How to schedule Facebook posts has changed a lot over the past few years. The Facebook Creator Studio was implemented for Instagram and Facebook pages a while back. However, users were not forced to use them to schedule content on their pages, until months ago but now that’s changed once again.
A while back, I noticed I could not schedule Facebook posts out on certain pages I manage. Then, one by one the option began to disappear.
What was I to do? I went right to Agorapulse to schedule them. But my clients could not see what was scheduled out unless I made screenshots. Since a few accounts I manage with others, I needed to get to the bottom of it. (In the meantime Agorapulse now offers an email you can send out automatically to clients to see upcoming posts!)
Next, I went to Facebook’s help center. It was of no use. I put in tickets that came back with generic replies. Then, I went on Quora and posted the question. How to schedule posts on Facebook? Nothing came back.
Table of Contents
Then Came the Light Bulb Moment Came
Then the next day I came across a marketing Facebook group that mentioned The Facebook Creator Studio. So off I went to search it out. To my amazement, it was how I could now begin to schedule out once again on Facebook pages.
However, today you may notice a note from Facebook on your page. A few of my pages are showing it near the top of the page.
A whole new dashboard has to be explored. No longer the business manager and Facebook but now a creator studio. This caused me hours of delay with work.
So, I thought I would share what I’ve learned to help you understand it quicker. And hopefully not cause you hours of delay.
My job as a consultant is to be a timer-saver with social media.
What To Do?
What’s a small business to do about all these quick and abrupt changes when managing its social media? Hint, I can help you with that now.
So, here are some easy instructions to use the new Meta Business Suite for your page as it has now replaced the old creator studio in 2023. You can also use it to manage your Instagram account and schedule posts from there as well. How about managing comments?
It’s all there in the Meta Business Suite.
Where To Start With Scheduling Facebook Posts
Getting started with the Meta Business Suite is first finding the starting point. You can’t get there from Facebook alone as of now. You must go to the link here for Meta Business.
Once you are there you will see all of your pages at the top of the page. You can pick and choose which to look at.
I’ve chosen mine from the list that appeared – Inspire To Thrive.
Of course, it may look similar to the Facebook Business Manager. But once you start to go through it you will see how easy it is to use.
Notice the notifications are for all your pages near your image. Therefore, if you see the red color on the bell you know you have something to check out. You’ve been notified!
Additionally, notice that uploading videos and driving engagement with premieres both appear upfront and center. Facebook is really pushing us into using more video.
But Wait, There is An Easier Way To Schedule
A month after writing this original post Facebook has given us an option to use the scheduling feature right from our Facebook pages.
Yes, go to your publishing tools on your Facebook page. Start to post and you’ll see an option to schedule as well.
Click on it and it takes you right into the Meta Business Studio where you can schedule your Facebook or Instagram posts.
Scheduling Posts Ahead
Scheduling posts is key to managing your Facebook page painlessly and quickly. You can schedule Facebook posts for your week or months in advance.
It is a better way to stay organized with your Facebook page efforts than posting one at a time aimlessly.
The new dashboard gives you a few options. You can post something at the top or hit the plus symbol in the blue circle at the bottom of the page – notice you can even go LIVE there!
Content Library
Here is where you can see all of your posts, past, present, and schedule all in one convenient place. If you want to see the performance of a particular post, you just have to click on it in this section.
Oh yes, today I posted about the verified Facebook page with gray checkmarks going away. I’m sad about that as it took a lot of time to get many of my account pages verified.
Now, only big companies will have the blue checkmark if Facebook wants to give it to them.
Adding Videos To Schedule Posts On Facebook
This is why I believe Facebook changed its tools. They are pushing videos big time. Not only do they want you to do 3-minute or longer videos but they want you to do them more often.
Almost every tab you open on Facebook there is something you can do with the video. If you haven’t done a video yet, you may want to try it out.
Facebook is surely suggesting videos all over its website these days.
Checking New Performance
If you know me, you know I love checking performance. Why work in the dark? You spend so much time planning out your social media posts, do take the time to review what is working and what may not be working.
I always prefer looking over the 28-day period for more stats. But here, notice how Facebook is showing me the past 7 days and showing me the opportunity to do more videos based on the past 7 days.
You can still look at the old insights on your Facebook business page or your business manager if you prefer.
Do you feel the pressure to do a video on Facebook now like I am?
As a result of the new insights, you can also see new opportunities Facebook has for you now. They too appear to be all about video usage. Facebook is really pushing us to do 3 plus minutes with video on our pages today.
Of course now with Facebook and Instagram reels, it can be much shorter! (60 seconds maximum with Facebook and Instagram video reels.)
Viewing Facebook Insights
The new Facebook insights all revolve around videos. How long are people watching your videos? What is the average time spent watching your Facebook page videos?
What about pages that do not do videos? It will be interesting to see how this section evolved over time. Will Facebook start to share posts with images too? I am surely hoping they do soon.
Again, note you can go back at this moment and see your old Facebook insights right from your page.
I still prefer these old insights or the great reports I can easily generate with my Aograpulse.
Agorapulse can generate reports from the past 30 days, 60 days, or even via a custom date range. I use them for all of my social media reporting today. I like to compare them from time to time with social media’s own analytics as well.
Posting Across Other Approved Pages
This is new and I think it is to get more pages engaged with each other and cross-promote. Do note, YOU must have PERMISSION before posting or cross-posting to any other Facebook page.
Certainly, this will work well for teams. If you are part of a team, like on a real estate team, everyone could cross-promote their open house to their Facebook pages along with the team page.
But, I can see the spammers now trying to jump on this one.
Many newbie bloggers are always tagging me here and there and therefore I can see this being a problem if you are not approved to post across other pages.
Of course, I think Facebook may have this one under control now.
If you are part of a team, like on a real estate team, everyone could cross-promote their open house to their Facebook pages along with the team page. #Facebookpage #socialmediatips Share on XFree Sounds To Add To Videos
Now you can choose sounds that are copyright free for your Facebook videos. This is really a great feature for anyone to add sound to their videos.
There are many genres to choose from and most soundtracks last over 2 minutes and under 6 minutes. No more having to Google where to find copyright-free music.
It’s all within your Meta Business Suite. Of course, it is perfect for Instagram use too.
Now you can choose sounds that are copyright free to your Facebook videos. #creatorstudio #Facebookpages Share on XEarning Money
Finally, Facebook is paying you back if your videos are getting watched and are over the 3-minute time frame. Therefore, you must sign up and be approved for this paid program called Ad Breaks.
Specifically, it is under the Monetization tab. There are 3 ways in which you can now make money on Facebook.
They are:
- Ad breaks,
- Branded content and
- Fan subscriptions.
Ad breaks are when viewers watch ad videos before, during, and after your Facebook videos. The branded content is more for celebrities and media companies.
The fan subscription-based monetization program is one that Facebook notifies you if you qualify. But know, there are 17 different guidelines and rules you must agree to before becoming eligible as well.
You may have noticed the pages where there are fan badges. I usually have one on Neil Patel’s Facebook page as I follow and comment on his posts often.
Page owners can then share posts with just their top fans. For example, exclusive offers can be sent only to your top fans.
Although, to have this top fan feature for your Facebook page you need 10,000 followers. You can read more about top fan features on Tech Advisor.
Meta Pages Mobile App
Now you can work remotely on Meta Business with the mobile app. You can schedule posts, see what is in the queue and check out your page’s results.
As you can see from the below image, the video is what is being counted more than anything today with their insights.
Some Specials Thanks
A special thank you goes out to Amanda Hann for pointing me in the right direction and to Decode Digital Market for providing the easiest directions on how to code my own Table of Contents. I’ve since changed to a plugin for all posts to have that table.
Your Turn On How To Schedule Facebook Posts
As a result, will you be using the Meta Business Suite to schedule Facebook posts and/or Instagram posts? Have you tested it out?
I’d love to know your thoughts if you like it better or not here in the comments below.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon.
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I feel like I’m missing something, so of course I have to comment. lol
I have a FB page where I share my blog articles and my YouTube videos. I post all of those things ahead of time, set the date for them to go live, and I’m done with it for at least a month, sometimes 2 months. I think the process is pretty easy, but I’m wondering if you’re talking about something more specific such as a closed group, where one can post advertisements for services or products, neither of which I do.
Hi Mitch, I wasn’t talking about groups or ads – just scheduling posts. And now they have to be done in the business Facebook account. Unless you use other tools like Buffer, Agorapulse, Missing Lettr etc. It’s hard because of the changes and how it is done, hard to keep up I should say 🙂 Thanks Mitch, hope all is well your way!
Okay, I understand what you were saying now. It’s the only way I’ve ever posted anything on Facebook over the years; it never occurred to me to try to find something else. lol
Thanks that was a useful intro as I had not explored the creator studio so far. Some of these functions will be useful but for scheduling my company uses Sprinklr, however, we have to use Business manager and likewise we could use creator studio for some other functions. Might be nice if Facebook combine Business manager and creator studio?
Hi Clive, You are most welcome. I agree they should combine them. It will get even more complicated with the targeting factors taking place soon for those with Apple devices. Using Facebook for business will be very complex going forward, sadly. I wish they could make it easier for small business owners. Thanks for coming by and make it a great day!
Thank you for this, Lisa. I’m bookmarking it to follow.
You are most welcome Corinne. You never know when it could happen to you. Make it a great day 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Good, you explain the creator studio so well, I am sure many will get useful insights. I hope also the changes in Facebook will end soon, I had a lot of trouble with them and two of my pages disappeared and they can not find them anymore. One of them had 34k fans. I hope this does not happen to people who want to earn money from their pages.
Thank you for your good work
Erika
Hi Erika, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. Thank you 🙂 Oh my goodness, what happened to your pages? Could they have gotten lost in your business manager account? Can people still see them on Facebook but you can’t find them on the backend? Did you contact Facebook? I hope you can find them soon and if I can help in any way, do let me know. That sounds awful with so many fans on the page too 🙁
Lisa I know this was driving you a bit mad for a while. Good on you for figuring it out and for sharing with us. The video ad revenue intrigues me a bit. I need to schedule things out longer to better organize myself on my FB Pages. Saves time and frees you a bit. Sensational post.
Ryan
LOL, you aren’t kidding Ryan, it did drive me mad. Between the Creator Studio and coding the table of contents here, it was a long week last week 🙂 I knew that would on the video Ryan. They really want 3 more longer minutes of video on the Facebook pages. I love scheduling posts out. And I’m reading less is best today than ever before when it comes to posting on Facebook pages. Worked with a client on that today. Thanks for coming by and have a great evening Ryan 🙂
Hello Lisa,
Creator Studio is a valuable tool for your Page. It allows you to track and manage content performance, even across different Pages if you manage multiple Facebook Pages.
It provides insights on how your audience interacts with your content and facilitates interaction with fans.
Creator Studio reflects the significance video has for Facebook and can become a hub for content management and measurement. Eventually thanks for sharing these creative facts.
With best wishes,
Amar Kumar
Hi Amar. Yes, I don’t like these “newer” insights because it will hard to explain to folks the differences between them and the “old” insights which are still on the pages themselves. I like using Agorapulse instead for my reporting, simplier and cleaner view to show people.
Video sure is dominating, I believe because Facebook sees it keeps people there longer though their has been a legal dispute over their stats on video for Facebook. It will be interesting Amar to see where it all goes 🙂 Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
Hi Lisa,
Your article is useful to me since I haven’t started using the Facebook Creator Studio. I have been too reluctant to give a try, but your content is urging me to take the leap. I will because scheduling content is the best way to maintain consistency and be active.
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Moss, yes, if you must use and you don’t have a program like Agorapulse then you will have to learn how to use it. I’m getting used to it now 🙂 and do some there and some in Agorapulse depending on the account’s needs and such. Just when we get use to it I’m sure they’ll be updates! I tried schedule an Instagram post in Creator Studio but it would not allow emoji’s. So I went back to Agorpaulse for it with my emoji’s 🙂 Thanks for coming by on this one and have a great day Moss!
I hadn’t heard about the Facebook or Instagram creator studio, until now. I’m bookmarking this for future reference. Thanks for explaining it so thoroughly, Lisa!
Hi Debbie, You are not alone 🙂 When I first heard about I thought it was just about making money from videos. But when I had to learn it, I did. I hope this saves other people hours of research like I had to do. Now I can get on with this week 🙂 Thank you for coming by and have a great day Debbie.
Great overview Lisa of the new FB Creator Studio and I’m sure quite a few people will also appreciate your points on how to make money with FB pages.
Very informative as usual.
I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. 🙂
Thank you Amanda. At first it seems like something you could do but now it’s something you must do to schedule Facebook posts out for pages. And there is a way to make money if you do a lot of video over 3 minutes and go through the 17 steps and pass 🙂 Have you started to use it?
It’s been a good weekend, got a few walks in and things done other than being here on the computer. I hope your weekend has been good as well Amanda 🙂
I never knew about this feature on Facebook, but I’m definitely going to try it out. I feel so lost with Facebook at the moment. Some posts take off huge, and posts I expect to take off are doing absolutely nothing, very frustrating. I haven’t tried making videos yet on my page, but it’s nice to know you can make money with it, would you happen to know if it’s profitable?
Hi Kim, oh yes, it’s now the way to SCHEDULE your Facebook posts. Welcome to Inspire To Thrive 🙂
Oh yes, do you also boost or do any ads on Facebook for your page? You really have to today, you can boost some for as little as $5 over 4 days to help. Videos are great, they do help generate more views, readers, and even phone calls from my page. As far as profitable I haven’t sold anything or tried to via the videos. It is more to promote my brand etc but I will be doing it when my new eBook comes about in the coming weeks 🙂
Thanks for coming by Kim and have a great day! (BTW: Do you have a gravatar ?)
Hey Lisa,
Thank you for answering! I’m not able to log-in for some reason 🙁 (it says invalid username, but I’m logging in to WordPress in the same browser)
I tried to boost a few posts on facebook, one took off huge (5m views), other’s didn’t do much. I also noticed that my audience seems to like different things on FB and Insta, so I guess I’m still searching what works and what doesn’t.
Hi Kim. That’s odd, are you on Facebook as well when you try to log into the Facebook Creator Studio in a different window of the same browser? 5m views! That’s a lot Kim. They are different audiences, Instagram is a younger audience and what works on one doesn’t necessarily work on the other. It varies from industry, accounts and audiences. Social media is always a testing and analyzing groud. And just when it works, the algorithm on that network changes 🙂 Have a great weekend ahead Kim.
Hello Lisa,
Thank you for succinctly putting this all together. I heard rumblings from some creator friends about this new studio implement. At the same time, it also feels like it has popped out of nowhere. Glad you’re on the ball and ready to help the rest of us catch up, it can all get a bit overwhelming sometimes.
Every day is a school day!
Best,
Keiran
Hi Keiran, you are most welcome 🙂 I agree, I heard about it at first too and thought it was just for Instagram or to make money off of Facebook video IF you were qualified for it. Now, it’s something we have to do if we need to schedule on Facebook itself. I do schedule some FB and the rest of my social media accounts through Agorapulse which is very easy. Thanks for coming by and have a great day Keiran.