If you’re running a business, you’ll know that there’s not always time to stop what you’re doing to tweet or post on LinkedIn. That’s why there are various tools available to help schedule your social media, ensuring your continued presence whatever you’re doing and wherever you are!
Hootsuite is my preferred platform – I like the easy-to-navigate dashboard and its straightforward scheduling system. Other popular social media platforms include Tweetdeck, Buffer, Hubspot and SproutSocial – all have their pros and cons, and varying price plans, so it boils down to whichever one you feel most comfortable working with.
Whichever you choose to use, these basic tips will help you get going…
- A good social media dashboard will allow you to post simultaneously to Twitter, Facebook (business pages and personal profiles), LinkedIn (including business pages), Google+ and Instagram. Hootsuite does.
. - Think about your wording before you share everywhere – what’s snappy on Twitter may be unprofessional for LinkedIn or not explanatory enough for Facebook.
. - Allow yourself time to plan your content. On Hootsuite you can schedule a couple of hundred messages over the next few weeks; make yourself a coffee and spend time at the start creating a CSV spreadsheet, then update it regularly – and relatively quickly – to provide fresh content.
. - Plan your timing; if you’re trying to attract clients from abroad, make sure your posts are going out in their working hours rather than yours.
. - Your social feeds should include a mix of images, text, soft sales content that links back to your website, video – if you produce any, and topical news that’s relevant to your business and will interest your audience. Keep the salesy stuff to a minimum – aim to inform and educate rather than constantly bombarding people with a hard sell.
. - You can repeat tweets on different days and at varying times, but I advise against repeating identical content on LinkedIn or Facebook. You can, however, refresh and re-use old content. It’s a good idea to make it relevant to something that’s going on in the news now.
. - Review your social activity to see which posts people like the most, and schedule more of those. Hootsuite’s analytics are very clear and user-friendly.
. - Don’t rely on pre-planned, scheduled posts; deliver a good mix of current and industry news too.
. - Even if you’re scheduling in advance, stay engaged regularly in order to reply to other people’s queries or comments, and thank them for retweeting. And remember that all platforms are social – even LinkedIn – so retweet, like, share and comment on other people’s news too!
I’m here if you have any queries or need help to plan your social media. Happy scheduling!
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