Scheduling Social Media Posts

Buffer (buffer.com) offers post scheduling and analytics options similar to Postfity’s. Buffer has a browser extension and mobile apps for Apple and Android products to let users add/queue content as discovered. Options include a video and GIF uploading option, image creator, and social media calendar. The free option allows a user to connect three social media accounts and up to 10 queued posts. The next option is Pro for $15 a month, while additional tiers are covered under Business plans. Options include Small, Medium, and Large plans at a monthly cost of $99, $199, and $399, respectively.

You can sign up for this service by using your Twitter or other social media account. You can also sign up for an account the old-fashioned way with your email and password. If you log in with your social media account, you are asked to enter in your email anyway. From the settings tab, you find the calendar you need to schedule your posts. You can choose to post every day, on weekends, weekdays, or a particular day of the week. Using the free version, you can post to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Upgrade, and you can add up to eight social media accounts.

What about measuring effectiveness?

So now that you are on your way to being efficient in building more effective and impactful social media accounts, how do you measure progress? Taking a quick look on Google will point you to pages that say the best way to measure your progress is to look at the analytics pages associated with your social media account. In in Twitter, click on Profile and Settings next to the Tweet button at the top of the page to find analytics information that shows how many new followers you’ve gained within the month, figure out what your top tweet is, and learn how many profile visits you received, in addition to other information.

Think about scheduling your tweets or posts in advance in your spare time so you can make your account fresh and interesting enough to attract more followers and engage your current account followers. Which tool you choose is up to you, but it costs nothing to try out the free versions to see which one appeals to you the most.

Sophia Guevara is the virtual events committee chair of the Special Libraries Association Information Technology Division. She is also a member of the Nonprofit Technology Network Connect editorial committee. She also serves as a co-chair of the Social Network Analysis Topical Interest Group at the American Evaluation Association.