Schedule Your Holiday Social Media Before You Take Your Holiday

Both you and your followers will be busy over the upcoming holidays. But while YOU may not have time to post, THEY will still be looking at their social media. Here are some tips for scheduling posts now for folks to read later.

The vast majority of people use their smartphones as alarm clocks and scan messages before they even get out of bed. If you want your business posts included in those messages to keep you top-of-mind, a third-party scheduling program is the answer. But for newer businesses that don't yet have the budget for that but still need to schedule social media posts, there are options. You can do this on your desktop or phone, but be aware that the Menus can look a little different.

Scheduling posts on Facebook and X at the Same Time

When we first wrote about scheduling, Facebook and Twitter offered a built-in setting that linked your accounts so a post on one would automatically appear on the other. Now, of course, Twitter is X, and that direct link has been discontinued, so you won't find it in your settings anymore.

Some automation services and third-party scheduling tools can still cross-post between the two platforms if you want to set that up, but experts recommend writing separate posts to make the most of each platform, so scheduling on each platform is preferable.

Scheduling posts on Facebook

Facebook moved page scheduling into a free tool called Meta Business Suite in 2020. Go to your business page and click "Meta Business Suite" in the left-hand menu, or go straight to business.facebook.com. Click "Create post," choose your page, and type your message or upload your image. Then turn on the option to set a date and time, choose when you want the post to go live, and click "Schedule." Posts need to be scheduled at least 20 minutes ahead, and you can schedule several weeks in advance.

To review what's coming up, open the "Planner" calendar or the "Content" tab in Meta Business Suite. You'll see your scheduled posts in date order, and you can click any post to edit, reschedule, or delete it. Note that scheduling this way works for business Pages, not for personal profiles

Also be aware that recently, Facebook has limited how many outside links you can post per month – it’s only two, unless you pay to upgrade. For a while, you could put links in the first comment, but that also seems to changing. After scheduling your post, you can try opening it up in the Meta Business Suite and scrolling down to the comments section. Post the link in the first comment, and close the post so that it’s still in the planner. That has worked for some accounts, but not for others as the changes roll out. Reposting other people’s Facebook posts that already include outside links is currently a more consistent way to share links.

Scheduling posts on X

X has a built-in scheduling feature which is free and simple to use. Log in to your account at x.com on your computer. Click the "Post" button (or click in the "What's happening?" box at the top of your feed) to open the composer. Type your post and add an image if you like. Then click the small calendar icon at the bottom of the composer, choose the date and time you want the post to appear, and click "Confirm," then "Schedule." You can pick any minute you like, so your post can look a little more spontaneous.

To see what you have lined up, open the composer and click "Unsent posts," then choose the "Scheduled" tab. You can edit the wording or change the time there, or delete a post if plans change.

One limitation: X's scheduler works for individual posts. If you like to post multi-part threads, you can't schedule those in advance without a third-party tool, so keep your holiday posts to single messages.

Scheduling posts on Facebook and Instagram at the Same Time

You can schedule a post to appear on both Facebook and Instagram at the same time from the Meta Business Suite, but it may not be the best option. Instagram, Facebook, and X each have different audiences with different objectives. Instagram also does not support links in their posts and their image-based platform prefers square graphics. Again, experts suggest tailoring posts for each.

Keeping those constraints in mind, however, you can post to both at the same time through the Meta Business Suite. Short-form video posts do especially well, although staggering the times when you post to each platform is usually more successful.

Scheduling posts on Instagram

With the Meta Business Suite, you can schedule Instagram posts separately from Facebook posts. Just remember to tick the right box under “Post to Facebook and Instagram” under “Create Post.”

You can also schedule posts directly within your Instagram account. After choosing to “Create new post,” uploading your image, and adding text content, toggle the “Schedule content” button to open up the Date and Time options.

Don't Forget the "Social" Part

By scheduling posts, your business will be where your customers can see you even when you don't have time to post live. But remember this is SOCIAL media. Keep an eye on your platforms even when you’re out of the office so you can respond when someone comments on your scheduled posts.

A third-party tool or marketing service would make it even easier to schedule your social media, but these free built-in tools are easy on the small business budget and will see you through the holiday season – and beyond. When you are ready to look into the other options, consider letting Sprocket Websites + Digital Marketing do your social media so you don't have to! If that's a good choice for you, give us a call today.

Photo by Walls.io

This article is an update to “Social Media Scheduling Hacks” dated 12/19/2016.

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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