Facebook auto poster: Your step-by-step guide

When you spend a lot of time creating posts, managing campaigns, and engaging with followers, the last thing you want to do is spend all your time on the posting process. That’s where a Facebook auto poster comes in.

Auto posters allow marketers to schedule paid and organic content in advance. That way, you can streamline your strategy and marketing efforts, and stay on top of your content calendars.

Keep reading to learn more about Facebook auto posters, plus expert advice from Breanna Hendry, Social Media Marketing Director of Minky Couture, on how to use them to make your job easier.

What is a Facebook auto poster?

A Facebook auto poster is a tool that publishes Facebook posts at a previously scheduled time.

​​There are many Facebook auto posting tools to choose from, along with the option to auto post directly on Facebook.

Each has its own features and benefits, but no matter which tool you opt for, make sure it covers three essential features:

• Publish now or schedule posts for the future.
• Post on multiple Facebook pages, groups, and profiles simultaneously or at staggered intervals.
• Share all types of content including text, links, images, and videos

A good social media tool will also have an intuitive interface along with detailed reporting and dashboards.

Why should you auto post to Facebook?

Of course, using an auto poster for Facebook can help you streamline your social media management. But you may be surprised at how useful these tools really are.

Here are four key benefits of using a Facebook auto poster.

Save time

Ever heard the expression, “Work smarter, not harder?” It may be a cliché, but it’s not wrong.

Let’s say you manage a Facebook marketing strategy for an online clothing brand. You have to post content several times a day. You may also run multiple Facebook Groups and Pages. Plus, you have a global audience with followers in different time zones.

Without a Facebook auto-poster tool, you’d have to copy and paste your content for every Group and Page, making sure it gets in front of your audience when they’re online. If that sounds time-consuming and tedious, that’s because it is.

A Facebook autopilot tool takes on monotonous tasks so you have time to focus on what really matters. Like refining your strategy or engaging in the comments section.

Prioritize real-time engagement

On a related note, using a Facebook auto poster lets you focus your time and energy on engaging with followers.

We’ve all been there: You just spent an hour crafting a social media post — from designing a graphic to coming up with the perfect caption and putting together a relevant set of hashtags — and the last thing you have the energy for is replying to comments or liking other people’s posts.

When your Facebook content is automatically published, you can reserve your dedicated social time for real-time engagement. Time previously spent creating and publishing content can be used to increase your engagement with your audience.

Build a consistent posting cadence

Consistency is the key to increasing engagement on Facebook.

When you consistently show up in your audience’s feed, they are more likely to engage with your posts. That engagement tells the Facebook algorithm that your content is worth sharing, and the platform then rewards you with higher organic reach.

Posting consistently has its benefits. Frequent content helps you maintain your Facebook presence even when you’re slammed during the biggest holiday season, or have a slow news week. Instead of worrying about what to post to show your audience you’re still engaged, a Facebook auto poster takes care of that front.

Maintaining consistency also helps your brand stay top of mind with your followers, which is the path to gaining their trust and brand loyalty.

Plus, scheduling Facebook content ahead of time helps you maintain brand consistency across your team — no matter who is posting or where in the world they’re located, win-win!

Post at the best time

We all know the best time to post on Facebook is at 7:00 AM on Saturdays. (You knew that, right?).

But depending on your audience and location, the best time to post for your account might be 11 PM or 5:30 AM. Instead of waking up early or staying up late, you can use an automatic publisher, so you don’t miss any sleep.

An automatic Facebook poster can publish your posts at the right time for your audience. When you automate posts, you don’t need to log in to your account at crazy hours like 3 AM. Instead, you set up posts ahead of time and let the tool do its thing.

Some tools (cough, Hootsuite) will even help you find the best times to post for your specific audience.

How to automate your Facebook posts using Meta Business Suite

Before scheduling posts on Facebook, make sure you have a Facebook business page. Don’t have one yet? Find out how to create a Facebook business page in just a few steps.

Once you’re all set up, follow the walkthrough below to learn how to automate a Facebook post using Meta Business Suite (formerly known as Facebook Business Suite).

Step 1: Go to your professional dashboard.

After logging into Facebook and opening your Business page, open your Professional dashboard. You’ll see this in the menu on the left side of your page.

Step 2: Open the Meta Business Suite Planner

From your dashboard, open Meta Business Suite. On the left side of your page, you’ll see a menu. Click Planner.

This will open up a new tab, where you can see a weekly or monthly calendar of any scheduled content.

Facebook’s Planner also populates the calendar with national and international holidays.

Step 3: Create your post

Click the Create post button in the top right corner to draft your post. The dropdown menu will give you options to create a post, story, or Reel.

You also have the option to bulk upload Reels and videos or post videos across pages.

For this example, we’ll choose post.

A new screen will open with space to draft your post. Add your images, video, and any copy and hashtags here.

A preview will appear on the right side of your screen so you can see how it’ll look once published.

Step 4: Schedule your post

Next, select a date and time for your post to go live by toggling on the Set date and time option in the Scheduling options box.

You can choose your publish date and time or click the Active times button to see recommended times Facebook thinks your audience will be active. This is based on previous Facebook posts you’ve published within the last seven days.

Finally, click the Schedule button at the bottom of your screen. You’ll now see your post reflected in your Planner.

Keep in mind that Meta Business Suite can only schedule Facebook and Instagram posts. If you’d like to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms, you’ll need to use a more comprehensive social media scheduling tool.

How to automate your Facebook posts using Hootsuite

Facebook’s free auto poster tool is great for smaller teams but doesn’t necessarily scale as your business grows.

Larger teams may need features like content approval workflows, like those found in Hootsuite. These seamless features allow multiple people to work on your content from different locations across multiple Facebook Pages.

Here’s how to use Hootsuite to auto-post a Facebook post:

Step 1: Open Hootsuite

First, you’ll need to log into your Hootsuite account. Don’t have one? Try for free for the first 30 days.

Once in your dashboard, choose Create from the left menu or click Create post at the top right.

Step 2: Draft your post

Next, choose the Facebook account you want to post to under the Publish to drop down menu. From here, create your post. Add any photo or video assets, plus the copy you want to see in your Facebook post.

To speed up the process, you can tap into the power of AI by using OwlyWriter AI to generate and optimize captions.

During this step, you can also add tags to help rank your content with similar posts. Don’t forget to add a target audience you want your post to reach.

Step 3: Schedule your post

Once you’ve created your content, select Schedule for later to choose a date and set time for the content to go live.

Set a specific posting time to publish on the selected day.

But wait, Hootsuite also provides personalized best times to post (!!).

The tool uses your account’s past performance to suggest the best times to get in front of your audience. That means you can schedule your content for when it’s most likely to make an impact with your followers.

Once you’ve selected a date and time, select Done, and then Schedule.

5 tips to automate Facebook posts according to a social media manager

Facebook auto posters are great, but they become indispensable when you use them efficiently.

Here are five best Facebook practices to help you successfully automate your Facebook posts.

1. Post at the right time

Facebook’s algorithm loves engagement, which means timing is everything for your posts. To get the most eyes on your content, it’s crucial to have a solid posting schedule. The more your audience sees your posts, the better your chances are for engagement, increased traffic, and growing your following.

For instance, as a blogger or small business owner, you might wonder when the best times to post are.

That’s where tools like Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish come in handy! It helps you pinpoint days and times when your audience is active on Facebook plus, other social networks like Instagram and LinkedIn.

You can even optimize your strategy based on engagement trends across your social media accounts. So, get ready to level up your social media game!

2. Plan ahead

Breanna Hendry, Social Media Marketing Director at retailer Minky Couture, suggests making the most of Facebook automation tools by planning your content around business goals that are already in place.

“Make sure that you keep a calendar for your socials months in advance so you can plan your content around key company dates and any promotions that might be running,” says Hendry.

“This keeps your strategy purposeful and will make the build-up to the event seem much more genuine.”

3. Pause your posts when necessary

Sometimes the unexpected happens. If your brand is dealing with a PR crisis or there’s a cultural event negatively impacting your audience, it might not be the best time to talk about your exciting launch of a new footwear line.

As a social media marketer, you’re responsible for communicating your company’s message, and sometimes you may need to pause scheduled posts for a while.

Regularly check in on your scheduled posts to see what’s coming up and make sure it aligns with your current stratagy.

Psst: Hootsuite makes it easy to manage your planned Facebook content by giving you the option to pause or delete scheduled posts before they’re published to avoid potential fallout.

4. Don’t schedule your posts too far in advance

On a similar note, don’t set up auto posts too far in advance.

The future is unpredictable. If you schedule your social media content calendar months in advance, it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve planned. By the time the post is ready to be shared, it may be culturally irrelevant, inaccurate, or simply a bad time to post.

The best brands are in tune with their audience and current events or trends that may impact them.

5. Monitor and adjust your strategy

When you use an auto poster for Facebook, it can be tempting to sit back and forget about your social content. But it’s key to check in and see how your posts perform.

“Don’t become too reliant on the level of automation that third-party tools can give you,” suggests Hendry. “Part of having a good social media strategy is making sure that you’re regularly engaging with your followers. Keep on top of your analysis and look at the bigger picture.”

A good tool will help you identify the content that generates the most engagement with your audience so you can adjust your strategy based on the results.

For example, your Facebook analytics will tell you how your engagement efforts stack up. You can measure things like clicks, comments, reach, shares, video views, video reach, or follower growth over time.

Hootsuite Analytics shows you which posts perform the best and what times are best for your Facebook posts. These insights help you create more content that you know performs well with your audience.

Use Hootsuite to save time and automate the busy work of engaging your Facebook audience. Schedule posts in advance, keep tabs on your competitors, automatically boost top-performing content, and more. Try it free today.

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