Content
1) Getting started with Buffer.
2) Buffer Dashboard Introduction
3) Linking Multiple Social Media Accounts
4) Installing the Browser Extension
5) Linking your Buffer account with Tweriod 6) Adding Personal Bitly Trackable links to Buffer 7) Adding Content in to Buffer 8) Editing Buffered Content 9) Re-arranging your Buffered Posts
10) Adding a Custom Posting Schedule
11) Adding Photos Directly from the Web
12) Posting Content Direct from Web Pages
13) Copying / Re-adding Successful Posts
14) Adding to Buffer via Email
15) Downloading Additional Apps, Extensions & Extras
16) Go Awesome!
17) Final Thoughts
Why use Buffer for your Social Media Marketing?
The Buffer App social media management tool will allow you to easily bookmark and schedule posts to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and App.net accounts easily and quickly from any browser or mobile device. You’ll be able to effectively spread content out over the course of a day and keep your audiences consistently engaged with you and your brand.
Social media is becoming a bigger, more integral part of their overall marketing mix. Social media presents numerous opportunities for businesses to engage with their audiences, validate their products and build loyal tribes who will help spread the word!
1. Getting started with Buffer.
The first thing you will need to do is to sign in here:
http://www.bufferapp.com NOTE: By signing in with one of your social media accounts you will automatically add it to your Buffer dashboard.
2. Buffer Dashboard Introduction
The NEW 2013 Buffer dashboard interface is super easy to use, check out the video for a quick walk through to get you warmed up. The video will cover the following areas:
1. Accounts
2. Input Box 3. Buffer Stream
4. Analytics
5. Schedule
6. Settings
3. Linking Multiple Social Media Accounts
Buffer makes it super easy to add multiple social media accounts (4 on the free plan). You can add up to 12 accounts if you sign up for their Awesome Plan.
Unless you’re on the Awesome Plan I don’t suggest Buffering your posts in to Facebook due to the fact that it announces at the bottom of each post that it was delivered this way and for me this makes it feel stagnant and reveals that it’s an auto-feed:
By upgrading to the Awesome Plan this feature will be switched off and is a good enough reason to do so because Facebook’s own scheduling system is still seriously clunky and is nowhere near as flexible as Buffer.
Facebook's own ‘scheduling’ system
4. Installing the Browser Extension d
This has got to be one of the most beneficial features that Buffer has to offer. It makes sharing content so quick and easy, yet so few people I know actually use it!
I suggest going for the Chrome plug-in over Safari for those who are Mac users as it has additional features such as adding photos directly from the browser, which I will show you later… It’s amazing!
Install Browser Extension here: http://bufferapp.com/extensions
5. Linking your Buffer account with Tweriod
d Social timing is key to finding success on Twitter – Buffer and Tweriod have teamed up to
help you figure out when to tweet, making sure you get your posts in front of the most
eyeballs, every time.
Tweriod analyses your Twitter followers, past Tweets and the people you follow to give you
the best times to Tweet.
Above is an example Tweriod break down of when my Twitter followers are online.
6. Adding Personal Bitly Trackable links to Buffer
Apart from shorting your links to avoid Twitters character limits, Bitly also provides a great
way to track how much traffic your links are providing.
Buff.ly links in Buffer are all masked as Bit.ly links
NOTE: If another Buffer user and you both shorten the same link, you’ll share the same code and stats so I suggest you link your own personal Bitly account to Buffer as shown in the video.
You can view your stats at any time by simply adding a + sign at the end of your short link (e.g. http://bit.ly/emFaze+) or by signing directly into your Bitly account.
7. Adding Content in to Buffer
You can add new updates easily into Buffer with their new and simple interface. Buffer will
then place the update in the next available time slot on your schedule.
Watch the video for a quick demonstration!
5 Tips for Finding and Sharing Great Content
1. Use Twitter search to identify and follow thought leaders in your niche
Sharing the latest content from thought leaders is a great way to develop your niche, as well as an easy way to get the attention of and connect with other established thought leaders. 2. Create and save Twitter searches for your niche using Hootsuite Hootsuite is a great tool for setting up Twitter searches and finding out what people are talking about in your particular niche.
3. Set up Google alerts
Creating several Google Alerts related to your field will save time and help you
identify and share original content. Use terms in your search that will narrow the results and focus your niche. 4. Create an AllTop account AllTop like Google Alerts allows you set up your own niche listening post to track the best articles on the web.
5. StumbleUpon great content StumbleUpon is a site where users identify what they believe to be the best content on the web, so you can find what your specific audiences are already interested in and share it with others.
8. Editing Buffered Content
If you’re someone who posts similar content regularly it’s good practice to mix things up
so you don’t bore your audiences and come across as a bot.
Make sure you’re constantly re-wording things so they’re different to your prior posts or consider a different angle on the same material. Posting a quote or sentence that really stands out from the article always goes down well as it proves you actually read it first.
NOTE: Buffer won’t allow you to spam your feed with the same posts regularly anyway:
Watch the video for a quick example of how to edit your posts!
What makes the perfect post?
1. Invest time in searching for quality content that will be helpful to your audience
2. Post your own content including blogs, photos and updates
3. Post about relevant industry news
4. Share other people’s posts and offer feedback
5. Add personality to posts and don’t be a robot
6. Always offer your audience value for following/liking you
9. Re-arranging your Buffered Posts
If like me you’re constantly changing your mind about what you think you should post first or
what you want to save for later Buffer has made it very simple to play around with your scheduled posts.
NOTE: For those who post similar content daily you can now mix things up instantly with
Buffer’s all new ‘SHUFFLE’ button.
Watch the video for a quick example on how to re-arrange your buffered posts!
10. Adding a Custom Posting Schedule
If for example you want to post less on a certain day you will need to sign up for the Awesome Plan to add additional posting schedules.
This feature is great for weekends when you may want to post more often or for holidays when you may want to cut things back.
11. Adding Photos Directly from the Web
Social media is becoming increasingly visual in nature and the photograph is fast
becoming the centre of a large proportion of social media engagement. 70% of all Facebook activity is based on photographs. Twitter itself became the largest photo sharing service out there last year and Pinterest now has over 10+ million users.
Buffer has made it super easy to share your visual content with its browser extension. No more downloading, just a simple side click.
Watch the video for a quick example!
12. Posting Content Direct from Web Pages
TOP TIP: Use “alt + b” to open the Buffer share box in your browser
(Make sure you have the Buffer Browser Extension Installed)
13. Copying / Re-adding Successful Posts
Buffer analytics will show you which posts worked best that way you can re-post them again and continue to drive more traffic back to your website. It’s also a great way of seeing what kind of content is most popular with your audience.
Re-adding past posts is a huge time saver especially if you’re plugging a new blog or an ongoing service. Remember you can always re-edit the text once it’s back in your stream.
Watch the video for a quick example of how it’s done!
14. Adding to Buffer via Email
Although this feature is useful, it was more of an interim product whilst the mobile apps were being developed but it’s still worth having in the locker just in case.
Start by getting your SECRET email here:
http://bufferapp.com/guides/email
(make sure you’re already signed in)
15. Downloading Additional Apps, Extensions & Extras
https://bufferapp.com/extras
The Buffer Mobile App is a must have for anyone who’s strapped for time and wants to post more strategically on the go. It has a super sleek and easy to use interface and although it doesn’t have all the features available on the web app, it’s enough to give you control over your social media channels anywhere… As long as your Internet connection holds up!
News Reader Apps like Flipboard and Pocket are great ways to consume information, Buffer has integrated with a wide range of most major news reader apps which are also available on your Smartphone.
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16. And Finally… Go Awesome!
If you’re serious about your social media marketing then upgrading to the Awesome Plan is a must. The ability to add unlimited posts and up to 12 social media accounts will allow you to plan ahead with your content and keep it consistent over several channels. If you truly value your audiences and want them to grow, $10 a month is a minimal fee to keep them consistently engaged with you and your brand and the time saved will help you make your own service more awesome!
17. Final Thoughts
Always remember Buffer is a tool and should always be used in unison with real-time
posting. Be human. Find a balance. Share great things.
“Whatever we possess becomes of double value when we have the opportunity of sharing it
with others.“ - Jean-Nicolas Bouilly
Thank you for reading; I hope you found this E-Book useful.