Buffer and granting permissions to IFTTT.
- Be sure to connect the Threads channels during the Buffer and IFTTT integration for our automation to work properly, That is, when you were asked "Which profile would you like to use with IFTTT?", select Threads from "Your buffer profiles" drop down options and press Update. Now you've to go back to IFTTT creation page (as IFTTT won't take to automatically to the next step).
- The IFTTT page will now be showing the "Complete action fields" page with already added descriptions. If not juts be sure in your Buffer Account section you have your Threads channels connected and in the "Update" box EntryTitle and EntryUrl are appearing that changes into this when you click on them: {{EntryTitle}} {{EntryUrl}}, which is how this command works. So leave theme as is and click on Update/Create action. And then click on the Continue button.
- Review and Finish:
- Review the applet settings on IFTTT to ensure everything is configured correctly.
- Click "Finish" to activate the applet.
Step 4: Finalize and Test the Automation
- Test the Setup:
- Publish a new blog post or update an existing one (with updated current time) to trigger the RSS feed (or if you don't own the blog just wait for them to push new updates).
- Check Buffer to see if the new post appears in the queue for Threads.
- Verify that the post is published on Threads at the scheduled time.
- Monitor and Adjust:
- Regularly monitor the activity on IFTTT and Buffer to ensure the automation works smoothly.
- Be sure to turn on "Notify me if this fails to run" from IFTTT My Applets page, in case this automation fails you'll be notified.
- Make adjustments to the posting schedule, post format, or any other settings as needed.
Additional Tips
- Regular Monitoring: Keep an eye on the automation to quickly address any issues that may arise.
- Custom Post Text: Customize the post text in IFTTT to include relevant hashtags, custom message or mentions to increase engagement on Threads.
- Buffer's Analytics: Utilize Buffer's analytics to track the performance of your posts on Threads and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Short Links: By default Buffer and IFTTT automatically set their Link shortening service to On mode, if you want to turn that off, first go to this page https://ifttt.com/settings and scroll down to "URL shortening" section and turn off "Auto-shoten URLs". Secondly, go to Buffer > Publish Tab > Settings > General > Link Shortening. And here change "buff.ly" to No Shortening.
By following these steps, you can set up a reliable automation system to post your blog content from an RSS feed to the Threads app using IFTTT and Buffer. This ensures that your Threads audience stays engaged with your latest blog updates without requiring manual posting.
If you've any question regarding any step, feel free to ask in the comments or if you want me to set this automation for your blog or profile (and willing to pay me for my time) with your custom needs or want to connect any other social network like LinkedIn then feel free to DM me on X.
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