Social media and scheduling – is it worth it?

Written by Lauren Crouch, Digital Marketing Manager 

Back in 2007, 100,000 businesses identified that social media could change the way they operated and subsequently set up their own Facebook page. It sounds like a lot, but 12 years on, that number has grown to over 50 million – and that’s before we even look at the various other social platforms offering services beyond selfies and friend requests.

Advertising budget previously reserved for print, TV and radio is now being pushed into social and it’s no wonder when zero spend can trigger the viral reach that we all wish for. However, social media isn’t all about advertising. It’s about representing the public face of your brand and interacting with consumers (including liking those aforementioned selfies). This explains why scheduling tools have become as integral as excel and email.

Social Media Scheduling Tools

Despite platforms such as Facebook and Twitter housing their own scheduling tools, companies such as Hootsuite have become popular for offering a cheap solution that enables you to manage everything in one place. Well, almost everything, as Instagram is still a slippery sucker when it comes to external softwares managing content publishing – mainly in reaction to the growth of bought followers and bot accounts. Sprout Social however, is Instagram friendly.  It provides features such as in depth reporting, community listening and task lists – but it comes at a cost, with services starting at $99.

Scheduling tools are great for their time saving abilities, but social media management is more than just scheduling a few posts a week. Brands must understand their audience, interact with their followers (and competitors), and have fun in real time. When content is planned and published weeks, or even months in advance, you miss out on the ability to play with reactive marketing – which can provide incredible results at an alarmingly low cost.

Reactive Marketing

At the end of 2018, this tweet mocking Kanye West became the most liked branded tweet of all time. It was produced by a freelancer off the bat. No planning, no scheduling, and it paid off.

Burger King Explains a Lot Tweet

Scheduling tools are useful, and in some ways vital, but don’t neglect what social media is actually all about – live conversation.

Recommended Posts