Schedule Your Summer Time Facebook Page Posts in Advance

Those who are on a school schedule or who have family members on a school schedule are in the process of “switching gears.” The school routine disappears and usually a less structured and more varied schedule begins. Hopefully, there is more time and opportunity to spend with family and friends, enjoying their company, engaging in fun activities, reading some good books and taking in the beauties of nature.

Parish life changes a little in the summer months as well. Most committees adjourn for the summer and parish activities like Vacation Bible School, festivals, picnics, socials and outreach projects take their place. People go and come from their family vacations, so the weekly congregation changes as well.

Facebook in the Summer

While some people will reduce their time on social media during the summer, they still check it from time to time—if just to keep in touch with their own family and friends. Hopefully, their parish or favorite religious site is also seen on their Facebook Timeline—refreshing their spirit and reconnecting them with the faith community during the week on a regular basis.

For that to happen, parish and other religious group Facebook Page managers, need to plan ahead. They may not post as often during the summer, but posting regularly a few times a week is important. Faith-based posts, community news and photos help people keep and grow in their faith during this time of year when they may have a few more quiet moments to reflect and pray. Some will do this on their own, but others will do it when it is suggested to them—even on Facebook.

Plan Ahead and Use Facebook Scheduling

Before summer gets into full swing, set aside some time to look over your ministry, liturgical and local calendars to select the events you want to mark with a post. Then decide how many other posts you would like to make each week. The great thing about Facebook, is that you can create and schedule posts for up to 6 months in advance. So when you take your summer vacation, the messages can appear automatically.

If you have never scheduled a Facebook Post, it is very easy. You can find the steps here.

You may also wish to read this article on the Hootsuite Blog regarding scheduling Facebook Posts . You do not have to be using Hootsuite to schedule your posts to get value out of the article. Substitute “parish,” “ministry,” or “community” for “brand” and it will make sense to you. The last section of the blog which lists do’s and don’ts of scheduling Facebook posts makes some excellent points. It is worth reading.

Obviously you cannot schedule all of your summer Facebook posts ahead of time as some real time events need real time posts, but there are some you can. Think about doing it.

Do you schedule posts for your ministry’s Facebook Page now? What do you like/not like about that? Please tell us about it in the comments below. Thank you.