The Best Way to Use Buffer For Your Business

Social media has become the marketing tool that every business needs to be using effectively. But few have the time for constant tweeting throughout the day.
So, what’s the most efficient no-cost way to keep the content flowing steadily? It’s hard to beat Buffer, the feature-rich social media management tool.
To put it very simply, Buffer schedules content for social media with one click posting by adding it to a pre-set queue that posts at even intervals throughout the day.
[show_to accesslevel=’free’]

Streamlining Social Media with Buffer

Buffer has a free version that will give you all that you really need — in fact, the limitations of the free version will prevent you from falling into ineffective practises such as posting stale content — because you won’t be able to store more than a couple of days’ worth of content at one time.
Affordable premium options allow you to add multiple social media accounts, team members, and more content (we use the paid version and it’s extremely low priced). For now, we’ll focus on what the basic version can do.

Getting Started with Buffer

There is no download needed to use Buffer for the web, simply sign up using the social media account you want to connect to the account. Buffer’s free version allows you to connect just one social media account. We recommend connecting with Twitter.
Right away, Buffer prompts you to try a test post. Type in a message when prompted and click ‘Schedule this Post.’ That’s it — your tweet is scheduled! Buffer will post it automatically at a certain time.
Next, you’ll be taken to your Buffer dashboard. This is where you can organise, customise, and make sure your content is tweeted according to your preferences. You’ll see four tabs:

• Content — this is where you can create a tweet directly as if you were on Twitter, but instead of posting immediately, your tweet will be queued.

• Analytics — this is where you can track your recent posts and see how well they’re performing.

• Schedule — this is where you can adjust your timezone and customize post frequency, down to the exact times every day.

• Settings — this is a dropdown that allows you to select a link shortener, add team members (premium only), reconnect your account you’re having trouble, and empty your queue.

With the free Buffer account, you may queue up to 10 posts at a time. So, if you stay with the default, a full queue will distribute content over two and a half days. That should be more than enough of an allowance. Look for good evergreen content to queue, especially if your Buffer queue stretches over several days.

By default, tweets will go out 4 times a day, spread evenly throughout the day from around 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in your time zone. Default times are usually at ‘odd’ times like 9:37. You can change the times manually, but it’s a good idea to allow the tool’s algorithm to take care of the exact times. If you have something time-sensitive, just post it directly.

Installing Buffer Applications

Once you’ve set up your Buffer account, you should install the Buffer extension for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Free Android and iPhone app versions are also available for mobile posting.

Finding Content

If you’re not using an RSS reader like Feedly to curate social media content, you should start. The free reader allows you to stream feeds from multiple blogs and news sites, so you have easy access to fresh content.
Instead of sharing directly to Twitter or Facebook via Feedly, click on the article’s headline and add to Buffer using the browser extension.
Of course, you can use the extension any time, not just with Feedly.
Buffer also offers a daily selection of excellent, carefully curated content suggestions. These tend to be links to evergreen articles with catchy headlines or inspiring quotes.
If you’re at a loss and don’t know what to post, Buffer content suggestions feature some good content — all you have to do is add it to your queue.

Posting Images

Thumbnails are not automatically generated from links with Buffer. To add an image to a tweet:

1. Download the image, if it’s not already on your drive

2. For best results, the image should have a 2:1 aspect ratio and must be under 3 MB; resize if necessary

3. Click the camera icon on the lower left of the post field to select photo from your drive, or, alternatively, drag the image and drop it over the camera icon

Retweeting

You can send retweets (RTs) to your Buffer queue as simply as retweeting directly, using the extension. When installed, the extension will add a Buffer icon between the retweet and favorite buttons beneath every tweet. When you see a tweet you want to schedule, click the Buffer icon, then click ‘Add to Queue’ on the popup.
In the same fashion, you can also use a Buffer mobile app to schedule retweets.

Mentioning and Tagging

Type twitter handles you want to tweet or respond to as usual, with the @ before the username, and they will post as a Mention. Hashtags will appear as clickable tags on Twitter; tagging is not yet supported on other social media accounts, such as Facebook.

Email Posting and Support

A slightly more advanced feature is email posting. This feature allows you to send tweets right from your email. Emails are sent to your personal “secret email,” which can be found here: https://bufferapp.com/guides/email
To send an email post:

1. Paste your “secret email” into the address field

2. Write your tweet in the subject field

3. To include a link, paste a URL (web site link) into the body of the email

Sending will add the post to your queue. To post immediately, add the command @now to the body. For a list of commands for premium users with multiple accounts, see the Email to Buffer page.

Tracking Your Data

Take advantage of the free analytics offered by Buffer. This invaluable feature tells you which of your tweets were effective — and which have not been effective. The data is broken down by the most and least popular posts according to:

• Retweets

• Favorites

• Replies

• Clicks

• Reach

This data will give you a good idea of the kind of content your followers respond to. All of the categories are important, but you really want to look at reach. Reach is the number of individuals who potentially saw your post, and it includes people outside of your social media circle who saw it via retweets, favorites, etc.

Replies are also important, because engagement is a key to success on social media. When people get in on the conversation, not only can it increase reach (because their followers can see what they’re saying), but it can also foster a community feeling, which helps make followers-slash-customers loyal.
If a post is evergreen and has proven to be wildly popular, you can use Buffer to re-queue it from Analytics. There will always be a section of your followers who miss a post for one reason or another, so it can be beneficial to re-queue a hot post for a different time of day.
Content That Works For Your Business
Buffer doesn’t just make managing social media easier it’s an important part of your social media marketing strategy.

Spreading out your tweets is beneficial for your business for a couple of reasons:

• Your followers are not all checking social media at the same time of day. This is important, because social media moves quickly. Your five posts from 8 a.m. will be buried by the time followers sign on and check their feeds at noon, and if they don’t check again, they’ll miss your afternoon posts, too.

• Too much of a good thing at once isn’t a good thing. It’s true for pizza, wine, and social media content. Even if they’re interested in several of your successive posts, they might not have time to explore them all, and might not come back to find them.

The best part is, Buffer will make social media posting easier immediately. While some (admittedly very effective) management tools require a learning process.
Buffer is simple straight from the start. If you know how to tweet, you already know how to use it.
Do you use Buffer for your business? Share your tips and tricks in the comments!
[/show_to]
[hide_from visible_to=’public’]

[/hide_from]