Social Media Scheduling Tools for Authors by @K8Tilton
(From guest Kate Tilton, updated 2016 by Rachel)
Ever feel like there is no way you can manage all your social media accounts, let alone post regularly to each? Ever wonder how some authors seem to be on social media ALL the time? Introducing social media scheduling tools, your key to managing your accounts and building your following.
Formed in 2010, Buffer is the scheduling tool of my choice. Ever since I found Buffer (after first mindlessly tweeting random things when I could, and then using Hootsuite), I have been a loud Buffer fan. Seriously, their logo sticker is on my computer as I’m typing this now! So why am I such a Buffer fan? Well let’s look at the pros and cons of the tool.
Pros:
- Automatic scheduling. With Buffer you create one schedule (or multiple schedules if you’d like) and with each post you add to your queue it automatically gets scheduled for the next available time slot on your schedule. Instead of other platforms where you have to add in the time for each post you do, this removes that need while still offering that feature if you need it.
- Easily click and drag tweets/posts from one profile to another (no need to copy and paste).
- Add RSS feeds from your favorite blogs to easily add content to your queue. All it takes is a click!
- Get access to easy to understand analytics that show for Twitter: the number of mentions, retweets, favorites and clicks of each tweet;
- and for Facebook: the number of likes, comments, reach, clicks, and shares of each post;
- and for Google+: the number of comments, clicks, re-shares, and +1s.
Cons:
- The free plan limits the amount of posts you can have in your queue to ten for each account, which may be enough for someone just starting out but not enough once things get rolling. (With the Awesome plan this limit is raised to 200.)
- The free plan also limits you to one account for each account type, for example you can only have one Twitter profile added on the free plan. This may work for authors just starting out but if you run a business you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to be able to add more accounts.
- Scheduling tool only — no interaction.
Costs:
- Free ($0)
- Awesome ($10 per month or $102 per year)
- Business (Small: $50, Medium: $100, Large: $250. All per month)
Hootsuite is Rachel’s tool of choice and has been in business since 2008. With more than 10 million users around the world let’s check out the pros and cons of this tool.
Pros:
- Hootsuite is a trusted tool that has been used for years by professionals like Rachel Thompson.
- Hootsuite streams are columns within your Hootsuite dashboard that you can use to view mentions, private messages, hashtags, and more. This feature is similar to TweetDeck.
- Hootsuite’s free option gives you unlimited scheduling power, but you must schedule one post at a time.
- Suggested content apps let you easily find content to share that is relevant to your interests.
- App integrations allow you to monitor: Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and other social networks for a small monthly fee.
- Dashboard allows for full interaction on the various networks — particularly helpful on Twitter!
Cons:
- Hootsuite’s free option only lets you connect with three social networks. (Pro increases to 50, Enterprise for unlimited.)
- Hootsuite’s free option does not have access to the auto scheduler, meaning for each tweet/post you must select the date and time for that tweet/post to go out.
- More expensive than other options.
Costs:
- Free ($0)
- Pro ($14.99 per month or $119.88 per year)
- Enterprise (Must book a live demo in order to get cost)
Also launched in 2008, Klout is a popular platform for many to view their social media influence while possibly gaining some perks for the work they do online. (For example, I’ve gotten everything from books to Chex Mix on Klout.) But Klout also has a new tool that lets you schedule tweets and Facebook posts. Check out the pros and cons to see if this is a tool for you.
Pros:
- Klout gives users follow suggestions based on your topics of interest and suggests you follow three people a day which is a powerful way to grow your social influence.
- Klout offers impressive content suggestions based on a wide variety of subjects. If you struggle to find content, Klout is for you.
- Klout suggests three times for each day that are optimal for reaching your audience. Like Buffer all you have to do is click and your tweet/post will be added to the next time slot (Klout also offers the ability to set a custom time).
- Klout offers a powerful summary of your online presence that you can also use to get Klout perks.
- Free!
Cons:
- Content suggestions are limited to only articles at this point and while sharing articles is good it should not be the only thing you share.
- Currently only lets you schedule for Facebook and Twitter (leaving out important platforms like Google+ and LinkedIn).
- Limited accounts: Klout only lets you connect one Twitter account and only one Facebook account.
Cost:
- Free ($0)
No matter what tool you pick, using a social media scheduling tool to schedule your post in addition to some live content will increase your clout online.
Which social media schedule tool do you use?
Kate Tilton connects authors and readers by providing a community and resources for both. Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers focuses on social media tips, publishing advice, book marketing how-tos, writing tips, the weekly Twitter chat #K8Chat, book reviews, author gif interviews, and so much more. Kate invites all authors and readers to join in and connect with each other on #K8Chat and the Kate Tilton’s Book Bloggers group. Kate’s proudest achievement on her blog is the extensive resources for both authors and readers to use and enjoy.
All content copyrighted unless otherwise specified. © 2016 by Rachel Thompson, author. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use short quotes provided a link back to this page and proper attribution is given to me as the original author.
Join us for #BookMarketingChat every Wednesday 6pm pst/9pm est on Twitter! Learn free, awesome book marketing techniques that work. Just type in the hashtag and you’re good to go! Find out more here on my author site at RachelintheOC.com, follow us on Twitter at @BkMarketingChat, and review all the Notes from previous chats on our public Facebook Page.
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Buffer and Hoot-suite are really amazing tools, not tried Klout. I’m definitely trying that out right away. Thanks Kate!
I adore Buffer. 🙂 Klout is lovely to see what posts have impact and has great suggestions. Let me know how you like it Emeka! 🙂
Is there such a thing as a *free* (if I start paying for all this stuff, I will soon be paying more for my marketing than I’m making by selling my books) tweet scheduler that a) will allow scheduling of more than ten tweets a day and b) doesn’t force loading tweets one at a time? (the late, lamented Feed140 used to allow loading multiple tweets via .txt document, and I’m trying to find a replacement for it).
So far the only programs I’ve been able to find (including Hootsuite, which people keep recommending but which does *not do what I want it to do, and neither does Buffer) force you to severely limit the number of tweets and to load them one at a time unless you pay, which just isn’t in the cards. I might as well just try to remember to do it in real time as deal with those requirements.
Help?
Hi MM,
You can use Buffer, Hootsuite, and Klout for free but none of their free plans have a bulk scheduling option (and I haven’t seen any other free system with that option either). Personally I’d say away from bulk uploading as uploading new content and varied content can be easier to do while uploading one post at a time vs. in bulk.
The benefit of scheduling is that you can plan your content ahead to hit your target audience without having to step away from your work to do it though out the day. I recommend about half an hour to an hour a day in the morning to plan out scheduled tweets/posts then checking in during work breaks and at the end of the day to add in live content.
Buffer also has shuffle and allows you to pull in the feed from a blog. They also can make suggestions to add to your que.
Hootsuite has auto schedule.
Yes Jessica! Buffer has an awesome Feed feature which I mentioned here “Add RSS feeds from your favorite blogs to easily add content to your queue. All it takes is a click!” And the suggestion feature which I mentioned here: “New suggested content feature gives you access to easy to add content in marketing, inspiration, business/startups, lifehacking, design, and Buffer’s personal picks.” They are two of my favorite features with Buffer.
Hootsuite does have the auto schedule but that is only on their paid accounts mentioned here: “Hootsuite’s free option does not have access to the auto scheduler, meaning for each tweet/post you must select the date and time for that tweet/post to go out.”
There are so many great features with scheduling tools. It can be hard to pick. 🙂
soundcloud.com
Social Media Scheduling Tools for Authors
[…] Learn the best practices of the channels you selected. My personal favorites are Twitter and Instagram. Someone else might be a big Facebook and blog fan. When you do your research, you’ll come away with a list of channels where your audience is most active (with many people in your target audience being active on a few of the channels listed). This is why you need to be on multiple networks. (Not sure hot to handle multiple networks? Pro tip: Use a scheduling tool like Buffer.) […]
I use Buffer and schedule posts ..when I have time..yes…I know…can’t get to grips with everything else. It becomes a problem when you blog for other sites & have your own author pages etc to update. Rachel#s stuff has been immensely useful ..and I am still working through it..trouble is, life and writing get in the way! Mind! I was talking to a writer who *didn’t see any point in using social media* …. guess they weren’t interested in selling any books, then …
I use both Buffer and Hootsuite. Great tools.
Already tried all of these tools but currently hooked to socialdraft.com, I find their calendar system better but I still use Klout to measure where I am. Keeps me noted if I need to up interactions or what.
awesome, thank you for sharing, Alex!
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