Social media marketers have long to-do lists. They create posts, manage campaigns, engage with followers, and post a lot of content. And that last step is often the most time-consuming. Unless, of course, they're using a Facebook auto poster.

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

Keep reading to learn more about Facebook auto posters and how you can use them to make your job easier.

Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four simple steps using Hootsuite.

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, and 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: Text, links, images, and videos

A good tool will also have an intuitive interface along with detailed reporting and dashboards. They may even allow you to manage multiple Facebook accounts from one place.

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 three 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 high-quality content several times a day. You also have multiple Facebook Groups and Pages and a global following in different time zones.

Without a Facebook auto-poster tool, you'd have to copy and paste your content for every Group and Page. If that sounds time-consuming and tedious, that's because it is.

When a Facebook auto poster takes on the monotonous tasks for you, you have time to focus on what matters.

Post at the best time

We all know that the best time to post on Facebook is between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays (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 will even help you find the best times to post for your specific audience.

Publish consistently

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 you. That engagement tells the Facebook algorithm that your content is worth sharing. The platform then rewards you with higher organic reach.

Posting consistently benefits your business, whether it's a slow news week or the biggest holiday season of the year.

4 best Facebook auto posting tools

Ready to start saving time?

Here are the four best Facebook auto posting tools to help you optimize your Facebook post publishing schedule.

Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four simple steps using Hootsuite.

Get the free guide right now!

Facebook Business Suite

If you have a Facebook Business Page, you can use Facebook's native auto-poster in Business Suite. It allows you to schedule, edit, reschedule, or delete a scheduled post or Story. Plus, it's simple and free to use.

how to schedule Facebook post in Facebook Business Suite

Make sure you're logged into the correct account, and then you can schedule posts and Stories on different Pages and Groups.

Remember: You can only use these tools if you have a Facebook Business Account. You can't use Facebook Business Suite to schedule posts to your personal account.

Facebook Creator Studio

You can also use Facebook Creator Studio to save, schedule, or backdate posts. To use Creator Studio to auto post, create your post as usual by clicking the green Create Post button.

Create a Post in Facebook Creator Studio

Click the arrow next to Publish, then Schedule post.

Publishing a post in Facebook Creator Studio

You can also use Creator Studio to backdate your posts. This feature lets you make a new post appear as if it were published in the past.

Hootsuite

Meta's built-in tools are great, sure. But if you're active on several platforms, you might need a more advanced tool.

With a Hootsuite professional account, you can schedule unlimited posts for up to ten different social media profiles.

Hootsuite's Planner can be used as a Facebook auto posting tool

Hootsuite also helps you measure metrics like engagement, conversations, mentions, keywords, and hashtags.

Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.

Hootsuite Social Advertising

Even Meta's built-in tools require a bit of juggling if you're managing paid content on top of organic posts. But Hootsuite makes it a whole lot simpler.

Hootsuite Social Advertising lets you plan, publish, and report on your paid and organic Facebook content in one place. Plus, you can track results in real-time and make quick changes to make the most of your ad spend.

Scheduling posts with Facebook vs. Hootsuite

Facebook's free auto poster tools are great for smaller teams, but they don'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.

Schedule a Facebook post in Hootsuite

Hootsuite's content creation tools are similarly robust. The platform offers a free image library, GIFs, and more advanced editing tools than you'll find in Facebook Business Suite. There's also a built-in URL shortener and tracker to help you prove the ROI of your social efforts.

Hootsuite also provides personalized best times to post. The tool uses your account's past performance to suggest the best post times.

That means you can schedule your content for when it's most likely to make an impact.

Hootsuite's heatmap shows the best time to publish based on your audience and goals

How to use Hootsuite to automate your Facebook posts

Scheduling Facebook posts on Hootsuite is quick and simple. You can even use Hootsuite's auto-schedule feature to automate your entire process.

Here's how to schedule and automate your Facebook posts using Hootsuite:

  1. Go to Composer and select Post.
    Post Facebook Post in Hootsuite Compose
  2. Once you've created your content, select Schedule to select a date and time for the content to go live.
  3. Select the calendar icon and choose the day you want the post to be published.
  4. Set a specific time for the post to publish on the selected day. Paid plan users can select a recommended time. All scheduled times are in 5-minute increments.
    Scheduling a Facebook post using Hootsuite. Select time manually or use autosuggest
  5. Once you've selected a date and time, select Done , and then Schedule .
    Click Schedule in Hootsuite Facebook Scheduler

If you want to save time by scheduling up to 350 Facebook posts in bulk on Hootsuite, here's how:

Hootsuite's AutoSchedule feature helps you avoid gaps in your content calendar. The tool automatically schedules your posts for publication at high-engagement times. Instead of manually testing multiple post times, the tool does it automatically.

Here's how to use Hootsuite's auto scheduling feature:

  1. Compose your post as usual. Write a caption, add and edit your images, and add a link.
  2. Click Schedule for later. This will bring the scheduling calendar up. Instead of manually selecting when your post should go live, navigate to the AutoSchedule option just above the calendar.
    Set up Facebook Auto Schedule in Hootsuite
  3. Switch the AutoSchedule feature to On .
    Toggle AutoSchedule on in Hootsuite
  4. Click Done . Sit back and relax — AutoSchedule is now set up.

Best practices for automating Facebook posts

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

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

Adjust your post for different audiences

Let's imagine you run a yoga brand and sell yoga workout wear. You also organize events, workshops, and classes in your six different store locations. You have different Facebook Pages and Groups for each location.

The people who like and follow each store's Page have different interests and locations. Think of it this way: They may both like yoga, but a suburban mom and a 20-something urbanite likely live very different lives.

To connect with those different audiences, you'll need to tweak your posts for each of these Pages.

While you might not need to rewrite everything, you can customize your message for each Page/Group before scheduling it. The information you post should be accurate and relevant to your followers on each Page.

Schedule posts at the right time for your audience

The Facebook algorithm prizes recency. That's why it's important to post when your audience will see your content. Hootsuite's Best Time to Publish feature helps you schedule your posts on days and times when your audience is active on the platform.

The more people that see your Facebook posts, the more likely each post is to generate engagement, boost traffic, and increase your following.

Pause your posts when necessary

Sometimes the unexpected — like, say, a global pandemic — happens. Instead of posting about your exciting launch of a new footwear line, you may need to press pause for a while.

Regularly check in on your scheduled posts to see what's coming up. Hootsuite lets you pause or delete scheduled posts before they're published to avoid potential fallout.

Evaluate how each post performs

When you use an autoposter for FB, 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. A good tool will help you identify the content that generates the most engagement with your audience.

Your Facebook analytics will tell you how your marketing 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. These insights help you create more of the content you know performs the best with your audience.

Check out this short video to learn more about tracking Facebook analytics with Hootsuite.

Don't schedule your 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. The best brands are in tune with their audience and current events or trends that may impact them.

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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