Smart Guide to Buffer - Social Sharing Tool

A Smart Guide To Buffer

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Social media is a must for any business who wishes to remain relevant and engaged in today’s modern and technological world. Being connected to various social platforms helps increase engagement, but what you post, when you post it and how, are just as important as where you post it. Being able to appear active around the clock  online, even when you’re away from the computer, isn’t as hard as it sounds.

There are various apps which allow you to schedule content to social networks. One of the leading ones is Buffer. This tool is purpose built to be a scheduling and sharing app. All you  have to do is connect your social profiles, “Buffer” the links you wish to post out, and away you go!

Getting Started

To sign up for an account, click on the  “Log in with email” option:

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Complete the email and password boxes and then click  “Create Account”:

Screen Shot 2014-05-12 at 12.44.05Once you have registered, you will be greeted by a choice of option plans. Click the option which would best suits your needs. Be aware that the individual user option is free, whilst the other two are paid but offer more features. You can always opt for a free trial before committing to a paid plan.

Once set up on a plan, you must add your social networks. You can do this by simply following the links on offer and authorising your networks:

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NB: you can choose to add just a Facebook page rather than an account of you prefer. Click the option under the Facebook Profile box. You can also add more profiles, such as LinkedIn, App.Net or a Google Plus page by following the “Accounts +” button in the top left corner of the screen:

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Schedule Content

Buffer is all about scheduling content at key times, so it’s important you set your profile up correctly. Select your timezone by filling out the location box. For example, type in “London – UK”.

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From there, you can select the days which you would like your scheduled content to go out on. For example, the photo below would imply content would be scheduled for every Tuesday and Friday:

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Now you’ve decided which days your updates will be published, you must now pick the times which they will go live. You can select as many times per day as you like. These times will go out for all  your select days. Be sure you choose times which are most relevant to your audience.

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Selecting Content

It’s all very well to have your dates and times set up to post, but now you need content to share! Be sure to add the Buffer extension button to your internet tool bar. This is the simplest way of Buffering. Once you have found something you think is worth sharing, simply click on the extension button whilst on the page you wish to share, and then select the social network you want to share it to and select where in the queue you want it to go:

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You can also Buffer tweets directly from Twitter.com. In your timeline, you will see the Buffer option come up in the bottom of the tweet boxes. Click on that and select the scheduling times just as above.

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You can always change the order your posts go out by managing them in the “Content” section of the tool bar:

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You can drag and drop content into the order you want it to published, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can shuffle content into a random order.

Analytics

Buffer comes complete with very basic analytics, even for the free plan. You can see how many people have clicked on your links for each network you publish to. This way, you can test which time gains you most engagement and always be sure to take advantage of it when scheduling future updates.

Conclusion

Being active on social is very important for businesses and individuals alike. Being able to appear socially active, even if you’re away from technology, means you are able to encourage more engagement and increase your audience and/or consumer base. Buffer is a brilliantly simple tool for ensuring you post regularly and around the clock at times which are tailored to your businesses needs.

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Nikki Peters

Nikki is a freelance writer and blogger, specialising in social media marketing. Having worked at a social media company for nearly two years, she learnt first hand of the power of social marketing and is keen to share that knowledge to help businesses and individuals grow and expand. Occasionally, she can be found writing about other topics such as music, food, travel and relationships.

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