image credit via bufferapp.com
Becoming more efficient is a goal for most of us (even those who ARE efficient). Along the same lines of there’s no such thing as having too much money in your budget, you can never be too efficient or too organized. That is particularly true in the social media realm. There are as many incredible time-wasters as there are business opportunities. For those of us who undertake social media on a daily basis, we are constantly tempted to dally in the nonproductive. There I admit it! Feels good. To counteract this “temptation,” efficiency tools are paramount.
Buffer is one of my favorites. (I use the free version.) Yes, it allows you to schedule tweets, Facebook posts and LinkedIn updates like many platforms and yes, you can access it as an app. You can manage multiple accounts and choose the time of day and pick days in which to share content. There are two link shorteners you can select for extra easy sharing. My second favorite thing about Buffer is the Chrome Extension. It allows me to add tweets to Buffer directly from Twitter with the click of a button. There’s also a right-click addition and a keyboard shortcut. The only thing better would be coffee service in the morning as I add to my day’s content.
Now the feature I really, really like — analytics. First, I must confess I have seen some discrepancies in the numbers (when I compare it to other software) so I am not saying it’s full-proof but it is “fun” to play with. Analytics are basic in tracking URL clicks and RTs but it’s all I need. I’ve set up my own spread sheet where I experiment with hashtags, time sent, day posted and word choice. My inner Excel geek enjoys the experimentation and tabulating which topics (and words) resonate most with our audience (as far as click-through rates are concerned). When I find a topic that is popular, I keep it in mind as I curate and write content. No point in posting things the audience is not interested in.
**Please note, Buffer helps you curate content. It does not automate a connection. You cannot do that. To form connections, you still need to be present. This app just helps me spread out my content so I’m not cluttering up the Twitter stream and then going silent.
To use social media for professional purposes does mean being comfortable with experimentation. We do ourselves a disservice when we do not (at least test drive) software that helps make us more efficient. I love Buffer. What do you think? What social media software makes you your most efficient?
