This post goes over a cheap Buffer alternative for scheduling repeating posts.
Buffer has long been one of the easiest ways to schedule and spread out your posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google Plus.
However, Buffer lacks some core features like repeating posts, and gets pretty expensive ($99 per month) as soon as you go over 100 scheduled posts, or need more than 1 team member connected to the same account.
If you are looking for a more affordable way to manage your social media accounts, OneUp is a cheap buffer alternative.. We’ll take a look at the similarities and differences between OneUp and Buffer:
Repeating posts
OneUp — With OneUp, you can easily schedule social media posts to repeat for a specific number of times, at set intervals. More engagement, more traffic, more business.
For example, if I want to share my latest blog post once a month for the next 4 months, I can do that in about 10 seconds.
Buffer — While it is a great tool for spreading out your posts, Buffer does NOT allow you to repeat your social media posts. For example, if you wanted to repeat the same Facebook post every month, you would have to manually re-queue it every 30 days.
Social Networks
OneUp — Works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business on all tiers. For Instagram posts, OneUp has direct scheduling, so no push notification is necessary.
Buffer — Works with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. However, Pinterest is only included in the $15/month and higher tiers. For Instagram posts, Buffer allows you to schedule a post, but will send you a push notification at that scheduled time to post it manually.
Price
OneUp — $3 per month for up to 10 social media profiles and 200 scheduled posts, making it a cheap buffer alternative for scheduling repeating posts.
Buffer — Paid tier starts at $15 per month for 8 accounts. Buffer does provide a free tier, but it does not include Pinterest, and limits scheduling to only 10 posts in your queue at a time. This might be a good fit for someone who seldom uses social media. However, only being able to schedule 10 posts in advance defeats the purpose of scheduling for people who are a little more serious.
Scheduling content
OneUp — If you want a simple way to schedule social media posts, OneUp is for you. You can select the how many times you would like your posts to repeat, and at what intervals, all with just a couple clicks. Of course, you can always schedule something to post only once.
Buffer — Buffer makes it very easy to spread out your content. However, they don’t allow for posts to be automatically recycled.
Categories
OneUp — Allows you to create and schedule posts by categories. This allows you to filter posts by different styles or accounts.
Buffer — Does not allow you to create categories.
Drag-and-drop content calendar
OneUp — Allows you to see all your posts, filter by category, edit, and drag-and-drop via the calendar view.
Buffer — Does not have a drag-and-drop calendar.
Summary
For those who never post repeating content, Buffer might be the right tool for you. They offer a useful product and a simple interface for spacing out social media posts.
For smaller businesses, podcasters, bloggers, YouTubers, and social media marketers, OneUp is a cheap Buffer alternative for scheduling repeating posts, and provides an affordable solution for scheduling and automatically repeating your posts at set intervals.
Here is a chart to help you decide what tool is best for you:
No, Zapier does not support Google My Business. However, OneUp supports Google My Business, in addition to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Google My Business is an easy way for businesses to stand out in local SEO, and posts on GMB have been shown to increase traffic and improve search rankings.
However, the fact that your Google My Business posts expire after 7 days means that you have to constantly go back into GMB and post something week after week, again and again.
The solution: schedule out your Google My Business posts weeks or even months ahead of time.
The issue, however, is that very few social media schedulers work with Google My Business, and the ones that do work charge upwards of $50/month, which is a big hit to take for many businesses.
The process is simple. Just connect your Google My Business account on the Accounts page.
Then schedule your GMB post, optionally adding any link or image to the post.
Then add your Call-To-Action button and a link.
In addition to just scheduling posts, OneUp allows you to set GMB posts to automatically repeat at set intervals — such as once a week or once a month.
This allows you to reap the benefits of being active on Google My Business, without the hassle of constantly going back in every week to manually post something once your post expires.
Then choose to post it now, or schedule it for a date in the future.
Here is what the post looks like inside your Google My Business account:
And here is what the post looks like on the Google search results page:
Because Zapier doesn’t support Google My Business, OneUp is a great option for scheduling GMB posts at only $4/month.
This posts shows you how to schedule repeating posts in Facebook groups.
Many Facebook group admins often have themed posts for each day of the week, where group members are supposed to engage with the post based on the theme. Some of the ones I have seen are:
Share Your Blog Monday
Tell Me A Story Tuesday
What Are You Working On Wednesday
Throwback Thursday
Follow Friday
In most groups like this, the admin’s goal is to get participation and engagement, but keep everything neatly in the comments thread of each particular post.
Most admins who run a Facebook group schedule the same post for the same day of the week, again, and again, and again.
I will show you how you can automate those posts so that you just set your posts to repeat weekly once, and they automatically post on the same day of the week moving forward.
OneUp is a Facebook-approved social media scheduling tool that allows you to repeat posts at set intervals — and it starts at only $4/month.
To use OneUp with a Facebook group, you MUST be one of the group admins. Facebook does not allow scheduling tools to post to groups unless you are an admin.
Using OneUp you can click the Facebook button to connect your Pages and Groups.
Then you are set to schedule a post.
OneUp allows you to schedule your posts to repeat on the same day and time every week. You can have it repeat indefinitely, or you can set it to expire after posting a certain number of times.
You can also add an image to the post if you want.
Once this is set, you just choose when you want it scheduled.
For example: If you have a post scheduled for 9:30 AM on Friday, set to repeat weekly, it means that post will re-post every Friday moving forward at that same time.
The very first time, you will need to add OneUp to your Facebook groups apps. You only have to do this once for each Facebook group. To do so, go to your group’s settings in Facebook.
Then click “Add Apps”.
Do a search for OneUp, and add it.
OneUp makes it easy to schedule repeating posts in Facebook groups, making an admin’s job much easier. Check it out at:
This blog post shows a cheap Hootsuite alternative.
Hootsuite is a powerful social media tool with many different features. However, all those features mean that Hootsuite is one of the most expensive social media schedulers on the market.
Hootsuite also lacks some core features like automatically repeating posts, and gets pretty expensive ($29 per month) as soon as you go over 30 scheduled posts or need more than 3 accounts.
If you are looking for a cheap Hootsuite alternative, OneUp is one of the best social media tools on the market. We’ll take a look at the similarities and differences between OneUp and Hootsuite:
Repeating posts
OneUp — OneUp makes it easy to set posts to automatically repeat at set intervals, such as daily, weekly, monthly, once every 3 months, 6 months, or annually.
For example, if you want to schedule a blog post once a month for the next 4 months, it can be done in about 10 seconds.
Hootsuite — While Hootsuite does let you schedule posts, it does not let you set them to repeat.
Social Networks
OneUp — Works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business on all tiers. For Instagram posts, OneUp has direct scheduling, so no push notification is necessary.
Hootsuite — Works with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google Plus. For Instagram posts, Hootsuite allows you to schedule a post, but will send you a push notification at that scheduled time to post it manually.
Price
OneUp — $4 per month for up to 10 social media profiles and 200 scheduled posts, making it a cheap Hootsuite alternative.
Hootsuite — Paid tier starts at $29 per month for 10 social accounts. Hootsuite does provide a free tier, but it is limited to 3 social accounts and only 30 scheduled posts in your queue at a time. This might be a good fit for someone who seldom uses social media. However, only being able to schedule 30 posts in advance defeats the purpose of scheduling for people who are a little more serious.
Scheduling content
OneUp — If you want a simple way to schedule social media posts, OneUp is for you. You can select the how many times you would like your posts to repeat, and at what intervals, all with just a couple clicks. Of course, you can always schedule something to post only once.
Hootsuite — Hootsuite allows you to schedule your posts. However, they don’t allow for posts to be automatically repeated.
Categories
OneUp — Allows you to create and schedule posts by categories. This allows you to filter posts by different styles or accounts.
Hootsuite — Does not allow you to create categories.
Drag-and-drop content calendar
OneUp — Allows you to see all your posts, filter by category, edit, and drag-and-drop via the calendar view.
Hootsuite — Also has a drag and drop calendar.
Summary
For those who never post repeating content, Hootsuite might be the right tool for you. However, Hootsuite is often regarded as a complex tool with many bells and whistles.
For smaller businesses, podcasters, bloggers, YouTubers, and social media marketers who just need an easy way to schedule social media posts, OneUp is a cheap Hootsuite alternative that provides an affordable solution for scheduling and automatically repeating your posts at set intervals.
This post goes over a cheap alternative to Meet Edgar.
For anyone that wants to schedule pieces of repeated content to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, Meet Edgar is a great solution. Additionally, the ability to automatically recycle your evergreen content makes Meet Edgar ever more appealing.
However, with a price tag of $49 per month, Meet Edgar is not a realistic solution for most small business owners, bloggers, podcasters, or YouTubers.
So what options are there for those that would like to add content, create a posting schedule for specific times and dates, import RSS feeds, and schedule evergreen posts to be shared multiple times — all at an affordable price?
OneUp is a cheap alternative to Meet Edgar that works with the following social media platforms: Facebook Pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn profiles, LinkedIn Pages, Pinterest, and Google My Business. Similar to Meet Edgar, OneUp helps you get more social media traffic by automatically recycling your evergreen blogs, videos, or podcasts.
Meet Edgar provides only one pricing tier: $49/month. This price works if you bring in a ton of revenue, but that is not the case for most businesses. If you are like most people, $49 per month is a steep price to pay.
OneUp starts at $5/month, making it a cheap alternative to Meet Edgar, and a realistic solution for anyone that is managing multiple social media pages.
Social Networks
OneUp — Works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
Meet Edgar — Works only with Facebook, LinkedInandTwitter, and it does not let you reshare content on Twitter.
Meet Edgar does not work with Pinterest or Google My Business. In addition, Meet Edgar does not allow you to automatically reshare your evergreen content on Twitter. This is Meet Edgar’s core feature, yet you can only reshare your posts on two social networks: Facebook and LinkedIn.
OneUp allows you to schedule both one-time and evergreen posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business, making it a more robust alternative to Meet Edgar.
Scheduling content
OneUp — If you want a simple way to schedule social media posts, OneUp is for you. You can select how many times you would like your evergreen posts to be recycled, and at what intervals, all with just a couple clicks.
For example, if you want to share your latest blog post once every 3 months and 5 times total, you can do that in about 10 seconds.
Meet Edgar — Like OneUp, Meet Edgar allows you to recycle your evergreen content, but it requires that you upload posts to a queue. The more content you add to your queue, the less frequently your posts will resurface. Depending on what you’re looking for, Meet Edgar could be a great solution.
However, many people just want their evergreen posts to be recycled at a set interval, like “once a month for the next 3 months”, without having to do the mental calendar math:
If I have 56 posts in my queue and I add my blog post, how often will it be republished if I am sharing 3 posts a day, but adding 2–5 more each week?
Content Calendar
OneUp — With OneUp, you can view your individual posts, sort by social account or category, drag and drop posts to change the date, or click on the post to edit the content and time.
Meet Edgar — Meet Edgar provides a weekly recurring calendar, with time slots showing category only, not individual scheduled posts. You cannot drag and drop to adjust your schedule.
GIFs
OneUp — Allows you to schedule GIFs on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
Meet Edgar — Only allows you to post GIFs to Twitter.
Free trial
OneUp — Offers a free trial, no credit card necessary.
Meet Edgar — Requires a credit card for their free trial.
Nobody likes when they have to give their credit card information just to try something out. If a customer is getting value after a free trial, ONLY THEN should they be asked for payment information.
Meet Edgar requires a credit card just to test it out. If you forget to cancel in time, there goes $49.
OneUp offers a free trial (without a credit card) so you can see if it’s a good fit with your social media accounts.
Summary
For businesses with a higher budget, managing between 20–25 social media accounts, MeetEdgar might be the right social media management tool. They offer a useful product and great customer support for larger businesses that want to recycle their evergreen content.
For small business owners, podcasters, bloggers, YouTubers, and social media marketers that need a cheaper alternative to Meet Edgar, OneUp provides an affordable solution for scheduling and automatically resharing your evergreen content — as well as world class customer support. OneUp works with Facebook pages and groups, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn Profiles, LinkedIn Pages, Pinterest, and Google My Business.
This post shows you how to manage more than 5 Instagram accounts.
For anyone who manages more than one Instagram account, you know the struggle of constantly switching back and forth between accounts.
However, it becomes even more of a headache once you hit 5 Instagram accounts, because that is the limit for how many you can manage on a mobile device. Some people buy multiple phones just so they can manage more than 5 Instagram accounts.
That is crazy.
If you need an easy way to schedule and post photos to more than 5 Instagram accounts from a computer instead of managing it all from your smartphone, check out OneUp.
OneUp allows you to easily post to multiple Instagram accounts at the same time, and to schedule out posts weeks and months into the future. You can add hashtags and @tag other users in the description, and you can even schedule Instagram Stories with OneUp.
OneUp schedules the post, then directly publishes to Instagram, so there is no push notification needed.
Starting at only $4/month, OneUp is an affordable and convenient way to manage multiple Instagram accounts. OneUp also supports Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
Hootsuite is a great social media management tool. However, it is a little too bloated and feature-heavy for some, and can become pretty expensive on Hootsuite’s paid plans.
I decided to review 90 different social media scheduling tools, comparing the best free and paid Hootsuite alternatives.
This is a comprehensive list of all the social media scheduling tools that work with multiple social networks. Software that only works with one social network, such as TweetDeck, have not been included.
Social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google My Business.
Starting price: $3/month, 10 social profiles
Free-forever plan: No
Features
Direct scheduling to Instagram — Schedule and post directly to Instagram, no notification on your phone necessary.
Posting to multiple pages — For people who are posting to more than one social network at a time, OneUp makes it easy to post to FB Pages and Groups, LinkedIn profiles and pages, and Twitter accounts, Pinterest, Google My Business, and Instagram all at once.
Repeating post — OneUp gives you the option to repeat your posts automatically. This allows you to resurface old posts that otherwise would have never been seen again. Also for anyone that has a Facebook Group with daily themes that repeat every week (such as “Make it happen Monday”), OneUp makes it easy to entirely automate this.
RSS feed automation — If there are any blogs, publications, podcasts, or YouTube channels that put out good content consistently, you can add the RSS feed links in OneUp, then whenever new content is posted from those places, it is automatically shared to the pages you select.
Chrome Extension — Using the OneUp Chrome extension, you can easily schedule many images at once from any website, such as sunsets for example. You can choose which images from the website you want to post to social media, bulk update or individually update the descriptions and links for each post, then schedule them to be posted with a set interval (such as every 60 minutes), or choose custom dates and times for all of them.
Analytics — OneUp lets you see which posts are getting the best engagement.
Customizable UTM parameters — OneUp lets you customize UTM parameters so you can keep track of how your links are performing in Google Analytics.
Link Shortening — Connect your Bitly account and OneUp will automatically shorten any links and allow you to track clicks through Bitly.
Buffer is a great social media management tool. However, it can become pretty expensive on Buffer’s paid plans.
I decided to review 90 different social media scheduling tools, comparing the best free and paid Buffer alternatives.
This is a comprehensive list of all the social media scheduling tools that work with multiple social networks. Software that only works with one social network, such as TweetDeck, have not been included.
Social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google My Business.
Starting price: $3/month, 10 social profiles
Free-forever plan: No
Features
Direct scheduling to Instagram — Schedule and post directly to Instagram, no notification on your phone necessary.
Posting to multiple pages — For people who are posting to more than one social network at a time, OneUp makes it easy to post to FB Pages and Groups, LinkedIn profiles and pages, and Twitter accounts, Pinterest, Google My Business, and Instagram all at once.
Repeating post — OneUp gives you the option to repeat your posts automatically. This allows you to resurface old posts that otherwise would have never been seen again. Also for anyone that has a Facebook Group with daily themes that repeat every week (such as “Make it happen Monday”), OneUp makes it easy to entirely automate this.
RSS feed automation — If there are any blogs, publications, podcasts, or YouTube channels that put out good content consistently, you can add the RSS feed links in OneUp, then whenever new content is posted from those places, it is automatically shared to the pages you select.
Chrome Extension — Using the OneUp Chrome extension, you can easily schedule many images at once from any website, such as sunsets for example. You can choose which images from the website you want to post to social media, bulk update or individually update the descriptions and links for each post, then schedule them to be posted with a set interval (such as every 60 minutes), or choose custom dates and times for all of them.
Analytics — OneUp lets you see which posts are getting the best engagement.
Customizable UTM parameters — OneUp lets you customize UTM parameters so you can keep track of how your links are performing in Google Analytics.
Link Shortening — Connect your Bitly account and OneUp will automatically shorten any links and allow you to track clicks through Bitly.
This post walks through what Google My Business is, the benefits of using it, how to post, and some of the other features. If you are already familiar with Google My Business, jump down to the How to schedule Google My Business posts section.
One of the newest ways to market your business is through Google My Business, sometimes referred to as GMB.
Google My Business allows you to stand out in Google search results by sharing photos, announcing sales or specials, posting what’s new, managing reviews, and keeping your contact information and open hours current.
You have probably seen Google My Business results in your Google searches, even though you may not have realized it.
Example of what GMB results look like on mobile
Should I be using Google My Business?
In short, yes. Google My Business is a free way to stand out in Google search results.
Because Google My Business is relatively new, most businesses are still not using it yet. For those who start using GMB early, you can get a huge leg up on your competition.
You are most likely already posting on social media, right?
Well unless you are paying to boost your posts, your audience will probably be limited to only people who already follow you.
However, with Google My Business, your posts have the opportunity to reach people outside of your existing audience.
Don’t take my word for it though. Here is what people have to say about Google My Business on Reddit:
I decided to go a step further and personally ask if people saw tangible results from posting on Google My Business:
Does posting on Google My Business impact my search rankings?
According to this study by Search Engine Journal, posting on Google My Business has a positive impact on your Google search results ranking.
In addition to helping with Google search rankings, updating your Google My Business listing can lead to people choosing you over a competitor.
Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example:
Suppose you own a restaurant. It’s Monday and the weather is bad, so you know business is going to be slow this evening. You decide to run an extended happy hour deal from 4pm until close. You announce the deal on your Facebook and Instagram pages. Now you wait for all the customers to flock over. Right?
But what if someone who doesn’t follow you on social media is Googling a few different restaurants, trying to figure out where to eat tonight?
When they Google your restaurant name, they have no idea about your special happy hour deal. They end up eating and drinking at another restaurant 😢
That would be bad… but good thing you actually posted the extended happy hour deal on Google My Business as well. Those people end of seeing the deal when they Google your business’s name, and end up choosing your restaurant because of it 😀
How to post on Google My Business
So we’ve established that posting on Google My Business is important. Now let’s look at how to post on Google My Business.
Verify your business — Google will send you a physical postcard with a unique verification number to ensure that your address is legitimate.
Post
When creating a new post, you will have 4 different posting options:
What’s new posts: Posts that provide general information about your business. You can include a photo/video, link, Call-to-Action (CTA) button, and other information. For example, a restaurant could make a post to promote a new menu item.
Event posts: Posts that promote an event your business is involved with or supports. Event posts require a title, start/end dates and time, and may include a photo/video, CTA button, and other information. For example, a bookstore may advertise a local author’s book signing or a book club meeting.
Offer posts: Posts that provide promotional sales or offers from your business. Offer posts require a title and start/end dates and times. A “View offer” CTA button is automatically added to the post. You can also include a photo/video, coupon code, link, and terms and conditions with the post. For example, a pizza parlor may advertise a 20% off large pizzas for a week.
Product posts: Posts that emphasize a specific product your business sells. Product posts require a title and photo or video. You can also include a CTA button and other information. For example, an electronics store may promote a new phone for sale.
You can also add a button to your post if you wish, which you can link to whatever you’d like.
Your button optionsAdd a link to your button
Here are a couple example posts that used the Order Online button:
Overall, it’s a fairly simple process for posting on Google My Business.
Here is what your Google My Business post will look like on the Google search results page:
Ideas on what to post
So now that you know how to post on Google My Business, the question is what to post. Here are some ideas:
High-quality images of your product, food, location, service, etc.
Offer a special discount for searchers
Sales and promotions
Updated hours for holidays
Promote an upcoming event
Share a link to a new blog post
Share a customer testimonial
Call attention to an ad campaign you’re promoting elsewhere (print, billboard, radio)
Here are some examples of GMB posts provided by Google:
5 keys to writing a post
Choose a suitable post type: Is your post about an event? An offer or time-sensitive deal? Do you have news to share? Consider what you want your post to do — whether to encourage customers to visit your store, sell something, or announce a new feature.
Photos: Take a high-resolution photo reinforcing your message so your post stands out. Photos should be simple, direct, in-focus and well-lit, with bright, vibrant colors. Photos should have a minimum resolution of 400px wide by 300px tall, in JPG or PNG format.
Title (if your post is an event): Describe your event in 4–5 words. You have up to 58 characters for your title.
More details: Be clear about your offer/event. You have up to 1,500 characters for the description of your post, but the ideal length is between 150–300 characters.
Call to action: Include instructions such as “Buy,” “Book online,” “Learn more,” “Call,” or “Visit.”
Writing a Google Post: Do’s and Don’ts
What to do
Be precise: What are the 3 things your customer needs to know? What do you want them to remember, for how much, and when? “Happy Hour! Half-price milkshakes from 5–6 PM every Friday.”
Be personal: Show what your business values: “We love families at Mike’s and to show our appreciation, kids eat free this weekend!”
Tell your customers what they can do. Are you selling a product? Tell them how they can buy. “Tickets range from $60-$160, and are available for purchase at the front desk starting at 12 PM EST today.”
Highlight what makes your business, product, or offer unique. Large selection? Free shipping? Tell people: “Free shipping on orders over $50.”
Be timely — use a key selling point or popular item as the hook for your post: “Spring is here. All flip flops now 30% off.”
Be sure to include any redemption instructions, unique codes, or restrictions on offers or sales: “$10 off purchase of $50 or more. 50% off select women’s clothing.”
Use abbreviations for days and months, and don’t use periods, to allow more space for your post: Jan, Feb, Mar… Mon, Tue, Wed…
Abbreviate hours in this way: 9 AM, 5 PM, 12 PM, 12 AM
What NOT to do
Don’t use commercial slang: “BOGO: 50% off men’s sneakers.”
Don’t use excessive exclamation marks or all caps: “Crazy SALE today!!!”
Don’t include more than one theme or offer in one communication: “Half price coffee and tea from 3–6 PM on Fridays, and buy 6, get one free donut on weekdays.”
Don’t craft a deal with too many exclusions: “10% off new seasonal sandwiches. Not valid on lunch specials.”
Be aware that Google My Business posts expire after 7 days
When you post something on Google My Business, it will show in search results for only 7 days.
The only exception to this is Event posts, which stay until the date of the event passes.
When your post is about to expire, you will get an automated email from Google My Business.
Insights
On each Google My Business post, you can see the views and clicks that the post has received.
Post Insights help you better understand how your posts perform with potential customers. From the Posts tab, you can view insights for:
An individual post
All posts from the last week
All posts from the last month
Queries
In addition, Google My Business shows you the actual search terms people are using to find your business. This is an extremely valuable insight.
Search queries show the terms that your customers used to find your business on Local Search and Maps.
You can filter the search queries by the last week, month, or quarter.
Other Features
Google My Business has so many other features that might be of value to businesses that it is hard to cover everything in just one post.
Here is a quick review of some of GMB’s other features:
Messaging
If enabled, Google My Business allows customers who are viewing your listing to message you directly. This can significantly minimize the number of phone calls or emails received.
Website
Google My Business wants to get everyone online, including businesses that cannot afford a website, or aren’t tech-savvy enough to build a website.
So they created a simple website builder within GMB.
But I already have a website. Do I need a Google My Business website?
You can create ads directly in Google My Business.
Add Users
Do you have multiple people on your team? If so, you can add multiple users and assign different permission levels on GMB.
Add locations
For businesses with multiple locations, Google My Business allows you to add up to 10 locations manually.
If you have more than 10 locations, you can request bulk verification by following these steps.
How to schedule Google My Business posts
The fact that your Google My Business posts expire after 7 days means that you have to constantly go back into GMB and post something week after week, again and again.
The solution: schedule Google My Business posts weeks or even months ahead of time.
The issue, however, is that very few social media schedulers work with Google My Business, and the ones that do work charge upwards of $50/month, which is a big hit to take for many businesses.
The process is simple. Just connect your Google My Business account on the Accounts page.
Then schedule your Google My Business post, optionally adding any link or image to the post.
Then add your Call-To-Action button and a link.
In addition to just scheduling Google My Business posts, OneUp allows you to set GMB posts to automatically repeat at set intervals — such as once a week or once a month.
This allows you to reap the benefits of being active on Google My Business, without the hassle of constantly going back in every week to manually post something once your post expires.
Then choose to post it now, or schedule it for a date in the future.
Here is what the post looks like inside your Google My Business account:
And here is what the post looks like on the Google search results page:
OneUp is only $4/month, and has a 7-day free trial with no credit card required up-front.
Schedule Google My Business posts with OneUpApp.io
This post will show 4 different ways to schedule Google My Business posts.
Are you using Google My Business?
For those unfamiliar, Google My Business (not to be confused with Google+) is a free platform that Google created to help businesses manage the search results that show when someone searches your business name. This is where businesses manage the contact information, open hours, reviews, and pictures that show in Google search results.
Recently, Google added the ability for business owners to post updates to their Google My Business listing and to schedule Google My Business posts, allowing you to share photos, announce sales or specials, showcase new products, and list upcoming events.
These Google My Business posts show up when someone searches your business’s name on Google, giving you an easy way of occupying more real estate in the search results, and drawing more attention and traffic.
History of Google My Business
Launched in June 2014, the focus of Google My Business was to allow an easy way for local businesses as well as national brands to be found on Google. It was a huge change from the sponsored listings and directory listings of the past on Google. Google My Business allowed business owners to get the visibility they needed on Google, in a way that was simple to manage.
Google My Business now allows entrepreneurs to manage their business’s name, address, phone number, website, reviews, pictures, service areas, opening date, instant messaging, and even let customers use the AI-powered Google Assistant to book with you.
Eligibility
Listings on Google My Business can only be created for businesses that either have a physical location that customers can visit, or that travel to visit customers where they are. Brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses aren’t eligible for Google My Business listings.
Why Google My Business is important
According to this study by Moz and this study by Search Engine Journal, signals from Google My Business play a substantial role in local SEO.
Despite this, many local businesses have yet to claim their free Google My Business listing, giving those that do a chance to stand out from the crowd.
Next, input the basic information of your business.
Then, you will have to verify your account by submitting a code that is mailed to your business address via physical postcard. This step is necessary to unlock all Google My Business features.
After your company information is added, you will be able to access your account to start personalizing your listing.
Google My Business requests your name, address, and phone number (otherwise known as “NAP”) to begin the listing. You must ensure that the information provided on Google My Business matches the information on your website exactly, as well as your Facebook page and any other online listings. Inconsistencies in your business’s information across the internet will negatively impact your search ranking.
Filling out your company’s information is especially important because anyone can suggest an edit to your business listing, including competitors.
When someone clicks on “Suggest an edit”, it gives them the opportunity to make some pretty dramatic changes to your listing.
Many times, these “suggestions” are immediately made live on Google, even if you don’t approve them. That’s why it is of utmost importance to proactively monitor and manage your Google My Business listing.
Reviews
When was the last time you tried a new restaurant without reading some reviews first?
Reviews are becoming increasingly paramount for local search. Good reviews lead to more sales, but even bad reviews present an opportunity.
How to get more Google reviews
To share your public Google My Business listing, first pull up your listing on Google Maps. You can do this by clicking the “View on Maps” link on the Home page of your Google My Business account.
Then click the Share button, and send the link to your customers.
Responding to reviews
After you start to gather reviews on your listing, you need to respond to them. All of them.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Why? Well, 44.6% of people said they would be more likely to visit a business if the owner responded to negative reviews.
If you are receiving 5-star reviews, thank your customers for taking the time to leave their feedback.
If you receive less-than-stellar reviews, do not be defensive or hostile. Rather, thank the customer for the feedback, and ask how you could have improved the experience if that wasn’t already made clear.
You can manage your customer reviews by going to the Reviews section in Google My Business.
Questions & Answers
Similar to Reviews, Google My Business allows people to ask questions about the business that anyone can view.
However, anyone can also answer those questions, not just the owner.
Keep a close eye for any questions that come in so you can answer them quickly and keep some control over the narrative.
Messaging
What if your customers have questions that aren’t answered on your website? They can simply call the number listed in the search results, right?
It turns out that most people much prefer messaging over calling when given the option. Some people even have a crippling fear of making phone calls.
That is one of the reasons why Google My Business introduced it’s messaging feature, allowing potential patrons to ask questions and receive direct support via instant messaging.
To enable the messaging feature, it requires downloading the Google My Business mobile app, which can be found inside of your Google My Business account
In addition to messaging your customers one-on-one, the Google My Business mobile app also allows you to also manage your business profile, share photos and posts, and check analytics.
Google My Business Posts
Google posts were first introduced in 2016 as “Candidate Cards” in the 2016 presidential election. Google described these as non-ad privileges, giving 2016 Republican and Democratic candidates a place to speak directly to the public in Google search.
Google stated that during one of the Republican debates “political search interest spikes 440 percent on average during live televised debates as people turn to the web to learn more about the candidates and their platforms.” The then-new Candidate Cards allowed candidates to speak directly to voters and control some of the content that showed when their name was searched on Google.
Proving to be both appealing and informative to viewers, Google then expanded these cards to celebrities and sports teams.
In June 2017, Google brought these posts to local businesses as a way of attracting new customers and building relationships with existing customers. Google My Business posts have proven effective in promoting sales, events, emergency updates such as school closings, or sharing job openings.
Types of posts
Google My Business has 4 different post types.
What’s New posts: Posts that provide general information about your business. You can include a photo/video, link, Call-To-Action button, and other information. For example, a restaurant could make a post to promote a new menu item.
Event posts: Posts that promote an event your business is involved with or supports. Event posts require a title, start/end dates and time, and may include a photo/video, Call-To-Action button, and other information. For example, a bookstore may advertise a local author’s book signing or a book club meeting.
Offer posts: Posts that provide promotional sales or offers from your business. Offer posts require a title and start/end dates and times. A “View offer” Call-To-Action button is automatically added to the post. You can also include a photo/video, coupon code, link, and terms and conditions with the post. For example, a pizza parlor may advertise a 20% off large pizzas for a week.
Product posts: Posts that emphasize a specific product your business sells. Product posts require a title and photo or video. You can also include a Call-To-Action button and other information. For example, an electronics store may promote a new phone for sale.
CTA Buttons
In addition, you can also add an optional Call-To-Action button on each post that links to whatever destination you choose.
Google My Business has a few different Call-To-Actions button options.
Book
Order Online
Buy
Learn More
Sign Up
View Offer (only available for Offer posts)
Google My Business posts can be text only, image only, link only, or any combination of these. Links can be added with or without a Call-To-Action button.
Here is an example of an Event post with a “Learn More” Call-To-Action button.
Insights
Google My Business gives you insights into how many people viewed and clicked on each of your posts.
Additionally, Google My Business shows the queries that people used to find your business on both search and maps, an extremely valuable insight. Queries can be filtered by the last week, month or quarter.
Expiration of posts
Google My Business posts expire after 1 week, meaning 7 days after you post something, it will no longer show in Google’s search results.
The only exception to this is Event posts, which expire after the listed date of the event.
Posting on Google My Business is a no-brainer for any local business that wants to stand out in Google search results. But because Google My Business posts expire after 7 days, it means that at least once a week, you have to remember to log back into Google My Business and post something again.
No need to worry though. Below, you’ll discover 4 different tools that support Google My Business posts scheduling.
This allows you to reap the benefits of being active on Google My Business, without the hassle of going back in week after week to manually post something when your previous update expires.
1. OneUp
OneUp is a social media scheduling tool that supports scheduling posts on Google My Business, in addition to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Cost: OneUp starts at $4/month, with a 7-day free trial (no credit card required upfront).
Connecting your Google My Business account
When you sign up, you can connect your Google My Business account from the Accounts page in OneUp.
Schedule a post
Click Schedule a Post to either post now or schedule a Google My Business post for a future time. You can add text, a link, and an image.
Then add your Call-To-Action button and a link.
Here is what that post looks like on the Google search results page.
Set posts to automatically repeat
In addition to just scheduling Google My Business posts, OneUp allows you to set GMB posts to automatically repeat at set intervals — such as once a week or once a month.
You can choose to have the post repeat indefinitely, or choose for it to stop after a certain date or number of times posted.
2. Sendible
Sendible is a social media tool designed for agencies. They support Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, and Google My Business.
Cost: Sendible plans start at $29/month, with a 30-day free trial (credit card required upfront).
Add your Google My Business account
From the Add Services page, you can connect your Google My Business account.
Schedule a post
Click Compose to schedule a Google My Business post. You can add your message, link, and an image.
Repeat posts
With Sendible, you can schedule your post to repeat with a lot of options for how it will repeat, such as only on specific days of the week.
3. Social Report
Social Report is a social media management platform designed for larger teams. They support a wide range of social platforms, including scheduling posts on Google My Business, Facebook, and YouTube.
Cost: Social Report plans start at $49/month for up to 5 brands, with a 30-day free trial (credit card required upfront).
Connect Profiles
To get started, click Connect Profiles to choose from a large list of accounts that you can connect to Social Report.
Schedule a post
Click Schedule a Post to pull up Social Report’s scheduler. You can compose your message, add a link, and an image.
Set posts to automatically repeat
With Social Report, you can choose how often you would like your post to be repeated, choosing from an interval of minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
4. Social Pilot
Social Pilot labels itself as a “Social Media Management Tool for Teams and Agencies”. They support a number of social networks including Google My Business, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Cost: Social Pilot plans start at $30/month, with a 14-day free trial (no credit card required upfront).
Connecting your Google My Business account
From the Accounts page, click Connect Location to link your Google My Business account to Social Pilot.
Schedule A Post
Click Add Post to bring up the post scheduler. Social Pilot allows you to add text, a link, and an image while you schedule your Google My Business post.
Repeat your posts
Social Pilot allows you to schedule your posts to be repeated up to 10 times, and you can choose how many days you want in between each repeating post.
Conclusion
Google tends to look favorably upon businesses that are using Google My Business, so you might be shooting yourself in the foot by ignoring it. The tools mentioned above make it easy schedule Google My Business posts and to maintain a consistent presence on GMB, which may help your business stand out from the competition, improve search rankings, drive more traffic, and ultimately acquire more customers.
