CSV format guidelines for Bulk Scheduling

Uploading a CSV (comma-separated values) is one of the key features of bulk scheduling. Vista Social offers a very simple format that social media managers can follow when designing content. You can download the sample CSV right here or from your dashboard. 

🎥 Video guide 

Required Columns

The first 4 columns are fixed: they must appear exactly in this order with exactly these headings:

Optional Columns

The rest of the columns in the CSV are optional and are used to take advantage of post customizations. Here are the columns that can be used and what they mean. You can use them in any order as long as you use the exact heading; they will be mapped correctly.

Header	Descriptions	Applies to networks
comment1	First post comment
comment2	Second post comment
comment3	Third post comment
comment4	Fourth post comment
comment5	Fifth post comment
message_<profile>	For a specific message per profile, create additional columns like message_facebook, message_instagram, etc. This way, you can set captions per network
comments_enabled	Enable post comments. Possible values are 'yes' and 'no'
like	Like the published posts. Possible values "yes" or "no"
title	Title (meaning depends on the network)
description	Description (meaning depends on the network)	(pin description) (video description) (spotlight description, 160 chars)
instagram_publish_as	When this row type is 'image' possible values are: IMAGE, CAROUSEL (multi-images), STORY. When this row type is 'video' possible values are: REELS, TRIAL_REELS, VIDEO, STORY
graduation_strategy	Graduation strategy for trial reels MANUAL or PERFORMANCE (default)
share_to_feed	Possible values "yes" or "no"
tags	Tags separated by semicolon (:)
collaborators	Collaborators to invite separated by semicolon (:)
user_tags	Tag users in posts. For example user1[x|y]:user2[x|y] X and Y coordinates are represented as a number between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0.22)
facebook_publish_as	When this row type is 'image' possible values are: IMAGE, CAROUSEL (multi-images), STORY. When this row type is 'video' possible values are: STORY, REELS, VIDEO
board	Name of Pinterest board
section	Name of Pinterest board section
subreddit	Subreddit name
link	Pin link
snapchat_publish_as	Possible values are: STORY, SPOTLIGHT, SAVED_STORY. Default is STORY.
save_to_profile	Possible values "yes" and "no". If set to "no" Spotlight will not be shown on the public profile.
locale	Locale indicates the language and country. Default is: en_US
category	YouTube video category
thumbnail_url	A link to the video thumbnail. Applicable if "link" is a link to a video
thumbnail_offset	The offset in milliseconds from the start of the video for generating the thumbnail. Applicable if "link" is a link to a video
pin_comment	true or false - Pin Comment

Scheduling Multi-Media Posts

If you want to schedule carousels or posts with multiple media, you can do so by adding each media link in a separate row. Make sure to add the same elements (captions, post type, scheduled date & time, additional comments, etc.) of your post to each row. Check out the example below:

Scheduling Posts to Specific Queue Labels

If you are using Publishing Queues, you can choose which queue label your CSV posts should be added to during the bulk scheduling process. This is useful when organizing content into different categories, campaigns, or posting strategies.

After uploading your CSV file and selecting your posts, choose one of the queue publishing options (such as Queue Next, Queue Last, or another available queue option). Once selected, an All queue labels dropdown will appear in the top-right corner of the bulk scheduling window.

From there, select the queue label where you'd like the posts to be added.

Expected Behavior

After your CSV is uploaded and processed, Vista Social uses the required and optional columns to determine the content, publishing time, media, and applicable post customizations.

For multimedia posts, rows with matching post details can be grouped together. To publish similar posts separately, make sure each post has a unique scheduled date and time.

Queue labels are selected during the bulk scheduling process rather than through the CSV itself.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What format should I use when exporting from Excel?
A: Use CSV UTF-8 (Comma-delimited). This format works best with Vista Social and helps preserve special characters.

Q: How many rows can I include in a CSV?
A: CSV imports are limited to 200 rows. However, it is recommended to upload no more than 100 posts at a time to avoid issues.

Q: Why were multiple posts grouped into one multimedia post?
A: Posts with similar elements, such as the same caption, post type, and scheduled time, may be grouped together. To publish them separately, assign each post a unique publishing date and time in the time column.

Q: Can I schedule a carousel using a CSV?
A: Yes. Add each media link in a separate row and use the same caption, post type, scheduled time, and other applicable post settings for each row. Mixed-media carousel posts are not currently supported.

Q: Can I choose a publishing queue label directly in the CSV?
A: No. Queue labels are selected during the bulk scheduling process. After choosing a queue option, use the All queue labels dropdown to select the desired label.

Q: Why are my emojis showing incorrectly after importing the CSV?
A: CSV files exported from Excel currently do not support emojis. Google Sheets is recommended instead, although some emojis may still not be supported and can appear as �.

Need further help?

If you have any questions or need additional help, feel free to contact our awesome support team. We are here to assist you! 💙

Related Reading:

Bulk Publishing

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