Facebook is the leading social media platform for businesses and consumers alike.
According to 2020 data from Statista, Facebook has a market share of 55.9% in the United States (U.S.).
Additionally, Facebook’s Q4 2018 call transcript revealed more than 90 million small businesses use the platform.
One way to stand out among the competition and ensure you’re continually engaging your audience is to schedule Facebook posts in advance.
Here’s the good news — we’ll be going over:
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We’ll also be sharing a more efficient scheduling tool — Fanbooster.
Why you should be scheduling Facebook posts in advance
You’ve crafted your timely Facebook post and have tucked it away until it’s time to publish. When the day finally comes, you get so wrapped up in other projects that before you know it — you’ve missed your publishing window.
Sound familiar?
If so, you’re not alone. It’s a common scenario experienced by business owners, social media managers, and influencers alike.
Here is where scheduling your content in advance comes in handy. It allows you to create a systemized workflow for executing your social media strategy.
Scheduling content in advance can also save you time, establish a consistent publishing cadence, and ensure you don’t miss any critical engagement opportunities.
To determine the best time to schedule your content on the platform, we recommend looking at your Facebook Insights on your Business Page.
You can do this by selecting Insights from your page, then clicking on Posts.
Facebook will proceed to show you the days and times your “Fans” are most active. This will ensure you’re optimizing your content for peak engagement with your specific target audience.
Now, let’s dive into how to schedule a post on Facebook.
Schedule posts on Facebook
- Log into Facebook.
- From your News Feed, click on your Business Page under Your Pages at the top right of the screen.
- Scroll down and click on Publishing Tools on the left side panel.
- Under Posts, select Scheduled Posts.
- Add your copy and upload your media to the pop-up message composer.
- Click on the blue Schedule Post button at the bottom of the composer.
- Select the date and time from the Schedule Post pop-up window.
- Press the blue Schedule button. Pat yourself on the back — you now know how to schedule a Facebook post!
The ordered steps above describe how to schedule a post on a Facebook Business Page from your desktop using the Classic Post Creation Tool.
However, there are more ways to learn how to schedule a post on Facebook for your business.
For example, how do you schedule a post on your smartphone or a Facebook group that your business administrates or moderates?
We’ve got you covered from all angles.
How to schedule a post on a Facebook Business Page from your smartphone
In September of 2020, Facebook announced Facebook Business Suite as the new one-stop-shop across mobile and desktop for accessing business tools.
What does this mean for you?
If you’ve previously learned how to schedule a Facebook post using the traditional, user-focused Facebook app — this is no longer an option. All post scheduling must be done through Facebook Business Suite.
However, you can still use the traditional app to publish any real-time content.
Follow the steps below to learn how to schedule a post on the Facebook app from your Android or iPhone:
Note: If you previously had the Facebook Pages app downloaded, it automatically updated to Facebook Business Suite.
- Sign in with your personal Facebook account associated with your Business Page.
- Open your Business Page and tap on the grey Publish button. You can also create a post by tapping the blue pencil–and–square icon at the bottom-middle of your screen.
- Type in your copy, attach your media, and then select Next at the top right of your screen.
- From the Review section, tap on Scheduling Options > Schedule for later.
Note: The app will show you a preview of what your post will look like once published from the Review section.
- Select the appropriate date and time, then click Done > Schedule.
How to schedule a post on a Facebook Group
Here’s how to schedule a post on a Facebook Group that you own or moderate:
- Log into Facebook on your desktop.
- From your News Feed, click on Groups in the left side panel.
- Under the section, Your Groups, choose the appropriate Group that you want the post scheduled in.
- Click on the What’s on your mind, [Name]? box to create a new post.
- Type in your copy and attach your media, then click on the calendar icon near the bottom-right of the composer pop-up.
- Choose the appropriate date and time, then press the blue Schedule button.
Managing scheduled posts on Facebook
Now that you know how to schedule a Facebook post, we’re going to show you how to edit, reschedule, or delete a scheduled post on desktop and mobile.
Desktop
- From your News Feed, click on your Business Page under Your Pages at the top right of the screen.
- Scroll down and click on Publishing Tools on the left side panel.
- Click on Scheduled Posts in the left side panel.
- Select the scheduled post you wish to manage.
- From the Post Details preview on the right, click on the grey Actions button.
- Select whether you want to Publish, Reschedule, Cancel Schedule, or Delete the post from the drop-down menu. You can also backdate the post or create an advertisement from the scheduled post.
- Select the scheduled post you wish to manage.
- From the Post Details preview on the right, click on the grey Actions button.
- Select whether you want to Publish, Reschedule, Cancel Schedule, or Delete the post from the drop-down menu. You can also backdate the post or create an advertisement from the scheduled post.
Mobile
- Log in to the Facebook Business Suite app on your smartphone.
- Open your Business Page and tap on the double–square icon near the bottom-left of your screen.
- Tap on Scheduled from the drop-down menu and select the post you would like to manage.
- In the Post Details section, tap on the three vertical dots at the top right of your screen.
- From the pop-up at the bottom of your screen, select either Publish Now or Delete Post.
Note: You cannot reschedule a post on mobile.
How to use Fanbooster to streamline content scheduling
While the ability to schedule content natively through Facebook is a great feature, it can be a time-consuming, manual process.
To improve efficiency and develop more strategic social messages, you’ll want to use a social media management tool like Fanbooster.
What is Fanbooster?
While the ability to schedule content natively through Facebook is a great feature, it can be a time-consuming, manual process.
To improve efficiency and develop more strategic social messages, you’ll want to use a social media management tool like Fanbooster.
You can also bulk schedule content using an Excel spreadsheet, add advanced targeting, and easily measure performance from one easy-to-use dashboard.
Key Features of Fanbooster:
We’ve listed basic step-by-step instructions below to show you how to schedule a post on Facebook using the Fanbooster platform.
How to schedule a post on Facebook using Fanbooster
1. From your Fanbooster dashboard, click on the Schedule a Post icon located at the top right corner.
2. Type your post copy into the text box from the composer pop-up.
3. Add your image or video by clicking Attach Media.
If you add a link, a preview will automatically display below the text box. To add a custom image with the specified link, click Change Image near the bottom-left of the preview.
4. Scroll down and select the connected social platforms you’d like the post to publish to. In this case, we’re focusing on Facebook.
Fanbooster Tip: To see how your post will look once published, click on the purple Preview button at the bottom-left of the composer.
5. Click on the purple Advanced button near the bottom right of the message composer, and select Post Later. Then, choose the date and time to schedule the post.
Fanbooster Tip: Select Add to Queue to allow Fanbooster to automatically schedule the post on the next available date in your specified posting schedule.
Final Thoughts: How to schedule a Facebook post on your Business Page | 2020
Scheduling content in advance saves you time, optimizes engagement, and establishes a consistent publishing cadence.
The steps above outline how to schedule a Facebook post across desktop, mobile, and in Groups that you manage. We’ve even included how to edit, reschedule, or delete your scheduled posts.
When it comes to scheduling content across all of your platforms, there’s an even better alternative for your business — Fanbooster.
Basically, from your experience, I was hoping we could primarily focus on project management strategies and pitfalls for agencies, your recommendations over the years depending on the type of agency.
Then, if we have time, we could also touch base on whether agencies should build communities for themselves or on behalf of clients, what that looks like, and what’s the value there.