How Do I Create a CSV File For Bulk Scheduling?

Introduction

To schedule posts in bulk(up to 500 at once), you can use our Bulk Import feature. For that, you would need to create a CSV file in a proper format.

You can manually create many posts using SocialPilot, like a Link Post, Image Post, GIF Post, Video Post, or Carousel Post. With bulk scheduling, users can create single and multi-image posts, video posts, and link posts with tags and first comments for platforms that allow them.

A Link Post is one wherein you include a link in your post but don't select/upload an image. In a link post, we get the title, image, and description along with the post content.

An Image Post is the one where you select/upload one or multiple images to go along with your post. You can also include the web link along with the post content, but the image you selected will be shown when your post gets published. Along with static posts, you can also upload video posts using video URLs.

How to Create a CSV File?

Follow these steps to create a CSV file:

📋 Note: You can download a sample CSV here.

Open an Excel file and start entering post data in the following order:

Column	For Text / Link Posts	For Image Posts/ Video Posts
1st	Caption and URL(for link posts)	Caption
2nd	-	Image URLs/ single video link
3rd	Scheduling date and time	Scheduling date and time
4th	Account ID	Account ID
5th	First comment for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn posts	First comment for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn posts
6th	Tags (up to 10)	Tags (up to 10)

📋 Note:

For an Image Post, ensure you add image URLs and not a web page URL, i.e., when you open it in a browser, it should open an image only and not the website.
You can also use Google Drive or Dropbox to add media to your Bulk Import sheet. Simply copy the public URLs by directly clicking on "Share" and paste it in the 2nd column.
Multiple image URLs should be separated by a semi-colon (;) max 20 images.
You can include a single video in a post using the video URL.
You can get the unique account ID from the Accounts >> Manage Account page.
You can choose any date and time format as mentioned in Your Profile > Date and Time
First comments can be scheduled for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn posts only. If you add it to any other platform’s posts, it will not appear in the post or be published.
You can add a maximum of 10 tags in the 6th column, separated by a semi-colon (;).
You can also add mentions to your posts for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (Twitter). Find all the details in this article.

How to Save a CSV File Correctly?

Now, if the file is created in excel, follow these steps to properly save your file.

Go to the top left corner and click on “Save as.
Now press on the “Save as type” dropdown box and choose “ CSV ( comma delimited).”
Beside the Save button, click on Tools dropdown >> Web Options.
Go to the Encoding tab and select Unicode (UTF-8) from the dropdown beside "Save this document as".

Your CSV file is ready!

Also, If you are creating a CSV on your text editor or Notepad, use a comma (,) to separate the fields and also ensure that your post description is written in double inverted commas ( ), and save it in UTF8 format

How to Export a CSV File from SocialPilot?

This feature ensures a seamless way to manage, save, and reuse your posts efficiently! The Export as CSV feature allows you to download all your posts, including ones in the queue, ones that have been published, ones that have errors, and ones in the 'unscheduled posts' tab.

Follow these steps to create a CSV file to reuse your content with bulk scheduling.

Select the desired account or group to filter the posts you want to export.
Choose the posts you wish to export and click on the 'CSV' button.
The selected posts will be downloaded as a CSV file.