Twitter is quite the social tool but it’s difficult to keep a steady stream of tweets on a constant basis to keep your followers happy. Just for that reason, it’s important for every Twitterer to learn how to schedule tweets so that they get published throughout the day.
That’s where Buffer comes in. Buffer is the relatively new web app that allows you load the tweets that you would like to send out to your followers. It will schedule them and automatically tweet them throughout the day according to a predetermined schedule. This way, your followers are not inundated with your tweets all at once but instead, they’re more spread out. You can also make sure tweets are sent at certain times of the day during peak activity.
How to schedule tweets to be published slowly
Buffer is a cool way of accomplishing the task of spreading your tweets throughout the day because it makes it so easy. The first step is signing up for a free account. A free account will allow your to store 10 tweets in your Buffer stream and associate one Twitter account. Paying $10/month for a Pro account will allow you to store up to 50 tweets in your Buffer stream and associate 3 Twitter accounts. For $30/month, the Premium account won’t even impose a limit on your Buffer stream! Read more about their pricing plan here.
Next, you have to authenticate your Twitter account.
Buffer works just like any other Twitter client like TweetDeck or HootSuite, but instead of just publishing your tweets immediately, you also have the option to store them in your Buffer stream and Buffer will automatically tweet them later.
Automatically tweet updates added to your buffer
On the dashboard (accessed by clicking “My Buffer”), you’ll find the field for entering tweets. The two buttons below the input field corresponds to whether you want to publish the post immediately or add it to your buffer stream. You can also see the tweets in the buffer, ready to be published and the times they’re scheduled. You also get additional statistics about your tweets, like how many times a link was clicked.
Buffer allows you to use a customised URL shortener, even with a free account. You may also want your tweets to be published at certain times of the day, say at every hour from 9-5 — Buffer allows you to determine exactly when your tweets are published.
That’s all there really is to scheduling tweets to appear throughout the day using Buffer. Of course, there are tools that make sharing through Buffer a lot easier such as browser extensions for Chrome, Safari and Firefox, a bookmarklet, or an Android app.There’s even a Buffer button for webmasters to add on their websites or blogs.
Also, Buffer has a referral program. If you invite a friend who ends up using Buffer, you and your friend will get an extra time slot for a tweet in your buffer.
Buffer is also working hard to implement Facebook, check it out here.
Although are other Twitter tools out there that allow you to schedule tweets, none of them really make buffering tweets quite so simple and intuitive. We highly recommend using it!
What do you think? Have you tried Buffer yet? Do you prefer another Twitter tool? Let us hear about it in the comments.
