Ironmark Blog

Why You Need a Social Media Schedule

Written by Kate Harris | Jan 25, 2018

What can you do to stay on top of all your social media tasks?

This is where scheduling comes in handy.

As you know, social media marketing is one of the most effective and productive marketing tools to help grow your business. It gives you the opportunity to reach your targeted audience, engage with potential customers and even evaluate your competitors. But, regardless of all the benefits that social media offers, you need to be consistent to stay on top of the game.

Let’s put it this way: if you post chaotically and don’t have a sound content strategy in place you’re just wasting your time. Sure, you may see a spike in activity every so often, but that’s not the purpose of social media. Your ultimate goal is to create an open line of communication with your prospects and engage them regularly.

 

Why You SHOULD Schedule Your Social Media Posts

Simply put, scheduling your social media content represents a fast and easy way to increase your productivity and consistency. You reduce the amount of time spent trying to come up with content ideas on the spot and free up your schedule for more important matters.

Scheduling your Facebook and Twitter posts saves a lot of time and energy. It also lets you preview what your feed is going to look like and make the necessary adjustments before new content goes live. Not to mention, you get a chance to increase your engagement rates by scheduling when your audience is most active.

From a marketer’s point of view, social media scheduling is a real life-saver. It allows you to organize your social media strategy and always be a few steps ahead.

How to Schedule Social Media Content

Most social media platforms come with an array of marketing and scheduling options. Let’s take a look at three of the most popular networks, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Facebook definitely makes it easy. It has a scheduling feature that allows you to select the time and date when you want to publish the post.

Twitter has a scheduling tool as well, but you have to sign-up for an advertiser account to use it. By doing so, you're able to compose a tweet and schedule it for up to a year in advance. Alternatively, there are other tools (such as TweetDeck) you can use instead.

Instagram does not have a scheduling feature built-in, so you have to take some extra steps. You can draft your posts ahead of time on your phone, save them for later and post them on the planned days. Apps like Buffer can remind you, if you’re worried you might forget to post.

Whether you're a marketer or an entrepreneur, social media scheduling is a huge time-saver. It keeps both you and your brand organized, which is a big-time benefit for your business.