Buffer is a powerful app that can take your social media posts and engagement to the next level. With Buffer, you can save time and energy from manually processing all your social posts.
Buffer is a simple web application that allows you to schedule social media posts on a variety of popular social networks. It's basically a stripped-down version of other popular social media management tools like TweetDeck and HootSuite, with a primary focus on post-scheduling.
Buffer can integrate with the following social networks to post content to:
- Facebook (pages and groups only - not profiles)
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Instagram (business accounts only)
- LinkedIn (profiles and pages)
- Pinterest (available with Premium Buffer subscription only)
Buffer is very easy to use, which is part of the reason why it's so popular. When you connect a social network to Buffer, you can start composing a new post to be added to the post queue.
Your post queue is where all your scheduled posts that are waiting to be published are located. By default, post times are set in your Settings tab, which is optimized for certain peak engagement times of the day (but you're free to customize these any way you want time).
Every time you add a new post to the queue, it will be scheduled to be automatically posted to your account every consecutive time. You can also choose to share the post immediately or set a specific scheduled date and time for each new post you write.
The following is a brief summary of the main features of Buffer:
Powerful post editor: The post editor is media-friendly, which means you can add links, photos, GIFs, and videos to your posts via Buffer.
Your own custom post schedule: You can customize your schedule to publish queued posts on any day and at any time you want.
Post statistics: After publishing a post through Buffer, you can switch to the "Posts" tab to view engagement statistics, such as clicks, likes, replies, comments, shares, etc.
Advanced features include powerful reply tools for providing customer service support to your followers, and detailed analytics for digging into your engagement statistics.
The following reasons may convince you to start using Buffer for all your social publishing needs.
1. You don’t have to schedule each post individually, which makes it a faster alternative to other scheduling tools.
Instead of selecting and setting a specific time for a post to be published every time you want to schedule it, you can just write a new post, add it to your queue, and forget about it! You also have complete control over your scheduling, so your queued posts are always published when you want them to be published - down to the minute.
2. You can customize your post the way you want.
Buffer lets you easily upload photo and video files to your posts. Its post editor even includes a handy emoji keyboard. When you post a link, the system automatically detects the media and suggests including it in your post.
3. Buffer’s free plan includes generous offers for any small business, brand, or personal account.
The free plan lets you connect up to three social network accounts and gives you unlimited scheduling and each account can store up to 10 posts in the queue at a time. For many small businesses/brands and individuals, this is enough.
You can also access post analytics to see how many clicks and other interactions your posts received. This will help you determine which posts are performing well and what times of day have the highest engagement rates.
If you're going to use Buffer, it's important to know when your fans and followers are most active and most likely to see your posts. You can then plan your schedule around peak times of the day or week to maximize your social impact.
Check out the following resources to ensure your buffer plan is focused on the absolute best times:
- The best times of day and week to post on Facebook
- Best times of day and week to post on X
- The best times of day and week to post on Instagram
Adding posts to your queue from Buffer.com is great, but believe it or not, Buffer has some other options that can make the process faster and easier.
1. Use Buffer's browser extension to add to your Buffer without leaving the page.
You can download the official Buffer web browser extension for Chrome or Firefox to add posts to your queue directly from web pages while browsing. All you have to do is click the buffer icon in your browser and it will automatically populate and optionally be added to a new post.
2. Use Buffer's mobile app to add to your queue from your mobile device.
Buffer has dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, so you can easily add content to the Buffer queue from your mobile web browser or app. Simply switch tabs in your mobile browser or app to access other shared apps you have installed. The Buffer app should appear next to other popular sharing apps.
3. Use Buffer with all your favorite apps and web services: Buffer has integrated with several popular apps and services so that you can add posts to your queue directly from them. From IFTTT and WordPress, to Pocket and Instapaper, you might be able to take advantage of Buffer's integration with at least one tool you already use!
For businesses, brands, and individuals who need to schedule more than 10 posts at a time and want to use more than three social accounts, it may be worth upgrading. The Premium Business plan also lets you add team members to a single Buffer account so you can collaborate on social posts.
The $15/month Professional plan gives you up to 8 social accounts and 100 scheduled posts per account, while the $65/month Large Business plan gives you up to 8 social accounts, 2000 scheduled posts per account, and Two team members. So whether you're running a small local business or launching a large marketing campaign, Buffer has something to help everyone.
