Another Facebook platform change? Actually there are a lot of recent changes Facebook has implemented. If you’re a Community Manager, Page owner, Brand or Business on Facebook, then you no doubt have noticed some of these changes. Below is the first article in a series that reviews recent Facebook changes along with information on how to use the new features.
Finally —The Ability to Schedule Facebook Posts
One of the biggest frustrations with the Facebook platform for Community Managers was the inability to schedule posts directly from Facebook. To get around this, many used tools like HootSuite, Social Oomph or BuddyMedia –all of which allow you to pre-schedule Facebook content (though some charge fees) and its been reported that using a third party tool to schedule Facebook content can have a negative impact on your Facebook Edgerank (the likelihood of your post showing up in your Fan’s news stream).
Recently, Facebook added the ability to pre or post schedule posts…and it’s free!
How to Schedule a Facebook Post:
Scheduling posts is easy, once you know where to go.
1. On your Page (or Profile), click in the content area to enter a post.
2. You will see a small clock appear just below the post area in the lower left hand corner.
3. Click on the clock. Select the year, month, date and time for your post to publish.
4. Click schedule.
You can schedule a post up to 6 months in advance in 15-minute intervals according to Facebook.
You can even go back in time: If you choose a date in the past, the post will appear immediately at the appropriate place on your Page’s timeline. All times correspond to the current time zone you’re in.
How to View or Manage your Scheduled Facebook Posts:
You can view any scheduled posts by clicking on the Admin Panel.
1. Click on Edit Page in the Admin Panel.
2. Select “Use Activity Log” from the drop down menu.
3. Your scheduled posts will appear at the top. From there you can change the time, publish now, reschedule your post or delete it. Unfortunately you cannot edit the post; you will have to delete it and start over.
Is this a useful feature to you? Have you scheduled any content back in time?
