How To Schedule Social Media Posts with Buffer

Think Tutorial

21 Feb 201808:25

Summary

TLDRIn this video, the presenter introduces Buffer, a social media management tool, and explains how it simplifies the process of managing multiple social media accounts. The video covers Buffer’s pricing plans, features, and how to schedule posts across platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. While praising Buffer for Twitter management, the presenter notes limitations with Instagram scheduling, which still requires manual posting. The video also highlights Buffer’s analytics features and offers tips on maximizing its potential for small business owners. A free 14-day trial is mentioned to encourage viewers to try the service.

Takeaways

📊 Buffer is a social media management tool for businesses to schedule posts across multiple platforms.
💡 The video compares Buffer to other tools like HootSuite, stating that Buffer is simpler and more efficient for the speaker.
📝 Buffer offers different pricing plans, with options tailored to individual needs, from personal users to social media management businesses.
💰 The speaker prefers the $10 per month plan, which covers Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram management.
📆 Buffer allows users to schedule posts in advance, including specific times for daily posts, which is helpful for maintaining regular activity.
📈 The tool provides analytics on post performance, helping users track what content works best on different platforms.
🔔 Buffer sends reminders for Instagram posts since it cannot auto-publish directly to Instagram yet.
🎯 Twitter is the main platform the speaker uses Buffer for, and they’ve been able to post more consistently and track performance effectively.
💻 Buffer has a Chrome extension that integrates into the workflow, making it easier to schedule posts while browsing.
🆓 Buffer offers a 14-day free trial, which the speaker suggests shows confidence in the product’s effectiveness.

Q & A

What is Buffer.com and what does it offer?
-Buffer.com is a social media management tool that allows users to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms. It helps simplify managing several social media accounts by letting users plan and post content in advance.
What social media platforms does Buffer support?
-Buffer supports Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram. However, with the free plan, Pinterest is not available, and Snapchat is not included in any plans.
What are the pricing options for Buffer?
-Buffer offers several pricing options, including free, individual (awesome), small, medium, and large business plans. The individual plan costs $10 per month, and higher tiers allow managing more profiles at higher prices, such as $199 or $399 per month for managing multiple social media profiles.
How does Buffer help with scheduling tweets?
-Buffer provides a calendar feature where users can schedule tweets by selecting the day and time for each post. Users can set up a regular posting schedule, and Buffer will remind them when new posts need to be scheduled.
What are some benefits of using Buffer's analytics feature?
-Buffer's analytics feature allows users to track the performance of their posts by providing insights on which posts are the most popular. This helps users understand what content is working well and how to improve their social media strategy.
What are some limitations of Buffer’s Instagram scheduling?
-Buffer’s Instagram scheduling is not fully automated. While users can prepare posts in Buffer, they will receive a reminder to manually post the content on Instagram. This limits the tool’s usefulness for Instagram automation.
What makes Buffer different from other social media management tools like HootSuite?
-The speaker in the video prefers Buffer over HootSuite due to Buffer's simplicity and effectiveness for scheduling and managing posts. The speaker found Buffer to be more user-friendly and better suited for their needs.
Can Buffer handle cryptocurrency-related accounts?
-Yes, Buffer can handle cryptocurrency-related accounts. The speaker mentions using Buffer to manage a Twitter account for an animated cartoon series about cryptocurrency called 'Bitcoin HODL'.
Does Buffer offer a free trial?
-Yes, Buffer offers a 14-day free trial, allowing users to try out its features before committing to a paid plan.
How many posts can the speaker schedule with Buffer, and what are their posting goals?
-The speaker currently schedules five tweets a day and aims to increase that number to ten tweets per day. They find Buffer useful for maintaining a consistent posting schedule.

Outlines

00:00

📢 Introduction to Buffer and Social Media Management

The video starts with a warm welcome and a reminder to subscribe to the channel. It introduces the topic for the day: a new website called Buffer. The speaker highlights the challenges of managing multiple social media accounts for businesses and shares their personal preference for Buffer over other tools like HootSuite. Buffer's ease of use and its features are praised, with a disclaimer that the speaker is not promoting it for personal gain but offering an honest review.

05:00

💻 Buffer's Pricing Plans and Features

The speaker dives into Buffer's pricing plans, noting options for individuals and businesses, including free and paid tiers. The plans cater to different needs, with higher-tier plans allowing more accounts. The speaker shares their preference for the $10 plan, which meets their needs. They highlight what each plan offers, mentioning that the free version excludes Pinterest and Snapchat. Businesses can manage multiple profiles with Buffer, and the speaker hints at future Snapchat tutorials.

📅 Scheduling Tweets with Buffer

In this segment, the speaker demonstrates how to use Buffer's scheduling feature, particularly for Twitter. They show how to access the calendar to plan and view tweets. The speaker explains their personal approach to scheduling five tweets daily and hints at increasing the number in the future. They also mention how Buffer alerts users when they need to schedule more posts and discuss the importance of maintaining consistency for effective social media management.

📊 Buffer's Analytics and Insights

The speaker highlights Buffer's analytics feature, which provides insights into the performance of social media posts. They explain how users can see which posts performed well and which didn’t. This feature allows users to identify the type of content that resonates with their audience. The speaker shows an example of a humorous tweet and explains how to track engagement metrics. They emphasize the importance of analytics in refining social media strategies.

📸 Instagram Scheduling Limitations

Here, the speaker discusses the limitations of Buffer when it comes to Instagram. While Buffer supports Instagram scheduling, the actual posts must be manually published due to Instagram's restrictions. The speaker expresses some frustration with this feature, explaining that it requires users to receive reminders to post manually. Despite this drawback, they still find Buffer valuable for other social media platforms.

💡 Final Thoughts on Buffer

In the closing segment, the speaker summarizes their positive experience with Buffer, particularly for Twitter management. They praise its ease of use and how it helps maintain consistent posting, which has led to improved engagement and growth. Buffer offers a free 14-day trial, and the speaker encourages viewers to try it out. They conclude by inviting viewers to like, comment, share, and ask questions in the comments section.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Buffer.com

Buffer.com is a social media management platform that allows users to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms. In the video, the speaker highlights Buffer as a preferred tool for managing social media accounts, particularly praising its simplicity and ease of use compared to other platforms like HootSuite.

💡Social Media Scheduling

Social media scheduling refers to the practice of planning and automating posts on social media platforms at specific times. The video emphasizes this feature, particularly on Twitter, where the speaker shows how Buffer helps automate tweet posting at preset times, allowing for consistent engagement without manual posting.

💡Pricing Plans

Buffer offers multiple pricing plans to suit different levels of social media management needs. The video outlines the various plans, ranging from free to premium options, with the speaker sharing their experience of using the $10 per month plan, which covers the needs of small business social media management.

💡Analytics

Analytics in the context of social media refers to the data that helps measure the performance of posts, including metrics like views, likes, and comments. The speaker discusses how Buffer provides analytics for users to track which posts are performing well, which helps refine future content strategies.

💡Twitter

Twitter is one of the platforms supported by Buffer, and the video focuses heavily on how the speaker uses Buffer to manage and schedule tweets. Twitter is a key platform for their social media strategy, especially in the context of promoting a cryptocurrency-related animated series.

💡Instagram

Instagram is another platform supported by Buffer, although the video points out its limitations with Buffer, particularly the lack of direct scheduling. Buffer only sends a reminder to post on Instagram, making it less convenient compared to other platforms where posts can be fully automated.

💡Posting Schedule

A posting schedule is a feature that allows users to set specific times for their social media posts. In the video, the speaker demonstrates how they schedule five tweets per day using Buffer and how the tool helps maintain a consistent posting routine without manual intervention.

💡Extension for Chrome

Buffer offers a browser extension for Google Chrome, which simplifies social media management by allowing users to schedule posts directly from their browser. The speaker briefly mentions having the Buffer extension installed, which enables quicker access to Buffer’s functionalities.

💡Small Business Social Media Management

This refers to the practice of handling social media accounts for small businesses, often involving content creation, post scheduling, and analytics tracking. The speaker notes that Buffer is well-suited for small businesses, given its affordable pricing and useful features for managing multiple social media accounts.

💡Cryptocurrency-related Account

The speaker uses Buffer to manage a Twitter account focused on cryptocurrency, specifically an animated series called 'Bitcoin Huddle.' This highlights how niche topics like cryptocurrency can benefit from consistent social media engagement through scheduled posts and analytics tracking using Buffer.

Highlights

Introduction to Buffer, a social media management tool useful for businesses with multiple social media accounts.

Comparison with HootSuite, noting that Buffer is easier to use and more preferable for the speaker.

Buffer has a Chrome extension, making it convenient for quick access and usage.

Overview of Buffer's pricing plans, highlighting that the individual or 'Awesome' plan at $10 per month is sufficient for most users.

For larger social media management companies, there are options for managing multiple accounts with plans up to $399/month.

Buffer supports major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram, although Snapchat is not supported.

Buffer allows users to schedule posts ahead of time, with a detailed demonstration of how to schedule tweets using the calendar feature.

Buffer automatically sends alerts when no posts are scheduled, prompting users to add more content.

Buffer offers an analytics feature, allowing users to view the performance of their posts and assess engagement.

Buffer supports easy tweet creation, including adding hashtags and images directly from the platform.

Buffer's Instagram integration is limited as it requires users to manually post after receiving a reminder from the app.

Buffer offers a 14-day free trial, which reflects the company's confidence in its product.

While Buffer works seamlessly with Twitter, there are limitations with Facebook and Instagram, particularly in cryptocurrency-related content.

Buffer's analytics feature helps track the most popular posts, showing detailed metrics like likes and comments.

Final recommendation: Buffer is an excellent tool for scheduling social media posts, especially for Twitter, with a user-friendly interface and helpful analytics.