How I’m using Buffer to sync my social

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Advertising, Marketing, Social media, Social networks, Strategy

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A while back I said that I was testing out Buffer, and would let you know what I thought of it. For what I’m using it for, I think it’s a brilliant little app.

Here’s what I’m not using it for: phoning it in on Twitter. While it can do that and reasonably well (I used it for this purpose during the holidays), it’s still not going to deliver game-changing results for you, since a large part of social media is the social part – interacting with other people. Phoning it in and getting results requires you to have unbelievably awesome content worth sharing, and very few of us have that.

What am I using it for? Periodic reminders. What I’ve done with Buffer is create something of a chart that helps me lay out the basic reminder framework I’m using:

Each week for 4 weeks, I’m reminding people in my various audiences about my presence on other social networks. Last week, it was LinkedIn. This week, it’s Google+. The other networks will be represented, then I’ll likely start the cycle anew.

Why did I choose this method for using Buffer? These are the kinds of periodic reminders that are important to keep publishing if new people are joining your network. One look at the basic raw Twitter graph illustrates the necessity of these periodic reminders:

In 30 days, the network has grown by about 2,000 people. Assuming that each and every person knows who I am, what I do, and where else I post is sheer folly. Thus, Buffer provides me the opportunity to gently remind the new folks where else they can participate and interact with me. How did I pick the times to set my periodic updates? Crowdbooster provides a nice chart of when my existing audience is most active on Twitter:

Crowdbooster + Buffer + a set of standard updates is my current formula for success with the app.

How are you using Buffer?

Comments

9 responses to “How I’m using Buffer to sync my social”

January 11, 2012

Sean McGinnis

I’m primarily on Twitter at three times throughout the day. I’m using buffer to spread out my interaction just a bit. I’m using it to tweet out articles I find during my morning read, instead of inundating my followers with a torrent of shares early in the morning (probably so early that many of them wouldn’t even be on twitter).

I’m also using buffer as a means to slowly share retweets out during the day. Did you know you can set that up? http://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-schedule-your-retweets-from-any-twitter-client By simply favoriting any tweet within tweetdeck, that tweet is dumped as a RT into buffer and scheduled accordingly.

I’m still around and interactive during my three time slots when it makes sense for me to do so. I realize that’s not optimal in terms of interaction, but being plugged in all day long is not a good fit for my daily responsibilities.

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January 11, 2012

Scott Wyden Kivowitz

Chris,

Funny timing as I just wrote about using Buffer in sync with Crowdbooster. Good stuff! Here is a link to my article if you’re interested in reading it. http://scottwyden.com/buffer-social-media/

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January 11, 2012

Jesse Pappas

The buffer app for google reader has been valuable for me and it’s convenient.

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1. January 12, 2012
  
  Paul Gailey
  
  i agree, the send to buffer in G Reader is excellent, as is the bookmarklet that works on ipad.
  
  Reply
January 12, 2012

Henry Louis

It is quiet interesting to read your buffer and I found few nice points. It would be more helpful to many people like me. Thanks for sharing this post.

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January 12, 2012

lisakalnerwilliams

Nice use of Buffer in conjunction with Crowdbooster. While you point to a marked increase in fans during that 30 day period, how does that growth compare to an average month on those social media platforms?

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January 21, 2012

Kimberly Castleberry

I too like the crowdbooster+buffer combo. I, like you, also agree that we need to mention to new followers other places they can find us. Your chart is really handy way to ensure that that gets done. That’s a real logical approach to it.

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August 13, 2019

Tom@branded items

Christopher,It has been interesting to read how you make use of buffer in your daily activities. I certainly agree that it serves as a good periodic reminder especially for people on the go. I’ve been using buffer on my Twitter and although you’re right that it’s not giving out optimization for interacting, using this app has been a great help to me.

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August 13, 2019

Chris_Theisen

Buffer is amazing. I use it to not blast people with a bunch of messages when Im really active, mainly on sharing links to content. Buffer recently launched an integration with SocialBro where you can automatically setup your Buffer to post to Twitter when your audience is the most active and online. Couple clicks and the integration is done. I also see a big opportunity to use Buffer with ifttt.com now that they integrate.

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