Saving Time on Facebook

Trying to learn how to manage your organizational and business social media accounts can be daunting.

“Everyone is on Facebook, so I have to use that. But what about Twitter? And should I be doing something on LinkedIn? And is anyone on Google+? Is it even still ‘here’?” (Yes, it’s still here; and yes, people are still using it. A LOT. As  in, active users come in at a 2nd place finish to Facebook. Details on slide 9, here. But that’s another blog post. Or one of many whole dedicated blogs.)

Even if you start hitting a rhythm, or feel like your “getting it”, it still requires you to learn the tango in the time and resources dance. Since many organizations manage their own Facebook Page, you may find yourself scrambling for content at times. (I do!) It’s 3.45pm, and we realize we haven’t posted anything since the end of last week. “Oh no, I’ve got to put something out there!” What if we told you there are better ways, that you can actually schedule posts for your Facebook Page? “What’s that? I can put together some updates and plan them out all at once?!?” Indeed. You are not the first person to have been pleasantly surprised by this wondrous, yet small, tool.

1) Craft Your Content.

Upload your image, paste the website URL, and craft your status.

Note: If this is the first time you’ve ever tried to schedule posts for your Facebook page, you  will be prompted to set the date for when your organization was started. You won’t be able to schedule other updates until this is done. Don’t create an entire post in the box; you’ll loose all your work when it bounces you to the settings page. Just type gibberish, go to Step 2, and follow the directions to finish your timeline. Than come back to Step 1!

 

2) Click on the Clock.

Find the clock at the lower left of the status box. (You can also start here, doing this step first.)

 

3) Add the Year

The first thing you’ll be prompted to do is add the year. Clicking on the link opens a drop-down box with your options, from the time your organization is created until 6 months after the current month. Because Facebook allows for up to six months of future posting, this may be the following year. Also, you can backdate an update if you want to fill out the story of your past.  Note: Even if you add something from 10 years ago, that status will still be found in your fans timelines the day it goes “live.”

 

4) Add the Month, Day, and Time

Once you add the year, a the month day and time links will show up. You can limit the details to anyone of the time markers; if you an event that ran the whole month of September of 2011, there’s no requirement to add the day or time. If you do just choose the year, you’ll have the option to preventing it from going in the news feed. If you use your timeline for sensitive time keeping, or have an event that isn’t relevant to your current business or clients, it will be on your timeline but it will not be seen by your fans once you schedule it.

 

5) Press Schedule

You’ll notice that once you begin with planning the year, the clock at the lower left turns blue. If you change your mind and you won’t to post right away, you’ll have to start over. Also, as minutes are broken down as increments of 10, you’ll have to schedule at least 20 minutes out from the current time.

 

6) Congrats! You Learned How to Schedule Posts for Your Facebook Page!

Once you schedule a post, you will be prompted to visit the Activity Log to view all of your posts. Anything scheduled in the future can be deleted or edited for time, but not content. If you decide to change the wording or find a mistake, it must be recreated.

 

7) Viewing the Activity Log

You can view your Activity Log at any time, should you find the need to reschedule your post/s. At the top of the page is the Admin Panel; choose Edit Page, followed by Activity Log in the drop-down menu.

 

I hope this has been helpful. It really can save a great deal of time, and allow for you to consolidate your efforts in finding, creating, and scheduling your content.  Remember, when you schedule posts for your Facebook page you should allow for time to monitor your them when they go live. The conversation that follows is part of the relationship that you have with your clients…