Given the benefits of Google posts, the Perch team has been on a mission to make them as easy and effective as possible for busy business owners. First, we created the ability to directly post to Google through Perch. Now, we’ve added something even better: the ability to schedule multiple Google posts in advance!
This capability is not only time-saving, but it’s also not offered on the regular Google My Business platform, so it’s a great opportunity to get a leg up on your competitors. Read on to learn more.
Why Post to Google in the First Place?
Posting to your Google My Business profile is just as (if not more) important than posting to your social media profiles. Here’s why:
Reach the right people at the right time
When using social media, your potential customers are mindlessly scrolling through with no intentions. When on Google, however, they are in an active search state. They are looking for information, products, services and are therefore much more likely to engage with their findings. Google posts are a great way to get your announcements, events, and offers in front of the right people at the right time.
Encourage potential customers to take action
In addition to targeting likely customers, Google posts encourage action. For each post, you can choose a call to action best suited to the type of engagement goal you’re trying to achieve. You can choose from Learn more, Reserve, Sign up, Buy, or Get offer.
Improve your Google visibility
Because Google is focused on providing the most up-to-date and useful results for its searchers, it favors businesses that are active with their listing. When you publish posts regularly, you signal to Google that you are active and therefore can earn better visibility in search results.
The Benefits of Scheduling Google Posts
So why did we create the scheduling feature in Perch? Well, creating Google posts is not difficult, but remembering to do so regularly can be a challenge for the busy business owner.
Creating Google posts is also not time-consuming, but stopping in the middle of your day-to-day workflow for even just a few minutes can cost you. This is why seemingly small tasks such as these are often avoided by business owners.
Perch’s Google scheduling feature makes posting to Google quick and convenient, allowing you to:
Save time
Get all of your posts set up and scheduled in one step, rather than having to repeat the process each time you want to post.
Come up with better quality posts
Do this at a time that is convenient for you. This way, you can come up with your posts in one longer productive brainstorm session rather than in short spurts in between tasks—and we all know that creativity simply does not flow when you’re under pressure!
Maintain consistent presence
Unless you’re running an event or offer where you set a finite time frame, your Google posts expire after 7 days. By scheduling in advance, you can make sure that you always have one or two posts live on your listing, encouraging engagement and sending signals to Google that you’re active.
How to Schedule Google Posts in Perch
There are two ways to schedule a post through Perch.
The first is by navigating to your Perch inbox and following the prompts for creating a Google post. Once you are done with your previews and edits, you will see the option to post immediately or schedule for the future.
Once you select “Schedule”, you’ll be able to choose your date and time. You’ll also be able to see your other scheduled posts so that you don’t have any overlaps.
You can also schedule a post in Perch without going through the guidance steps for posting. Simply navigate to your Perch Inbox and select the “Scheduled Posts” section.
Here, you can review your scheduled posts or add new ones.
You will receive an email notification one day before the post is scheduled to go live. This way, you can make edits or remove posts if necessary.
Just like with immediately published posts, you will be able to share your Google posts to Facebook from the Inbox once they are live on Google. They will be available for sharing for 7 days.
Perch Post Scheduling FAQs
Is this feature available on the Google My Business platform?
No. At this time, scheduling Google posts is not available through Google My Business.
How far out can I schedule my posts?
As far as you want!
Is there a limit to the number of posts I can schedule?
Nope—reach for the stars!
Which types of Google posts can I schedule?
The Perch Google post scheduling feature is available for What’s New, Events, and Offer posts. It is not currently available for Product Update posts.
What should I post?
You can create posts about events you’re hosting, offers you’re running, and announcements you want to share. Even better, Perch provides fresh post examples every ten days, right in the app. You can also use the ThriveHive Marketing Calendar for creative inspiration.
Also, if you are working with a Marketing Guide once a month, you are used to brainstorming 4 posts for the month during your marketing session. Your Guide will now also help you to set up and schedule these 4 posts during your call. This way, all you need to do during the month is to share the posts to Facebook.
Start scheduling out your posts so you can stand out on Google without skipping a beat!
