What is this?
Time zone selectors are now available in Marketing data exports and dashboards which allow data to be viewed in a specific time zone. Previously, exports and most dashboard widgets populated based off of the social network timestamp (PT). While widgets such as the Post Explorer displayed posts based off of the time zone set within User Settings. This led to inconsistencies across features and unwanted data. Now data can be viewed consistently in the same time zone in most exports and widgets.
This sounds great! Where can I find it?
The timezone selector can be found in the date selector of exports and dashboards. New exports and dashboards default to the timezone set in Company Analytics Settings. Whereas, existing dashboards are set to PDT to maintain consistency with the way most data was previously displayed. However, all exports and dashboards can be changed to any of the timezones listed in the selector. Once a timezone is selected, the dashboard or export will remain in that timezone until it is changed.
The timezone selector impacts almost all dashboard exports and widgets using a lifetime Metric Calculation Type. This includes the Post Data Export, Stream Item Export and Stream Item Activity Export, as well as all widgets set to lifetime including the Best Performing Day, Time and Format and new time series widgets.
However, widgets and exports set to a net metric calculation type will not be updated. This includes the Daily Post Summary and Account exports, as well the ad export and ad widgets. There isn’t an exact timestamp available to convert them into a different timezone.
What else do I need to know?
The selected timezone will remain intact for dashboard shared internally and externally, but can be updated by the viewer. It’s important to consider timezone selection and other filters when comparing dashboards.
Post widgets in existing dashboards that were previously displayed in the time zone set in User Settings will now be displayed in PDT to be consistent with the other widgets. This can be adjusted by selecting a preferred time zone within the date selector.
