How do I Import Content via CSV?

CSV s a “comma-separated values” file that allows you to save your information in a structured way. This can be done via text files (where information is separated by commas) or via spreadsheets (where it is organized in a table) that are then saved as CSV.

Creating your CSV file

On SocialBee, you can also import previously downloaded files in CSV format. This can be especially useful if you want to migrate content from a different platform. Once you have your CSV file, make sure it’s properly formatted. You can download a sample from SocialBee to see how it should look.

Make sure you only use two columns per line (one for the text and one for the link you want to add - link or image/gif/video).

Link preview

If you want to add a link preview to your text, You need to add the text in the first column and the link you want to generate a preview for, in the second column. Leave the other columns empty on that row.

Image Post

If you want to add an image, add the link of the image in the "Image URLs" column and leave the "Link" column empty.

Link with no preview, and an image

If you want to add a link to your text, without having it generate a link preview, and you want to add an image, gif, or video, add the link together with the text in the first column, leave the "Link" column empty, then add the link of your image, gif or video in the designated column.

GIF Post

If you want to add a gif, add the link of the gif in the "Gif URLs" column and leave the "Link" column empty.

To be able to post a gif, make sure you have the proper link:

Correct: https://media.giphy.com/media/4l2OVSB784S9W/giphy.gif
Wrong: https://giphy.com/gifs/4l2OVSB784S9W

Video Post

If you want to add a video, add the link of the video in the "Video URLs" column and leave the "Link" column empty.

To be able to post a video, make sure you have the proper link:

Correct: https://socialbee.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/friends-jumping.mp4
Wrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDwAufqMBEY

Please keep in mind that the URLs of the Image, GIF, or Video need to be public (if you would open them in a browser, they would ONLY show that image/gif/video), for the import to work. You cannot use any Dropbox or Google Drive links, as they are not public.

If you add a link to the link column and an image link to the image column, the import will fail. This is why you should only fill the text column and one of the remaining columns on each row.

Importing your CSV file

To import the CSV file you have created, navigate to the Content menu, and click Import CSV. This will take you to the import page, where you can start working on the import. Here, you will be able to see 3 big buttons that will help you get a better grip of this functionality:

How do you prepare your spreadsheet, which will take you to a video tutorial on how to prepare your file.
Download a sample spreadsheet, which will download the sample CSV file.
View the FAQs if you have questions, which will take you to our Help Articles.

Below, you will see the buttons that will allow you to import your file. Like with any import, you will have to take 3 steps:

Select the profiles you want to add this content to;
Upload the CSV file you want to import;
Select the category you want to add them to.

Once you have done that, you will be able to scroll to the bottom and import the CSV file into your desired category.

There are two other options that you can change in this tab: where you want your posts to be added in relation to your queue and add posts as Approved.

To select where to add posts in relation to your queue, you have 3 main options: Add posts to the category default (will be filled in automatically, according to your category settings), add them to the top, or add them to the bottom.

Add posts as Approved is as intuitive as it can get: leave it green (to the right) for posts to be added as Approved, or click on it and make it red (to the left) for posts to be added as Not Approved. Easy peasy, 🍋 squeezy!

Advanced Settings

Next to Import CSV, there is a special tab dedicated to the advanced settings of the import.

You can choose between setting posts to expire, choosing not to shorten links, and trimming your text for Twitter. Let's go through them one by one.

Setting the post to expire can be important if you want to make sure your content stays fresh and relevant.

You can choose to set posts to expire after they've been published a number of times. This means that your posts will remain in the category until that limit is reached.

You can also choose to set them to expire after a number of days, which means that posts will be archived from your category once that time passes, even if they were never shared. This is great for news articles or fast-paced industries.

Don't shorten the links is pretty self-explanatory, we think. If you don't want your category's short link settings to be applied to the imported links (if there are any in the file) just tick this box and links will be added normally.

Trim text for Twitter is checked by default and allows us to shorten the text so it is suitable for Twitter sharing. We will only trim the caption for this profile so, if you choose any other profiles, it won't be shortened for those.

Preview your posts

Once you've got all these settings down, you might want to see how these posts will be published to your social media. If you've added the file in your Import CSV tab, you'll notice that a preview has already been generated for one of your profiles. To switch between them, navigate with your mouse to the top-right corner, click on the drop-down menu, and select the profile you want to preview your posts for.

The last 3 lines of the file will be previewed here.