Set up queues and automatic posts

There are two ways to keep your social accounts busy without scheduling every post by hand:

• A queue is a set of weekly times, such as Tuesday 9:00 and Thursday 17:30. Posts you write and add to the queue go out in the next free slot.
• An automatic post schedule writes the post for you, with a picture if you want one, and publishes it daily, on weekdays, on certain days, or once a month.

Before you start

• At least one social account connected.
• The owner or admin role in your account.
• For automatic posts with pictures, credit in your wallet or pictures left in your plan's monthly allowance.

Steps

Create a queue

1. Go to Marketing › Social and open the Queues tab.
2. Click New queue.
3. Name it, for example "Weekday mornings", and check the timezone.
4. Choose a day and type a time such as 09:30, then click Add time. Repeat for every slot you want each week.
5. Leave Publishing ticked so the queue sends posts.
6. Click Save queue. The card shows its times, how many posts are waiting and when the next ones go.

To use it, write a post on the Planner tab, choose the queue under Or a queue, and click Add to queue.

Set up automatic posts

1. Go to Marketing › Social, open the Planner tab and scroll to Automatic posts.
2. Click New schedule.
3. Fill in What to call it, then How often: Every day, Weekdays, Certain days (tick Which days) or Once a month (pick a Day of the month, up to the 28th).
4. Set What time and the Time zone. Posts go out at this time where your business is.
5. Under Where it posts, choose the accounts.
6. Under What kind of post, choose Mix it up, Picture and words, Mostly the picture or Just words.
7. In What to talk about, describe the business. A fitness coach might write "Personal training in Leeds. Small-group bootcamps Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Free first session." It only uses what you write here and what is on your business profile.
8. Optional: add Your website and click Read it. It reads the page once a week and fills in Subjects to rotate through, which you can change.
9. Optional: add a Link back and choose In the first comment or In the post.
10. Set At most, per month, turn on Switched on, and click Save.

What happens next

• A queue fills its slots in order. Untick Publishing (via Edit) to hold it; the card shows Paused.
• Automatic posts are checked every 15 minutes, so each goes out within about a quarter of an hour of the time you set. Each one is written fresh, never the same angle or opening as the ones before.
• Each schedule lists what it has posted and anything it skipped, with the reason. Use Pause or Switch on on the schedule to stop and restart it.

Troubleshooting

Saving a queue says "Add at least one time to the queue." Pick a day, type a time and click Add time before saving. Times are written like 09:30.

An automatic post says "Paused — there was not enough credit to make this one." Top up your wallet. It picks up at the next run.

It says "this plan's pictures for the month are used up." Change What kind of post to Just words until next month, or top up to keep pictures.

It says "none of the accounts this schedule posts to are connected any more." Connect the account again on the Accounts tab, then edit the schedule and choose it under Where it posts.

It says it "has already made as many posts as you allowed this month." Raise At most, per month, or wait for next month.

Deleting a queue or schedule worries me. Posts that already went out are untouched when you delete a queue or remove a schedule.

Related

• Write and schedule social posts
• See and manage your published posts
• Connect your social media accounts