Buffer - A Social Media Marketing Time Saver

Social media is becoming more important on a daily basis when it comes to online marketing. I'm often asked, "Laura, where do you find the time?" I used to feel the same way, in between writing and a full time job it's hard to stay connected. One thing I was noticing was I wanted to share things I was reading, but I'm a typical Type A personality, I live my life on a schedule when I can which often means I'm reading articles and blogs the same time everyday. I'd share a few of those items via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ but then I would stop worried I'd overload my feeds and lose followers.

Am I the only one concerned with that? I didn't want to be the one person who sent 50 tweets at one time or posted 12 things in a row on Facebook.

About three months ago I found a tool called the Buffer and can I say I'm in love? This application resolved my issues, I could share things as I read them and it would schedule those messages an send them at times that I designated. Sound amazing? It is. Let me just share with you some of the perks the Buffer application has:

1. Share via Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and manage multiple accounts.
2. Set your own update schedule.
3. Add updates to Buffer easily. I add items to Buffer using my computer, my phone and my tablet. Talk about ease.
4. Monitor your social media networks and see which updates get the most engagement. Use this information to optimize the timing of your updates.
5. Pause your updates when necessary, perhaps over a holiday or when you will be away due to an emergency.

Now, before I get feedback telling me that you don't like automatic social media tools because you don't feel it's engagement, understand that I still have on my listening ears when it comes to social media. That being said I'm like most business professionals I just don't have eight hours a day to spend on social media sharing with you the goodies that I find, so Buffer has been a fantastic solution for me and one I recommend to clients on a daily basis.

The only downfall to Buffer is I can't manage my Google+ profile, but my understanding is that has more to do with Google allowing access to their API rather than Buffer's desire to integrate with Google+.

I should also tell you that in order to manage Facebook pages via Buffer you will need to upgrade to "The Awesome Plan" and pay a $10 a month fee, but with the time I save it's totally worth it.