Creator Studio; what is it and how will this help my social media marketing?

Content ideas are in, assets are captured - it’s time to start scheduling.

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20 August 2021 | 6 Minute(s) to read



Content ideas are in, assets are captured - it’s time to start scheduling.

In our last blog, we took you through a start-to-finish content plan template so we thought it would be only fitting this month to focus on helping you schedule your posts, and report on their performance. 

We’re assuming all went smoothly and you now have a plan full of juicy content for the next month, sitting in front of you. Let’s recap what that might look like:

  • Your Google Sheets calendar which has your copy (words that form up your post) and your image name. Now, it doesn’t have to be Google Sheets - it can be any format similar.  You may even test out a few ways but make sure that it works for you and your business. 
  • A folder on your computer which holds all of your images (or videos), for each post for the month, sized suitably to your relevant social platforms.  

The hardest part is over so you can give yourself a nice big high five… you did good my friend. 

Creator Studio.

You’ve now arrived at phase 2: we like to call this, the step that allows you to be organised and ahead of the game! We introduce to you: Creator Studio.

As Facebook and Instagram are the most commonly used social media platforms, we’ve decided to focus on teaching you the basics on Creator Studio: how to upload & schedule ahead of time, and how to view insights on your audience and performance on your posts.

So to kick it off, let’s start with a run-down on what Creator Studio even is, and how it can help you and your business.

Creator Studio is an extension of Facebook and is a dashboard that allows you to manage your posts, insights and messages across your Facebook & Instagram accounts in one platform. 

Why you might find this tool helpful:

  • Through utilising its scheduling capabilities, you’re able to compose & upload your posts ahead of time and schedule them for a later date
  • Access to valuable insights on your page & individual post performance, audience and earnings
  • Manage your messages across both platforms all in one inbox. This includes both direct messages and comments
  • Download free, legal music and sounds to accompany and enhance any of your assets 
  • It’s friendly to mobile users so you can manage your account on-the-go

Let’s get down to business. How do we access Creator Studio, and how do we use it to schedule posts?

Step 1:

Firstly, ensure you’re logged into your Facebook account and then head to the Creator Studio Dashboard where you can start to play.

The screen in front of you should look a little something like this - if you’ve got an existing business manager, there’s no set up required.

Step 2: 

Click the green ‘Create New’ button on the top left-hand side of your page. You’ll be given a list of options to allow you to post, test posts, add a story, upload a video, or go live on your channels. Click ‘Create post’.

Time to reference your golden Google Sheet. Copy and paste your pre-created content into the text box, and upload your photo through clicking the ‘Add photo’ button. 

Top tip: Be mindful if you are copying and pasting from your google sheet that if emojis are used in your google sheet - they are unlikely to be carried over correctly. A common error is you seeing  ‘:house:’ instead of the house emoji. Be sure to delete the text and add an emoji manually if this is the case as :house: sadly will not magically create the house emoji. 

To utilise emojis manually in your social posts, click on the small smile icon on the top right-hand corner of the text box.

Once your content is added in, the box on the right-hand side will update with a preview of your post so you’re able to content check and final proof before going live or scheduling.

Step 3:

Publish live on the spot, save as a draft, schedule for a later date or backdate if required. It’s a very simple process, simply follow the prompts.

Once you input in your time and date of schedule, the box will disappear and you will still need to click the button, ‘schedule post’ on the bottom right hand corner.

 

A note to all those cross-posters out there...

You’ll see two logos on the very top of the page; Facebook & Instagram. Use this to toggle between the two accounts.

If you’re wanting to cross-post your content across both platforms, head to the Instagram icon first.

Follow the same prompts as above, but ensure the below box titled, ‘post to Facebook’ is ticked.

 

Top tip: If you plan on scheduling a cross-post for later, ensure that both the Instagram post and ‘post to Facebook’ option is set to ‘schedule’ at the same time. If one is set to schedule, and the other is set to publish - the option set to publish will publish live. 

 

 

What if I’ve scheduled something but need to edit it?

Never fear…. The edit button is here.

Simply click on the edit button, make your changes and re-save your post.

 

 

Top tip: To see your scheduled posts, head to the calendar view on Instagram tab or ‘pre-published’ tab on Facebook.

Viewing your insights.

Keep updated on your posts performance by clicking on the insights tab on the left-hand navigation bar. 

You may find this a helpful tool to learn of the following:

  • Page, post and story performance
  • Benchmarking capabilities
  • Audience insights including who they are (demographic, location, age), and when they’re active. Take advantage of this information by posting during the times where you are likely to receive the best level of engagement

 

 
Whilst we covered the basics on how to utilise Creator Studio, there are still many other programmes available to you that assist with the same functionality and more.

Canva is a popular creation and scheduling platform, as is Later and Hootsuite. Later & Hootsuite have many benefits including being able to schedule across other social media networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest.

If your business is across more networks than just Facebook and Instagram, it’s definitely worthwhile looking into these options.

Still left with a few unanswered questions? Our Social Media experts are here to help so drop us a line, and let’s schedule a call.

Let's chat!