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CSV format guidelines for Bulk Scheduling

Mike
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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. 

 

In this guide:

 

🎥 Video guide 

 

Required Columns

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

 

Column # Header Description
1 message Post message/caption
2 type One of image, video, article, message.
3 link Link to image, video or an article
4 time

2022-12-15 5:05 pm

-or-

2022-12-15 17:05

 

* Note that time can be in 24 hour format or am/pm.

 

 

Note:

  • CSV imports are limited to 200 rows; however, it is recommended for users to only upload up to 100 posts to avoid issues.

  • Media file links must point to publicly accessible URLs. For reference, here's an example.

  • Currently, CSV files exported from Excel do not support emojis. We recommend using Google Sheets as an alternative. However, please be aware that not all emojis are supported—even in Google Sheets—so some may appear as a question mark inside a diamond (�).

 

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.

 

 

Note: You can download an example of a CSV with custom fields here.

 

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
comments_enabled Enable post comments. Possible values are 'yes' and 'no'
like Like the published posts
title Title - meaning depends on network 

(video title)
description Description - meaning depends on network

(pin description)

(video description)

(spotlight description, 160 chars)
instagram_publish_as
 When this row type is 'image' possible values are: IMAGE, CAROUSEL, STORY. When this row type is 'video' possible values are:
REELS, VIDEO, STORY
share_to_feed
 Possible values "yes" or "no"
facebook_publish_as
 
 When this row type is 'image' possible values are: IMAGE, CAROUSEL, SLIDESHOW. 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

 

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:

 

 

 

Note: Mixed media carousel posts are not supported as this time.

 

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

Finding great social media content

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