Scheduling social media posts: Professionals and cons

A query I get requested lots by enterprise house owners is whether or not you must or shouldn’t schedule social media posts. And I completely perceive why enterprise house owners ask the questions. In the event you’ve determined to make use of social media to market your small business you’ll rapidly uncover that you’ve the choice to schedule posts whether or not it’s immediately on the social media platform or utilizing a third-party app. It seems like a good way to flee the fixed creating and posting cycle. However then you definately come throughout a advertising or social media knowledgeable who will let you know to not use a scheduler. So what must you do? Properly, carry on studying to seek out out the professionals and cons of scheduling social media posts so you may make a choice about what to do going ahead.

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SCHEDULING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: PROS AND CONS

Professionals of scheduling social media posts

 

Professional 1: You possibly can schedule your posts on the ‘optimum’ time

One benefit of scheduling your social media posts is that you may schedule them to exit on the optimum time. This time will range from platform to platform, and your preferrred shopper can even affect what’s the finest time so that you can be posting. Now in some instances, the optimum time could be at an inconvenient time so that you can put up manually. By scheduling your social media put up you’ll be able to set the put up up at a time that works for you, however then let it’s posted at what’s the finest time.

 

Professional 2: You possibly can minimise time wasted from context switching

Each single time you turn between duties you waste time as a result of context switching. Primarily, it takes a while to your mind to maneuver from one activity to a different. Now in case you are posting a number of occasions per week (perhaps even a number of occasions per day) then that context-switching time builds up. By utilizing a scheduler you’ll be able to add a number of posts on the identical time after which transfer on to one thing else.

 

Professional 3: Helps with consistency (frequency)

Posting persistently (at a daily frequency) is a vital a part of social media advertising. If you wish to keep on individuals’s radar then you should be recurrently posting. You must set a posting schedule for your small business for each social media platform that you simply use. While it’s completely doable to stay to a schedule by posting in real-time scheduling social media posts prematurely will make issues simpler.

 

Professional 4: You possibly can take save time by batch-creating your social media posts

Saving time from a scarcity of context switching is a method you say time through the use of a social media scheduler. However one other manner it can save you time is by batch-creating your social media posts. Relying on the social media platforms you’re creating content material for you could be creating all kinds of posts utilizing completely different software program. For instance, you could be modifying images in Lightroom, creating carousels in Canva and modifying movies in CapCut.

Once you schedule your content material prematurely you’ve gotten the chance to have the ability to make a number of posts which are the identical kind of format back-to-back. For instance, someday you can make 6 movies after which schedule these in. After which the following day you can make 3 carousels after which schedule these in.

By creating the identical kind of content material, presumably in a selected software program, back-to-back you’ll save time.

Study extra about how one can save time by batching your content material right here.

 

To profit from batching your social media posts prematurely you’ll have to have deliberate your social media content material prematurely. If in the intervening time you haven’t been planning your social media posts prematurely seize this workbook.  On this free content material advertising plan workbook you’ll learn to begin planning throughout long-form content material, e mail and social media me. All you must do is put your particulars within the type beneath. 

Professional 5: It might assist you to repurpose your content material throughout a number of social media platforms

All the execs had been relevant whether or not you determined to schedule your social media posts immediately into the social media platform or utilizing a third-party app. Nonetheless, this benefit is particularly for individuals who determine to make use of a third-party app. In my enterprise, I take advantage of Later and this permits me to rapidly schedule social media posts throughout a number of platforms concurrently.

You’ve got the flexibility to pull in an asset (video, graphic, {photograph} and so on) and write a grasp caption. Then you’ll be able to customise the caption for the entire social media platforms you’ve chosen. Which means you’ll be able to rapidly ensure your caption is brief sufficient for X (previously Twitter) or add your hashtags in for Instagram.

Clearly you’ll be able to manually put up throughout the a number of platforms, however this potential to rapidly put up throughout a number of platforms saves a lot time.

 

WANT TO GET A CONTENT STRATEGY CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR BUSINESS? Earlier than you begin repurposing your social media posts on a number of platforms you higher ensure you have a strong content material technique in place. As an award-winning content material marketer, who does all of my very own advertising, and a Chartered Marketer with over a decade {of professional} advertising expertise, I’m capable of make content material with a strong technique behind it so it leads to gross sales. And the most effective bit is it doesn’t need to take perpetually.  In reality, I run content material technique days (evergreen content material and launch content material) so you may get an overarching content material technique, after which a launch or 3-month content material plan created in simply someday. To seek out out extra about my Technique Days click on right here. Unsure what open is finest for you? E-book a free, non-obligation, introduction name right here.

 

Cons of scheduling social media posts

Con 1: Diminished attain 

Essentially the most mentioned drawback of scheduling social media posts is the diminished in attain. While there are few details obtainable (you recognize what social media platforms are like) the overall consensus is that if you happen to use a scheduler the attain of your put up can be diminished.

Con 2: Your put up may very well be irrelevant or outdated when posted

One other drawback of scheduling social media posts is that in case you are scheduling too far prematurely it could be that by the point the piece of content material is posted, it’s outdated or irrelevant. This isn’t often a difficulty in case you are posting evergreen content material. Nonetheless, it may be that as a result of timing a put up that was innocent when initially created may very well be posted at a time when it has one other which means or is seen in a distinct mild.

Con 3: You’ll miss out on creating well timed content material

In an effort to make sure that posts aren’t outdated when posted it may be straightforward to concentrate on creating evergreen content material (discover out extra about evergreen content material right here). While that may mitigate creating out-of-date content material it may well imply that your content material turns into a bit generic and timeless. That is nice for some platforms. Nonetheless, if for instance, you’re creating TikTok movies or Instagram Reels you may miss out by not creating movies to trending audios.

 So must you schedule media posts forward of time? 

As you’ll be able to see there are execs and cons of scheduling social media posts. Personally, I consider the professionals outweigh the cons. The primary con is that the attain of a put up can be diminished. Clearly, this isn’t preferrred. Nonetheless, given the dearth of laborious details and provided that a number of profitable enterprise schedule their social media the impression isn’t detrimental.

And for many enterprise house owners the time saved from with the ability to batch their content material and never shedding time by getting distracted when posting in real-time majorly outweighs.

Must you schedule immediately within the social media app or use a third-party social media scheduler?

In the event you’ve determined to go forward with scheduling your social media posts there may be nonetheless extra resolution to make. Schedule immediately utilizing the social media platform or use a third-party app.

In case you are simply posting on one social media platform then I’d advocate scheduling immediately into that social media platform. Often, the performance inside a social media platform is best than a third-party scheduler.

In case you are posting throughout a number of social media platforms it should rely on the platforms. In case you are utilizing Instagram and Fb then you’ll be able to schedule immediately into Meta. In case you are utilizing a mix similar to Fb and LinkedIn or Instagram and TikTok then you definately’d be higher off utilizing a third-party scheduler that can allow you to schedule throughout a number of social media platforms.

My third-party social media scheduler of selection is Later. You should utilize Later to schedule throughout Fb, X (Previously Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok. Click here to try Later for yourself.

That’s it. You now know the professionals and cons of scheduling social media posts.

I hope studying this weblog put up has helped you to know the benefits and drawbacks of scheduling social media posts so you may make an knowledgeable resolution about how one can transfer ahead with posting your social media content material.

Let me know within the feedback whether or not you determine to schedule or to not schedule your social media posts.