Adding the date to your Facebook posts can be a great way to provide context and organize your timeline. Whether you want to commemorate an event, milestone, or special occasion, including the date helps your friends and followers understand when something occurred. Displaying dates also makes your old posts easy to find later on.
Fortunately, adding the date to your Facebook posts is simple. There are a couple different methods you can use depending on if you’re posting from a computer, mobile device, or third-party app. We’ll walk through the steps for each option.
Posting from a Computer
Posting from a desktop or laptop computer makes adding the date straightforward. Here’s how to do it:
Using the Date Plugin
The easiest way to add the date is by using the built-in Date plugin when creating a post:
1. Go to Facebook.com and log into your account.
2. Click on your profile picture in the top right and select “Create Post” from the dropdown menu. This will open the post composer.
3. In the text box where you write your post, click on the “+” icon to expand the creative tools tray.
4. Click on the calendar icon labeled “Date” and select the date you want displayed. This will insert the date into your post.
5. Add your text as usual and click “Post” when finished.
The date will now display at the top of your post preceded by “Remembering” to indicate it’s a meaningful date. Your friends will see the date and post text together on their feeds.
Manually Adding the Date
You can also manually type the date directly into your post:
1. Follow steps 1-2 above to access the post composer.
2. Type the date out in numeric format at the start of your post text (e.g. October 31, 2022).
3. Add a hyphen after the date before your main text. This provides separation from the date.
4. Write out your post as normal and click “Post” when done.
The date will display as plain text at the top of the post. While not as visually prominent as using the Date plugin, it stillcommunicates when the post was made.
Posting from Mobile
Adding dates on mobile works much the same as on desktop. Here’s how to do it via the Facebook app on your iOS or Android device:
Using the Date Sticker
1. Open the Facebook app and tap the status box at the top to compose a post.
2. Tap the sticker icon next to the text box and select the calendar icon labeled “Date” from the tray.
3. Choose the date you want from the calendar view and tap “Use.” This will insert a date sticker into your post.
4. Enter your text as normal and tap “Post” when finished.
The formatted date sticker will display above your post text on feeds. Tapping it will indicate the significance of the date.
Typing the Date Manually
You can also add the date by manually typing it out:
1. Open the Facebook app and tap the status box to start a post.
2. Using your keyboard, type the date at the start of the text box in numeric format – e.g. March 21, 2022.
3. Add a hyphen or space between the date and your post text.
4. Enter your text as normal and tap “Post” when complete.
This will display the date as plain text at the top of your post. While not as eye-catching, it still conveys the date.
Posting from Third-Party Apps
If you use a third-party app to manage your Facebook posts, the option to add dates will depend on the app. Here are a couple popular posting apps and how to use them:
Hootsuite
Hootsuite has a built-in custom field for dates:
1. Open your Hootsuite dashboard and click “Create Post” to start a new message.
2. Click on the calendar icon next to the text box and pick your date. This will populate the date field.
3. Enter your post text as normal and add any other desired content.
4. Click “Schedule” and pick when you want the post to publish. The date will display when it goes live.
Buffer
With Buffer, you’ll need to manually add the date:
1. Access your Buffer dashboard and click the “+” icon to start a post.
2. Manually type your date into the text box in numeric format – e.g. August 1, 2021.
3. Add a hyphen and then enter your post text as usual.
4. Click “Schedule” to queue the post. It will show the date when published.
Check your app’s settings if you don’t see options for customizing your post with a date. Some apps may support integrating the Facebook Date plugin.
Displaying Multiple Dates
Want to commemorate more than one date on a Facebook post? You can include several dates together:
– List each date separately on individual lines (hit return after each date).
– Separate the dates with commas, dashes, or semicolons.
– Put dates first before the post text for optimal visibility.
– Be consistent with formatting for clean presentation.
This allows you to highlight multiple dates of significance all in one post. For example birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc. It keeps things organized!
Personalizing Date Posts
Beyond just the date itself, you can customize your posts to make dates more meaningful:
– Include the year for milestone dates like anniversaries (shows passage of time).
– Use creative date formats like “Tues, December 18, 2018.”
– Add decorative elements like emoji, stickers, or filters.
– Write the occasion like “John and Jane’s Anniversary – June 30.”
– Use captions explaining why the date is significant.
These details personalize date posts so they’re both informative and engaging. Make your dates shine!
Best Practices
Keep these tips in mind when posting dates on Facebook:
– Only display dates that are relevant to your audience to avoid confusion. Don’t clutter feeds with excessive dates.
– Use date features for current/recent dates rather than past years. This keeps posts timely.
– If commemorating a tragedy, be sensitive and consider whether a Facebook post is appropriate.
– Avoid altering dates to be misleading or false. Stick to factual dates.
– Consider privacy and if you want all Facebook friends seeing certain personal dates.
Following best practices ensures your date posts are tactful, honest, and enhance your social feeds.
Troubleshooting Issues
Having trouble getting dates to display properly on your Facebook posts? Try these tips to troubleshoot:
– Make sure to use a numerically formatted date like “12/31/19” – spelling it out as “December 31, 2019” may not work.
– The date needs to be at the very beginning of the post. Don’t add it mid-sentence.
– There can’t be any text or characters before the date, even spaces.
– When typing manually, add punctuation like a hyphen between the date and post text.
– If using an app, make sure the date field is populating correctly before posting.
– Double check that your app has permission to post to Facebook on your behalf.
– Try toggling date settings off and back on in your Facebook settings.
– If all else fails, delete and try reposting from scratch.
Following proper date format in the correct post field is key. Reviewing app permissions and settings can also help resolve issues.
Conclusion
Adding meaningful dates to your Facebook posts is simple whether you’re on desktop, mobile, or using a third-party publishing app. With built-in date features and the ability to manually type dates, you have full control over customizing your posts.
Displaying dates not only organizes your timeline, but also provides your audience with meaningful context. Just be sure to use dates appropriately and troubleshoot formatting issues as needed.
With the techniques covered here, you’ll be able to proudly display dates on your Facebook posts and keep your followers informed. The next special event, milestone, or #throwbackthursday is opportunity to try it out!