Every social post for a client lives in Content → Social: posts Zeus writes for you, posts you write yourself, and the Google Business Profile posts Zeus drafts each month. You see them as a list, or on a week or month calendar, and you can filter by network and status.
Good to know before you start: ContentForge doesn't connect to the client's Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn accounts and never posts there for you. You copy the post, post it yourself and mark it as posted. Only Google Business Profile posts can go out from here (Post to Google), when the client's Business Profile is linked.
Pick the client's networks first
Open the client's Content → Social → Settings and tick the networks the client uses: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google Business Profile. Zeus only writes posts for the networks you tick. If the client doesn't use Instagram, no Instagram post is written.
For a new client, the networks are ticked for you from the profile links on the client record (the social links under Client → Details). If the record has no profile links, all four are ticked. Change them any time. If no network is ticked, the tab asks you to pick some before Zeus can write anything.
Make social posts
Click Make social posts. Every network the client uses is ticked; untick any you want to skip this time, for example LinkedIn. Then choose what the posts are about:
- Let Zeus choose: a service the business hasn't posted about lately, or this season's idea.
- One of the business's services: from the client record, plus the services on the linked Business Profile.
- A content strategy item from the client's content strategy.
- A blog post or page to promote on the client's site (any blog post works, including imported and hand-written ones), or Content Generator content (also from the Make social posts button on the Content Generator and in Past content).
- A seasonal or local idea: pick one of Zeus's ideas or write your own.
You can also add an angle or note for Zeus and a photo from the client's Media (it goes on every post). When Google Business Profile is ticked you can pick the Business Profile post's type (Update, Offer or Event, with the offer or event's title and dates) and its button (Call now, Book or Learn more, going to a page you pick). Add a link if you like (a blog post or page uses its own address), then click Make posts. A pack costs 1 credit, however many networks it covers. It's charged once Zeus has written it. If he can't, it costs nothing and you can click Try again.
Zeus writes each network's post for how people use that network:
- Facebook: friendly and conversational, with the link after the text.
- Instagram: a strong first line and short lines, with hashtags for the service and the town. Links aren't clickable on Instagram, so there's no link in the text. Put the link in the client's bio.
- LinkedIn: professional and practical, with a few hashtags and the link after the text.
- Google Business Profile: plain and local, up to 1,500 characters, with no phone numbers, links or hashtags in the text (Google rejects them). The link goes on the button (Learn more, Book, Call now and so on).
Posts are written in the client's brand voice and follow your writing rules. Zeus only uses facts from the client record and the content the posts are made from. Prices, offers, years in business, licenses, guarantees and awards that aren't on the record are taken out. When he takes something out, the post says so in gray under the text.
Links get tracking tags (UTM) automatically, so visits from each network show up separately in Google Analytics.
Write a post yourself
- Click New post.
- Pick the Network.
- Write the Post text. The counter shows the network's limit (Facebook 5,000, Instagram 2,200, LinkedIn 3,000, Google Business Profile 1,500 characters).
- Add a Link if you like. It's tagged for tracking automatically.
- Click Save draft. Writing a post yourself is free.
Edit a post
Every Draft, Approved or Scheduled post can be changed on its card:
- Post text: edit it in the box. The counter shows the length against the network's limit, with "(link included)" when the link is added to the text.
- Hashtags: for Facebook (up to 3), Instagram (5–12) and LinkedIn (2–4). Google Business Profile posts have none.
- Button (Business Profile only): pick a button, or No button.
- Click Save changes to keep your edits.
- Planned date: pick a date and time, then Schedule. On a scheduled post, change the date and click Move, or Unschedule to clear it. A planned date is a reminder only: nothing is posted automatically.
- Approve: marks a draft ready to go.
- Skip: takes it off the to-do list. Reopen brings it back as a draft.
After a post is marked as posted, use Add the live post's link and Save link to record where it went live, or View the live post once it's saved.
Pictures and videos
Each post gets a picture to start with: the blog post's main image for Facebook, LinkedIn and the Business Profile, and the client's best-matching photos for Instagram (from a folder or file name that matches the topic). If the client has a short video (90 seconds or less) that matches, it's added to the Instagram and Facebook posts.
- Download image crops the picture to the right size for the network: 4:5 for Instagram, the 1.91:1 link size for Facebook and LinkedIn, and 4:3 for the Business Profile. A post with several pictures downloads as a zip.
- Video downloads the client's video as it is.
- Zeus image makes a new picture for the post, shaped for its network. It's charged like any Zeus image. Zeus images never have words or letters in them.
- Remove a picture with the bin icon on it.
Post it
ContentForge doesn't post to the networks for you yet. For each post:
- Copy caption copies exactly what to paste, including the link and hashtags where the network uses them.
- Download image (or Video).
- Open the network. This opens the client's own page when the client record has its link.
- Post it there, then click Mark as posted. You can paste the link to the live post.
Marking a post as posted adds it to the client's work done, once per post: "Posted to Instagram" (for example), or for a Business Profile post "Posted an update to the Google Business Profile" (or an offer or event). The card says which item it went into ("In work done: …"). It shows in their portal and in the monthly email like other work done. Posts Zeus wrote show Added by Zeus on the agency's work done card; the client sees only the plain wording.
Marked one by mistake? Click Undo posted: the post goes back to Approved and its work done item is removed. Deleting a post (the bin icon) removes its work done item too. A post sent with Post to Google can't be un-marked, because it's live on Google: delete it in Local → Business Profile → Posts to take it down (that adds "Removed a post from the Google Business Profile"). Deleting it here keeps its work done item. Zeus's Business Profile drafts can be skipped, not deleted.
Statuses, views and filters
- Draft: written, not checked yet.
- Approved: ready to go.
- Scheduled: given a date and time. It's a reminder on the calendar; nothing is posted automatically.
- Posted: marked as posted.
- Skipped: not going out. Reopen brings it back as a draft.
Switch between List, Week and Month at the top. Filter by network (All networks or one network) and by status: To do (the default: drafts, approved and scheduled posts), All, or one status.
The week and month calendars show scheduled and posted posts on their dates. Use the arrows to move and Today to jump back. Click a post to open it in the list. Posts with no date are counted under the calendar ("N posts without a date — see the list").
When ContentForge writes a blog post
Settings → When ContentForge writes a blog post applies to blog posts the Content Generator or Zeus writes for the client (Send to Website, the starter posts from Create with Zeus, and the blog posts and starter posts from Fill a template with Zeus). It happens once, as soon as the post is created, whether or not it's published yet:
- Ask me (the default): you're offered Make posts right away, on the Send to Website result, or the first time you open the post in the editor.
- Make posts automatically: a pack is made as soon as the post is created. Each pack costs 1 credit.
- Do nothing.
Imported posts and posts you write yourself never trigger this. You can still make posts for any of them with Make social posts → A blog post. Publishing a post doesn't trigger anything either.
When the blog post isn't live yet
If the blog post isn't published yet, each of its social posts says Blog post not published yet. If the blog post is scheduled, the social posts' planned date starts on its publish date. Open and Mark as posted still work, but warn you first: the link in the post shows "page not found" until the blog post is live. The warning goes away by itself once the blog post is published.
When the blog post changes or is deleted
- If the blog post is changed a lot after its social posts were written, they say Blog post changed since these posts were written. Click Rewrite (1 credit, you confirm first) for a new pack from the new version. Once it's written, the old pack's unposted posts are skipped; posts already marked as posted stay. Zeus never rewrites on his own.
- If the blog post is deleted, its social posts that weren't posted yet are skipped, with a note saying why.
Zeus and social posts
- Zeus's monthly Google Business Profile post drafts appear here with a From Zeus label. Review replies and profile updates stay in the client's Zeus.
- When the client's Business Profile is linked (Client → Settings → Google Integrations), Business Profile posts have Post to Google: it publishes the text, button and first picture straight to the profile and marks the post posted. It goes as the update, offer or event picked for the pack, and the card shows On Google. The client's work done gets "Posted an update to the Google Business Profile" (or an offer or event) for it, once. Without a link, copy, post and mark them as posted by hand; Zeus tracks the results either way.
- If the client posts less than about once a week on the networks you ticked, Zeus's monthly scan recommends a posting plan and links here. He doesn't spend credits on his own.
- In Zeus chat you can ask what's been posted, or ask him to write social posts for a client from a blog post or a topic. He asks you to confirm first, because it costs 1 credit.
- If the client doesn't use Google Business Profile (unticked in Settings), Zeus stops drafting Business Profile posts for them.
Sending posts to the client for approval
Turn it on in Client → Settings → Client approvals (Social posts; Business Profile posts follow the Google Business Profile switch), then use Send for approval on a post. While it's on, a post can't be marked as posted until the client approves it, or you use Approve for the client. See Client approvals.
Examples
- Promote this week's blog post: Make social posts → A blog post or page to promote, pick the post, keep all networks ticked, Make posts. Copy each one, post it, Mark as posted.
- A spring offer on Google: Make social posts → A seasonal or local idea, Business Profile type Offer with the offer's title and dates, button Book. Then Post to Google.
- A quick Facebook update you wrote yourself: New post → Facebook, type it, Save draft, then Schedule it for Friday morning as a reminder.
Limits and what it can't do
- No Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn connection: you post those yourself. Only Business Profile posts can be sent from here, with Post to Google.
- Scheduling is a reminder. Nothing posts on its own at the planned time.
- Caption limits: Facebook 5,000, Instagram 2,200, LinkedIn 3,000, Google Business Profile 1,500 characters.
- Up to 4 pictures on a Facebook or LinkedIn post, 5 on Instagram and 1 on the Business Profile. Videos must be 90 seconds or less to be added.
- Twitter/X isn't one of the networks here. For a single Twitter/X post, use the Content Generator.
Credits
- A pack Zeus writes (Make social posts, Rewrite, or automatic packs) costs one Social post pack (1 credit), however many networks it covers. It's charged once written; if Zeus can't write it, it's free.
- Zeus image costs one Zeus image (1 credit).
- New post, editing, copying, downloading, scheduling, Post to Google and marking as posted are free.
Who can use it
Agency members with the Clients tool who can see the client. When client approval is on, the client approves posts in their portal (see Client approvals).
Troubleshooting
- The New post and Make social posts buttons are grayed out: no network is picked yet. Open Settings and tick the client's networks.
- "Pick at least one network": tick a network in the Make social posts dialog.
- "Couldn't start the posts": the pack didn't start and nothing was charged. Try again in a minute.
- A pack shows an error with Try again: Zeus couldn't write it. Click Try again; you're only charged once it's written.
- "Too long for Instagram (max 2,200 characters)": shorten the post text.
- "This client approves posts first — use Send for approval, or Approve for the client.": client approval is on, so the post needs the client's OK before it can be marked as posted.
- "Pick a date and time first": choose a Planned date before clicking Schedule.
- There's no Post to Google button: the client's Business Profile isn't linked. Link it in Client → Settings → Google Integrations, or post it by hand.
- "Business Profile access is switched off on this server, so reviews and posts can't be managed here yet.": Post to Google isn't available right now. Copy the post and publish it on the Business Profile by hand.
- "Google needs reconnecting — …": reconnect Google in Settings → Google Connection, then try again.
- "Your browser blocked copying — select the text and copy it instead": select the post text and copy it with your keyboard.