Everything we do consumes time and it is one crucial thing we cannot get back nor buy. Journalists often have time constraints as there are deadlines to meet for articles, blogs and many other content they have to share. It is also important for them to keep their social media accounts updated and follow important news that is occurring. All that takes up so much time, there’s now a way to schedule tweets ahead of time so you can keep your account updated without having to constantly sign in and out of twitter and worry about your next post.
Buffer has been around for a few years now but it has not picked up much popularity. Journalists can take advantage of this tool because it is a huge time saver that allows you to schedule tweets ahead of time.
According to JournalismUK “Buffer is a tool that allows you to schedule tweets, posting them at selected intervals throughout the day. You can select Buffer’s suggested tweet times, which are based on research, or you can choose your own times.” The suggested tweet times which buffer features, are specific times throughout the day that staff experts at buffer have come up with as the peak hours. The peak times are the most common times which people are online tweeting, making it more likely for additional people to see your tweets.
If you are hesitate to join, but have other social media tools like Slack you can engage with other buffer users to get their opinion!
Want to connect with other #bufferchat folks and talk about social media, content and Buffer? Join us on Slack! https://t.co/Rzd3z3eovE
— Buffer (@buffer) March 16, 2016
Co-founder of Buffer, Leo Widrich says “News organizations should tweet each story three to five times: for example once when the news story goes live, once a couple of hours later and then a third time the next day.” The creators of buffer have come up with this tool precisely for news stories and blog posts, which is excellent for journalists. Widrich also says “We drop all the stories we have into our buffer and they get well spaced out over the day and get posted so that we always have a different audience that will be able to see the tweet.”
Buffer can be used to help with time management and provide great exposure for journalists who may not be recognized frequently. The use of hash tags, including links, and mentioning others/organizations are all included in the buffer feature so nothing is left out of your scheduled tweets.
Need a little help getting started? Here's a short video on how you can start to schedule your tweets!