post planner white label is an enchanting Facebook app

UPDATE: this Post Planner feature has been deprecated and is no longer available. I’m leaving this post up to show you why I’ve been such a fan of theirs forEVER.

Color me enchanted

I wrote a while back about why I like Post Planner so much as a way to schedule posts to Facebook (have you tried it yet?).

Let me tell you right now that if you haven’t, you should, and that there is a special offer waaay down the post for you.

Yesterday, Josh Parkinson of Go West Social, one of the people behind Post Planner, did something absolutely wonderful for me; so wonderful, that I’m still reeling from his generosity.

They created a white label version of it for me. Free. Forever!

Maybe you’re yawning and wondering why this is so cool. I’ll tell you why:

Now, thanks to my very own “Waxing UnLyrical Post Planner app” (which shows up in my Facebook left sidebar), I have the option of having my Facebook posts come “via” Waxing UnLyrical.

That means I get my logo at the bottom of the post instead of the Post Planner icon (or, if I were posting from HootSuite, for example, the HootSuite icon), and a branded footer link back to my blog … or any URL I choose. This can be a custom landing page (if I have a special deal I want to share), my blog home page, whatever I want.

Kewl!

Here’s how Post Planner White Label works.

(And there’s a special offer in this for you as well … and yes, you have to keep reading first). No, it’s not free, but it’s very reasonably priced and I think it’s worth it (and please consider yourself disclosed that I have been given this free, but with no strings attached, see para 2 above).

1. First, you sign up for PPWL. When PPWL is launched to the public, it will cost $19.95 a month (September-ish). So you’ll have to enter your credit card info (but it won’t cost you that much).

2. Once your transaction’s been processed, you fill out a simple form that tells Josh and Julie (the other half of the PP Dynamic Duo) how you want your app to be named, the URL you want to redirect to, and so on. All very easy.

3. PP builds the app for you and emails you the install link and instructions within 24 hours. It literally installs in minutes, and boom, you’re done.

See how it works on Guy Kawasaki’s Facebook Page:

Guy Kawasaki's Enchantment site

It’s that simple.

During the redirect, you’ll be taken temporarily to an app page with the name of your app, which then redirects in a few seconds to your landing page. Apparently this is the only way to do this right now.

In Josh’s words, here’s why this is so cool:

“The app is completely exclusive to you. No one … and I mean not a single other person… will be using your app. It’s all yours. This prevents any chance of collapsing it in the News Feed [as frequently happens if multiple people are posting from, say, Twitter or HootSuite].”

And even though you’re using Post Planner to potentially post to multiple profiles/Pages/Groups, Josh said that to date, they’ve never seen two such posts collapse into one in the News Feed.

So, outside of the obvious scheduling, branding and redirect advantages, you’re also increasing your chances that your posts will be seen and, hopefully, read by more people.

What if you want to change your URL (the one you want to redirect to), or any other aspect of your app?

No problem. Just email Post Planner and they’ll take care of it for you. And you won’t have to pay over again if, say, you want to switch your landing page after a few months (say you have a new promotion).

Post Planner menuTwo things you should be aware of:

First, once your white label app is installed, it will show up in your left menu along with the “regular” Post Planner icon. That “normal” app is still there. So to ensure that your posts are coming via your custom app, click on that icon to schedule your posts. If you click on the other one, your posts will not show up as coming from your white label app.

Also, say you’re the admin for several Facebook Pages, or Groups. You may not want posts to all of them coming via your white label app. But Post Planner remembers only the last app (out of your PP options) that you visited.

So if you want to schedule some posts via your custom app for certain Pages/Groups, and then others via the regular app, they will all show up as coming from the last app you visited (custom or regular).

However, the beauty of the white label app is the branding, redirect, etc., that I’ve already talked about … and if that’s what you’re interested in (I know I am), then you probably won’t have to worry about this.

Finally! The Deal!

As I said earlier, when Post Planner launches to the public, it will be priced at $19.95 a month. Right now their current customers are being offered a chance to lock their price in at $14.95 a month through the end of August.

But YOU get $2 more off if you sign up by 11:59 pm PT on Sunday, July 31. So that’s a lifetime price of $12.95 a month. Which is extremely reasonable, I think. And yes, you can cancel at any time, you’re not locked into an annual contract or anything like that.

You just enter the coupon code PRELAUNCH1 when you sign up (remember, if you want the custom app, and the deal, you have to do so by 11:59 pm PT on Sunday, July 31).

You know what I just realized? I’d probably be very good at making infomercials! Ahem, please stand by while I get my Billy Mays on …

Seriously, though. Initially I heard of the offer yesterday morning via an email from them (the one they sent to their current customers). But when, of their own accord, they created my app for me, and then worked out a few bugs very quickly (I swear, these guys might rival Livefyre for their customer service), I asked if I could share it with you. At which point Josh gave me the green light.

So. There you have it. A really cool deal on a really cool app.

Do let me know if you sign up, and how it works for you. And if you think your colleagues/friends would like this, by all means share it with them too (don’t share it with your enemies, go ahead and get a leg up on them, ha!).

Thank you, Josh and Julie!

Top image via JesusBranch on Flickr, CC 2.0