How to Schedule a Facebook Story

Step by step

1. 1

   Size and export your Story asset

   Create or export your image or short video at 1080 × 1920 px (9:16 aspect ratio). As of June 2026, Facebook recommends JPG or PNG for images (under 30 MB) and MP4 or MOV for video (maximum 20 seconds, under 4 GB). Keep text, logos, and key visuals in the central 60% of the frame — the top and bottom strips are partially obscured by your Page name and the reply bar in the viewer. Check the current verified specs on the /sizes/facebook-story-size page before exporting, as Meta adjusts these periodically.

   Tip: If you are repurposing a square or landscape asset, use the free /tools/image-resizer to pad and crop it to 9:16 rather than stretching — distorted assets look unprofessional even if they pass the upload check.

2. 2

   Open Meta Business Suite and navigate to Planner

   Go to business.facebook.com and select your Page from the left-hand account switcher. In the left navigation, choose "Planner" (sometimes listed under "Content" or "Publishing Tools" depending on your Business Suite version as of June 2026). The Planner shows your scheduled feed posts, Reels, and Stories on a calendar view — click the date and time you want your Story to go live.

   Tip: If your Business Suite navigation looks different from this description, check Meta's in-product help — Business Suite UI has been updated multiple times and labels shift between regions and account types as of June 2026.

3. 3

   Create a new Story and upload your asset

   Click "Create Story" or the Story option from the new-post picker. Upload your 9:16 image or video. Business Suite's Story editor lets you add text overlays, stickers, and a call-to-action link on supported post types. As of June 2026, the "Swipe up" mechanic is gone — links in Stories are surfaced through a native link sticker or CTA button depending on the post format; not all Story formats support a clickable link from the Planner, so test this before your campaign launch.

4. 4

   Set a date and time using your best-time data

   After uploading the asset, choose "Schedule" instead of "Publish Now." Select the date and time. Because Stories expire after 24 hours, your go-live timing matters more than for evergreen feed posts — a Story published at 2 am will expire before most of your audience checks Facebook the next morning. Use the starting-point windows at /best-time-to-post/facebook and cross-reference your own Page Insights (Reach and Impressions by hour) to find your actual peak. As of June 2026, most small-business Pages see highest Story views in the mid-morning and early evening hours, but your audience's pattern is the reliable signal.

   Tip: Stories last exactly 24 hours from the moment they go live. If you have a time-sensitive offer or event, schedule the Story so it is live at least 2 hours before the relevant window and expires naturally the following day.

5. 5

   Add a link sticker or CTA if driving traffic

   If your Story goal is to drive clicks — to a product page, blog post, event registration, or UTM-tagged URL — add a link sticker or the CTA overlay before scheduling. Build your tracking link first using /tools/utm-builder so you can attribute Story clicks separately in Google Analytics 4. As of June 2026, Facebook Page Stories support a link overlay for most business account types, but the exact placement and clickability depend on your account's ad-eligibility status and region; test on a throwaway Story if you haven't used Story links on this Page before.

6. 6

   Block the Story in your SocialKit calendar as a reference event

   Because SocialKit cannot auto-publish Facebook Page Stories via the Meta API as of June 2026, use it as a planning and coordination layer: create a draft post in SocialKit for the same date and time, attach the Story asset, and write your Story caption/copy in the notes. This keeps the Story visible on your cross-platform calendar alongside your scheduled feed posts, Reels, and other network content — so you can see conflicts, pacing gaps, and campaign alignment without maintaining a separate spreadsheet.

   Tip: Many teams use SocialKit's per-post comment field (Team and Enterprise plans) to leave the Business Suite direct link and approval status for each Story, so the team member who publishes natively knows exactly which asset to use.

7. 7

   Confirm the schedule in Business Suite and set a reminder

   Back in Meta Business Suite Planner, verify the Story appears in the scheduled queue at the correct time. Business Suite sends an in-app notification when a scheduled Story goes live — if you have the Meta Business Suite mobile app installed, enable push notifications so you get a real-time confirmation. If you later need to reschedule, click the Story in the Planner, select "Edit," and adjust the date/time; you cannot reschedule after the Story has already published.

Best practices

• Export at exactly 1080 × 1920 px before uploading — assets that are even slightly off-ratio can be auto-cropped by Meta in ways that cut off text or key visuals.
• Schedule Stories to go live when your audience is active; the 24-hour expiry means a poorly-timed Story wastes the asset. Use /best-time-to-post/facebook as a starting point, then refine with your Page Insights data.
• Build a UTM-tagged link before creating the Story CTA so every click is attributable in Google Analytics 4 from day one — changing the link after publishing is not possible on an already-scheduled Story.
• Use SocialKit's content calendar to plan Stories alongside all other posts so you can see the full week's content rhythm without maintaining a separate spreadsheet for each platform.
• Keep a "Story bank" folder — saved, correctly-sized 9:16 assets with transparent backgrounds ready for last-minute Stories — so the 24-hour expiry never catches you without content.
• Review your Business Suite scheduled-content queue at least 24 hours before each Story is due to go live; a disconnected Facebook Page or expired Business Suite token can silently prevent scheduling from completing.

Good to know

Do it in SocialKit