As the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook is an essential component of any marketing strategy. However, posting consistently high-quality content to Facebook can be an arduous task. Creating content while also conducting research and monitoring the performance of your social media efforts is a never-ending balancing act.
Imagine, though, if you could save time and keep your feed active by planning and scheduling a Facebook post in advance.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to schedule a post on Facebook and talk about five effective tools to do it. These methods will help you stay consistent, generate engagement, and simplify your social media game, whether you’re managing a personal page, a brand, or a corporation.
All set to jump in? Alright, let’s begin!
- How to Schedule a Post on Facebook
- Why Schedule Facebook Posts?
- Scheduling Facebook Posts Using Meta Business Suite
- Using Third-Party Tools to Schedule Facebook Posts
- Comparison: Meta Business Suite vs. Third-Party Scheduling Tools
- Best Practices for Scheduling Facebook Posts
- How to Edit or Delete a Scheduled Facebook Post
- Common Issues & Troubleshooting for Facebook Scheduling
How to Schedule a Post on Facebook
Can you schedule a post on Facebook? Fortunately, the answer is yes! Thanks to Facebook’s scheduling options, posting to your social media content campaign becomes much easier. You can better plan your posts and share them when your audience is most likely to be online if you schedule them ahead of time. This gives you more control over your social media presence.
There are two ways to schedule Facebook posts. You can use Facebook’s native scheduling option in Meta Business Suite or third-party tools.
Why Schedule Facebook Posts?
I know what you’re thinking: “The way I post on Facebook is just fine. Who says I have to make a change?” Well, here are great reasons why scheduling your Facebook posts is better than posting them by hand.
1. Save Time & Increase Productivity
An easier and more efficient alternative to writing posts on the platform by hand every time you want to publish something is to schedule FB posts in advance. As a result, you won’t have to waste time going back into Meta Business Suite to tweak certain social media posts. This way, you can finish up fast and go on to something else.
2. Maintain Consistency in Your Content Strategy
No social media campaign is complete without consistency. Your audience will be more engaged and trusting of you if they know when to anticipate your postings. By posting at optimal times on a regular basis, Facebook will see that your page is a source of high-quality material. Consequently, it will increase your interactions by exposing it to your audience.
If your posts are sitting on the sidelines, you can buy Facebook comments to get people talking and give the impression that your material is more active, attracting even more engagement.
3. Optimize for the Best Engagement Times
A scheduled post on Facebook lets you share content when your Facebook audience is most likely to be online, increasing the chances of engagement and spread. Consistent, high-quality postings are the most effective approach to gaining traction on the platform. If you want your content to be seen by more people, you can also buy Facebook views and increase its reach right after it goes live.
4. Use Bulk Scheduling for Efficiency
Most scheduling software also allows you to bulk-upload content and cross-post from other platforms with one click, significantly reducing the time spent on the upload process.
Scheduling Facebook Posts Using Meta Business Suite
Before scheduling Facebook posts, ensure that you have a Facebook business profile. Take some time to create it if you do not have one. It is a quite easy and quick process.
Once everything is ready to go, you are ready to schedule a Facebook post using Meta Business Suite. Just follow the steps below.
Step 1: Log into Your Facebook Page
The first step is to log into your Facebook account. Navigate to your Facebook Page and switch profiles to manage it. Look for Meta Business Suite on the left sidebar and click on it.
Step 2: Navigate to Meta Business Suite
Once you’re inside, you will see a navigation bar on the left side of the Meta Business Suite page. Go to All Tools and then select Planner. After clicking this, a new tab will appear with a weekly or monthly schedule of all the material that is going to be posted.
Step 3: Click on “Create Post”
To start drafting a new post, click the Create post button in the upper left. Choose between making a story, a reel, or a post from the drop-down menu. Next, a pop-up window will appear, allowing you to input text and media. Put your media files (pictures, videos, and text) here. It will show you a preview on the right side of your screen.
Step 4: Select “Schedule” and Choose Your Time
Then, in the Scheduling options box, choose a time and day that which you would like your post to go live. Another option is to use the Active times button, which will show you when Facebook predicts your audience will be most engaged.
That’s all! You have successfully scheduled a post. If you go to the Planner, you’ll see your Facebook post. Plan the rest of your posts in the same way.
Using Third-Party Tools to Schedule Facebook Posts
If you want a little more functionality in your Facebook post scheduler, third-party scheduling tools provide advanced features. When you have the correct tools, managing your social media accounts becomes much easier. They facilitate the production of high-quality content, the timing of posts to optimize exposure, and the development of meaningful relationships with followers.
But with so many options, how can you pick the one that’s best for your company? We’re here to lend a hand in that situation. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of four of the top tools for social media management that we have found.
1. Hootsuite
Without a doubt, HootSuite ranks among the most popular tools for managing social media accounts. A shared content calendar offers powerful team management features, including approval workflows and permission levels. While keeping their team members assigned to a single Facebook account or social network, senior social media managers can examine and approve postings for several workspaces.
Like many of its competitors, Hootsuite has an artificial intelligence writing assistance called Owly. You can also use Owly to search social media for content ideas by entering keywords and other criteria.
The visual planner makes it simple to see how complicated content, like carousel posts, will look before you publish it. You can schedule posts for multiple sites, and Facebook accounts with Hootsuite.
2. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a pioneer in the field of social media scheduling tools. This content scheduler is user-friendly, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to schedule a post on FB. It also provides automated posting with a strong approvals system. You can customize the scheduling tool’s content for each employee with the help of its social media management tools, which include assigning tasks and setting access levels.
This solution could be a good choice for big social media agencies and teams that are in charge of many accounts on different platforms. Additionally, Sprout Social offers comprehensive social media analytics, allowing you to monitor and enhance your Facebook advertising strategies.
3. SocialPilot
The selling point of Social Pilot is that it offers more features at a lower price than competing products. It actually provides a lot of the same features as other social media management programs. The capacity to upload social media postings in bulk, statistics, a social inbox, and team collaboration are all part of it.
Social Pilot starts to show what makes it special when it comes to finding content and publishing it. With its help, you can curate popular content and use RSS feeds to automatically add it to your account. It also provides content suggestions to ensure you never run out of ideas for posts. Additionally, their platform is accessible through online, mobile, and browser extensions.
4. Buffer
Buffer is a Facebook post planner that prioritizes media files. This social scheduler works with Canva, Giphy, and other image editors to help you make the most interesting and appealing content possible. It also has an AI helper to generate captions and posts.
In addition to a content calendar, Buffer includes a media library and content curation tools for managing your posts and scheduling numerous Facebook posts at once. It is a great tool for big teams and third-party agencies because it allows you to create and share brand identity guidelines.
Like the other tools on our list, Buffer can analyze your posts’ performance and keep tabs on mentions of your brand. It also generates reports that provide useful insights.
Comparison: Meta Business Suite vs. Third-Party Scheduling Tools
Are you on the fence about whether to invest in a third-party tool or stick with Meta Business Suite to schedule personal Facebook posts? To help you select the best option for your needs, we have included a brief comparison.
| Feature | Meta Business Suite | Hootsuite | SocialPilot |
| Bulk Scheduling | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-Platform Posting | Only Facebook & Instagram | All major platforms | All major platforms |
| Unlimited scheduling | Up to 30 days post scheduling | Unlimited scheduling available | Unlimited scheduling available |
| AI-Powered Optimization | Basic | Advanced | Advanced |
As you can see, there are a few limitations on Facebook and Meta Business Suite that can make your social media strategy less effective. This choice should be enough if you’re only interested in Facebook and Instagram and don’t mind setting up one month in advance. But if you’re looking for additional customization options, advanced functionality, or a centralized hub to manage all of your platforms, a third-party Facebook scheduling tool will be a lifesaver for you.
Best Practices for Scheduling Facebook Posts
While scheduling a post on Facebook is easy, reaching an interested and engaging audience can be a whole different ballgame. So, if you want your Facebook postings to have the greatest impact, follow these five guidelines.
1. Find the Best Times to Post
Make sure you post at the correct times by scheduling content in advance. One surefire way to maximize your exposure is to release it during peak engagement times. We discovered there isn’t a universally ideal time to post on Facebook, even though numerous researchers have suggested the “best times to post.” This is because everyone caters to a certain audience. To find out when your followers are most likely to be online, you may look at your Facebook analytics. So, you can schedule a FB post around such times.
Regardless of timing, posts still require involvement for optimal performance, though. The more engagement your content receives, the more valuable it appears to Facebook’s algorithm. To increase engagement, buy Facebook likes and make sure your postings stand out.
2. Use a Consistent Brand Voice
The second thing to remember is to maintain consistency in branding across your scheduled content. This should be simple if you create content in batches.
Keeping a consistent branding involves things like:
- Using the same brand voice in every caption.
- Incorporating a consistent style and color palette into all visual content.
- Using the same set of effects and filters on every video.
- Using similar templates to make images that look good together.
If you’re reaching a larger audience through scheduled content, ensure it represents your brand. Making a good impression is important, and if your audience is big and active, it will help your credibility. For this reason, many brands opt to buy Facebook followers to boost their social proof and increase the effect of their content.
3. Avoid Over-Scheduling
Every day, users share 1 billion stories on Facebook. That’s a huge number, right? And that’s just stories. Now think about all the posts that are shared throughout the platform.
So, you don’t want to share too many social media posts with your target audience. Be careful not to under-plan your postings, either. You should keep a steady rhythm to your schedule. Knowing how often you should post and modifying this number based on your industry and company objectives is critical.
4. Regularly Monitor & Adjust Scheduled Posts
You should still monitor your scheduled posts after you’ve set them up. Some content may become inappropriate or outdated as a result of world events or company changes. If you want to be the first to grasp a social media trend, this is crucial. So, prepare yourself to delete or edit posts if needed.
You should also review posts after they go live. Keep track of your schedule and check it often to make sure it still supports your objectives.
How to Edit or Delete a Scheduled Facebook Post
Sometimes, you may find that the scheduled post is irrelevant or does not meet your expectations. So what? Well, just edit or remove the post and move on.
Here is how you do it:
Step 1: Navigate to Meta Business Suite
Log in to Meta Business Suite from your desktop.
Step 2: Select “Scheduled Posts”
To access the Scheduled Posts section, navigate to the Content section on the left sidebar, then click on Posts & Stories.
Step 3: Choose “Edit” or “Delete” as Needed
Find the post you want to edit or delete. Use the search bar or just peruse the items. Open the post by clicking on it. To edit or delete a post, click the three dots. After making the necessary adjustments, press the Schedule button.
That is it. Your Facebook post is now updated!
Common Issues & Troubleshooting for Facebook Scheduling
If you’re experiencing trouble when you try to schedule a post in Facebook, don’t panic; you’re not alone. There may be several possible reasons why it’s happening. But there is nothing you can not fix. Let’s go through some of the most common ones.
1. Why Can’t I Schedule a Post?
There are a few typical problems that can be causing you problems when scheduling Facebook posts:
- You don’t have a creator or business account.
- You must hold the position of page administrator or editor.
- Ensure that your post adheres to Facebook’s community standards and guidelines, as postings that do not meet them may not be scheduled.
If you’re still experiencing issues with scheduling, contact the appropriate support team for more assistance. They are always glad to help!
2. How Many Posts Can I Schedule in Advance?
Facebook may restrict the number of scheduled posts, mainly to prevent spamming. The specific amount might change and isn’t always made public, but generally speaking, you shouldn’t publish too much content too soon to not overwhelm your audience.
3. Why Was My Scheduled Post Not Published?
If your scheduled posts aren’t going live, the reason might be:
- Just a short Facebook glitch.
- Unreliable internet connection when scheduling.
- Your post violated Facebook’s guidelines.
This is what you can do:
- Always use the most recent version of your app and log in with an administrative account to manage a page or group.
- Make sure your material complies with Facebook’s guidelines, and review the schedule again.
- Try to reschedule the post using Meta Business Suite.
If the problem still exists after that, try scheduling from another device or clearing your browser’s cache.
