What Is a Scheduled Post?

In a nutshell

Scheduled posting is a way to separate the time you write from the time you publish. For example, you can write a week's worth at the start of the week and have each one go out automatically at its set date and time.

What it makes easier

Whoever runs social media for a shop or a small business almost always has other jobs too. Even when posting time arrives at the lunch rush or in the middle of a meeting, you no longer have to stop what you are doing.

Writing in batches also makes it easier to notice overlaps and gaps between posts. How to build a table of what goes out when is in How to build a content calendar, and how far apart to post is in Posting frequency.

Avoiding forgetting a scheduled post

The worst thing about scheduled posts is when circumstances change but the scheduled post goes out anyway. On a day of temporary closure, a sell-out, a disaster or a major incident, a cheerful announcement can be out of place. It helps to decide where you can view your scheduled list, and to set a procedure for stopping posts if something happens.

If you make a habit of rereading a scheduled post just before it goes out, you will also catch mistakes in dates and days of the week. For words like "starting tomorrow" or "this weekend," check that they are correct from the day it goes out, not the day you wrote it. If several people run the account, it is also important to make clear who scheduled what.

In SNS TOWN

Posts you set a date and time for in Scheduled posts can be viewed side by side in the weekly and monthly tables of the calendar, and you can drag them to change the time. Once the scheduled time has passed, you can no longer change the text or images. If something comes up suddenly, you can stop all of a company's or brand's scheduled posts at once with Pause all. The steps are in Schedule a post.