August 7, 2013
Are you struggling to find time to do everything you want to on social media? It’s not uncommon that in a busy day with meetings, planning and everything else, social media can sometimes slip down the list of things to do… However, luckily, there are ways to help.
Why would you schedule posts/tweets?
There is a lot of discussion around whether you should or shouldn’t schedule all your messages in, however, if you are limited to time, this can be a real help. Here are just a few of the positive points that could come from scheduling in your social media messages:
- Unfortunately the time that is most convenient for you may not be the peak period for your followers and so scheduling allows you to post at times when they are most likely to see it. This may even be out-of-hours and can be perfect for companies with followers in different time-zones! Or, if you are unsure what times these are, scheduling is a good way to test out various times, to see which receive the best engagement.
- Planning your posts in advance is important to be effective on social media. This allows you to make sure in advance that you have a good mix of content and are focused on your target audience. This content is then ready to be scheduled in!
- Scheduling in advance is a good way to make sure you do not make any mistakes. How many times have you added a tweet and noticed an error? By scheduling in advance, you are able to review all your messages again right up to the time of sending and edit if any of them need changing.
Issues with scheduling tweets
Although scheduling can be really helpful, there are also some drawbacks which you need to take into account. Here are just a few:
- Once a post is scheduled, be careful that you know what is being posted and when. You don’t want to be adding a post about the glorious sunshine if it is now raining outside… Remember what you are posting and edit or delete the message if it is no longer relevant.
- Scheduling is easy to do, so be careful not be spam your followers. Be consistent, but careful not to add too many posts. This could irritate your fans and cause them to unfollow you.
- Make sure that as well as scheduling posts, you are also actively engaging with the communities throughout the day, reacting to any latest news and responding to comments in a timely manner.
What tools to use?
Do you currently use any tools to schedule in posts and tweets? If you do, let us know in the comments below. However, here are a few suggestions:
Do you think scheduling should be used for social messages? Or do you already use it in your social media strategy? Let us know what you think in the comments below!