Facebook Adds Page Admin Roles and Post Scheduling

June 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Third party apps like Hootsuite and TweetDeck just lost some firepower with Facebook’s launch of post scheduling. Now you can schedule posts right from Facebook itself.  Here’s the scoop.

How to schedule posts in Facebook

Facebook’s scheduling tool includes the ability to add dynamic links and images. Other schedulers I’ve tested do not do a good job of including these features, so this is a big improvement.  I tested the Facebook scheduler today and found it to work very well. The only thing missing, in my opinion, is a queue of scheduled posts.  Currently, once the post is scheduled it disappears into the hinterlands, not to be seen again until it appears on your wall. I want the ability to go into my scheduled posts and edit or delete, if necessary.

The tool allows us to schedule posts up to six months in advance. Without the ability to edit I fear many community managers may be hesitant to use the feature. I know personally I check my Twitter queue several times a day and move posts around depending on what other news comes up that may supercede the post I have scheduled.

UPDATE – scheduled posts are displayed in your page’s activity log. They can be deleted only, not edited. Find them by clicking manage>use activity log.  Thanks to friend and fellow social media professional Dan Toland for the tip  (check out his Ohio Farm Bureau FB page - it rocks).

Here’s how to use the tool

  • Compose your post
  • Include your link or image
  • Click the clock icon in the inline status bar
  • Add the year, the month, the day and the time for the post

Note for page admins: If you haven’t included the Founding date for your company in your Timeline milestones the scheduler will not be available. To fix that, add a new post, click milestone and add your “Founded On” date. Include a photo of your corporate HQ or your logo to make this post interesting to your followers, as it will show up in their newsfeeds. You’ll then be able to schedule posts. Here’s a screenshot of the feature.

Facebook post scheduler

Facebook Page Admin Roles

Facebook also rolled out today the ability to set roles and permissions for Facebook page admins. Now you can set up to five different page admin abilities, giving various rights to publish to your page admins. Find this tool under Edit Page>Admin Roles.

Admin types include:

  • Manager
  • Content Creator
  • Moderator
  • Advertiser
  • Insights Analyst

This chart, located on Facebook’s help section , explains the level of access for each role. Facebook’s given us the ability to set access to everything from insights only to the ability to create posts only to full access. This is an important enhancement, as all page admins had the ability to purchase advertising under the old settings. Now, page admins can create content and moderate posts without the ability to spend money.   If you have multiple page admins, this new ability is a big improvement. Here’s a screenshot of the chart on Facebook’s help section of the various roles and their abilities.

Facebook Admin Roles

Image from Facebook Help

What do  you think? Do you plan to use these new features? Tell me how in the comments!

Filed under Facebook, social media Tagged with , ,

How I’m Handling Copyright on Pinterest

May 23, 2012 2 Comments

I’m preparing for a web presentation on using Pinterest for business  and reflecting on how to answer the many questions that have come up lately surrounding the issue of copyright. Remember that what I advise below is not legal advice because I’m not a lawyer. Instead, I’m a social media professional trying to wade my way through the ever changing landscape of copyright (remember Napster?) and the virtual sharing of material online. Here’s what I’m doing to try to resolve the issue on my own blog and for my clients.

 

Opinions vary on this topic. There are some that have decided to delete their boards altogether, like Kirsten in this article:

A Lawyer Who is Also a Photographer Just Deleted All Her Pinterest Boards Out Of Fear - Business Insider Magazine

Curiously, I recently tried to visit the Pinterest account of Evan Sharp, Pinterest designer and Co-Founder and found this 404 not found message:

Pinterest 404

Hmmmm. Not sure if this is due to copyright issues or not, but curious nonetheless.

I was able to find plenty of articles that cautioned business owners yet still recommended ways to pin appropriately without violating copyright laws, such as:

What You Should Know About Pinterest and Copyright – PC World

Pinterest Copyright Legal Issues – Mashable

Here, Forbes Magazine weighs in on the Fair Use Defense argument for copyright issues.

So here’s what I’ve decided to do.

I’m going to continue pinning with caution. I’m creating my own content whenever possible and using the “when in doubt” rule. If I don’t have permission to use it on my blog, I’m not going to pin it on Pinterest either. I”m also making sure to comment on pins I’m sharing from original sources.

I’m thinking twice before repinning. When I first joined Pinterest I repinned with abandon – not thinking to click through each pin to make sure it lead to an original or credible source. If I liked the image I shared it. I learned my lesson when I repinned an image that led users back to an image with a virus. Thankfully a user pointed out my error, albeit on my client’s Facebook page. Duh! From that moment on I realized I should be checking each pin BEFORE mindlessly repinning it. Lesson learned.

I’m pinning from other sources I’ve created. For example, I have a photo blog on Tumblr that explores my passion for gardening. I’m pinning images from it more often.

I’m making sure the original source is credited. I share infographics on personal branding and social media best practices quite often as well and I’m taking more care to make sure they are pinned from the original source – or I’m repinning them from that source. If Mashable pins one of their images, for example, I’m repinning from their original pin, as I’m pretty sure they are ok with me sharing their content.

If the original site has a PinIt button I’m going to use it. Sites like Pottery Barn stand to benefit a great deal from users repinning their images.  Their website has a Pinterest button clearly displayed as one of their social connection methods and I’m going to assume that if a site includes a PinIt button they want you to use it. Although this doesn’t offer full protection against copyright issues, I’m going to guess that sites like these are probably not going to go after users of their content.

I’m going through my boards and removing images I’m not sure fit these rules. As I learn more I’m going to trim and delete until I’m comfortable with what I’ve shared. This will be an ongoing process as the landscape for social media sharing and copyright continues to change.

All that being said I’ve already written a couple posts on using Pinterest for Business and on how to schedule tweets from Pinterest if you’d like to learn more.

How are you handling copyright issues on your Pinterest boards? I’d appreciate your comments here.

Filed under Business, Pinterest, social media

How to Schedule Tweets from Pinterest using Buffer App

April 26, 2012 1 Comment

I’ve been finding Pinterest an excellent addition for many of my social media clients. One new strategy includes sharing pinned images that include an @mention of a Twitter follower in order to cross pollinate the engagement; however, the inability to schedule these pins has been one of the drawbacks. I’d like these tweets from Pinterest to be spread throughout the day, but unless I’m right in front of the computer this has been impossible, until now.

Buffer App for Scheduled Social Media Posts

The technique combines Twitter and Pinterest with Buffer App for scheduling the tweeted pins. If you’re not familiar with Buffer App it’s a great tool to publish articles to your Facebook and Twitter feeds right from your browser using their plug in. Sign up for a free account and visit their Apps and Extras page for the Chrome and Firefox extensions. There’s also Buffer for iPhone, Buffer for your If This Then That programs and lots more. Once you get your account set up and linked to your Twitter and Facebook accounts you can begin adding posts to your Buffer.

Scheduling Tweeted Pins

Buffer App is cool enough, but using it for scheduled tweets from Pinterest is even cooler. Here’s how it works. First, upload your pin to Pinterest and include your targeted tweep by @mentioning them in the pin description. Here’s an example:

Using Buffer App in Pinterest

 Once you’ve pinned the image, go to your Pinterest board and double click it to bring it up. Pinterest includes social sharing buttons on the right side of each individual pin as you see in the photo below.

Pinned image

Next, select the tweet button and bring up the Twitter connection. Here’s where the magic happens. See how Buffer App is integrated into the tweet function? You can select it and add it to your buffer, thus scheduling the tweeted pin. Your targeted follower gets an @mention and you schedule several out over the course of the day to engage your tweeps. It’s that easy!

scheduled tweet for pinterest

Do you have any methods you’ve discovered for scheduling posts? Share them with me here!

Filed under social media, Twitter Tagged with , , ,

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