Social Media content calendar automation w/ videos, captions, posting

Questions
,
1

:bullseye: What is your goal?

I would like to automate my social media content caption writing and posting for videos.

:thinking: What is the problem & what have you tried?

I am creating videos manually and uploading them to Google Drive. I am stuck figuring out how to get the video file through an automation all the way to posting as a reel on instagram (or any other platform).

If I use sheets, I’m not sure what kind of link I’m supposed to put in the row (share link, download link, etc).

I also plan to insert my own caption for each video into the Google Sheet and will want to use that as the caption for the video.

1 Like
3

Hey @tcd_maker !

You need a direct file URL that Make can actually download, not a standard Google Drive share link. The share link won’t work for posting. The file has to be retrieved as binary data first.

Set up the scenario so the video is pulled from Google Drive using a Get a file module, then pass that file output into the Instagram module. If you’re using Google Sheets, store the file ID or a direct download link, not the normal share URL.

Flow is Google Sheets to get the row, Google Drive to get the file using the file ID, then Instagram for Business to create the reel. Map the file data from Google Drive into the media field, and map the caption column from Sheets into the caption field.

That way the video is properly uploaded and posted with your caption.

Dr. Tanvi Sachar
Monday Certified Partner, Tuesday Wizard

1 Like
4

Hello @tcd_maker what I usally do when creating social media publishers with Make, is:

1.- I download the file from Google Drive by using the Download a File

2.- Then I upload as a resource to Cloudinary, they give you a public URL

3.- I use that URL in the social media modules, like Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Cloudinary has a free tier, and literally I just upload the picture, video. Then upload to the corresponding social media network. And after the upload has been completed I just delete the file in Cloudinary, this way I always have space for free for next uploads.

Cloudinary
Cloudinary2494×1422 317 KB

1 Like
5

Thanks, will try this out!

6

Thanks, will Cloudinary a try.. im a bit hesitant to sign up for yet another thing but I understand it is what it is. Thanks for the suggestion, will give it a go.

1 Like
7

It doesn’t need to be cloudinary. You just need the file to be somewhere in the cloud with an accessible URL. Could be ClickUp, Airtable, Notion, Monday, Asana, or any of the other platforms you might already be using.

8

Hey,

Upload your videos to Google Drive and get a link that can be downloaded directly. In a Google Sheet, create two columns: one for the video link and one for the caption you want to use. Then use an automation tool to take each video and post it as a reel with its caption. Make sure your Instagram account is a business or creator account, and start by testing with one video to make sure it works.