Buffer is one of my favorite “go-to” services when it comes to managing my social profile on the internet. In this post, we'll explore the advantages of using Buffer and the BufferApp and how you can get the most value out of the currently available set of features.
But before we dive in, let's talk about why there's a need for a social media management tool in the first place, or more importantly, why YOU need one.
Social media is clearly unavoidable for anyone conducting business on the internet today. The problem most people face, is that there are so many social networks out there, it's difficult to decide the best social media websites we should invest our time on. We need to make efficient use of our time and find out where we can get the most bang for our buck so to speak.
That's where a service like Buffer is worth it's weight in gold, because you can connect more than one social network and keep track of who, what, when and where people are engaging with your content. The analytics features in Buffer give you a quick overview of account activity.
Staggering your Tweets and posts to Facebook and LinkedIn are critical to staying “top of mind” with your potential readers and customers. No one wants to see a constant stream of information from any one user, and staggering your posts keeps you from being ignored.
[shadowbox]Now you can Buffer your Google + Page posts![/shadowbox]
Automatically Buffer a blend of your own content along with content you curate using a service like Scoop.it to keep your followers engaged and you'll be seen as the thought leader and “taste maker” in your field. You'll see an increase in engagement and your Klout score will rise as well.
Get the Most Out of Using Buffer As Your Social Media Management Tool
Take a look at this screenshot which shows the analytics from a Facebook Post I did on my Page. This post encouraged people to vote for the blog in the Small Business Influencer Awards last year.
As it turned out, Basic Blog Tips was named a Community Choice Award Honoree and came in #2 in the total number of votes for that category. One of the reasons is because of the support I received from fans of the Facebook Page and the stats found in my dashboard helped demonstrate how important it is for me to engage on Facebook – even on those days when I might have my doubts.
It's important to note that if I went into my Facebook Page Insights, this information would be gone because more than 90 days has past. Yet, it was quick and easy for me to scroll through my analytics and find this on Buffer, over six months after I made the post!
Overview of the Currently Available Feature Set in the Bufferapp
Buffer is constantly evolving and getting new features added but here's what you can do with it in it's current state.
- Schedule your Social Media posts to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and App.net in advance
- Get analytics and rate the performance of individual posts
- Manage multiple accounts for yourself and your clients
- Manage multiple Social Media networks
 How to use the BufferApp and Extension for Chrome
Watch the video and you'll discover how to:
- Install the Buffer extension and Bufferapp from the Chrome Store
- Share a post with the Buffer extension
- Use the Tweet button on someone's blog to share a post with Buffer
- Find tracking analytics for your posts including: clicks, likes, favorites, retweets and shares
- Choose a link shortener (Find out why I decided to use bit.ly here)
- Set your time zone and schedules for each one of your social media accounts
- Curate content using Scoop.it's Buffer integration
The Guys Behind the Scenes Giving Support
Leo Widrich and Joel Gascoigne founded the platform back in 2010 (you can see one of Leo's first Leo's first guest posts about Buffer here) and they haven't stopped building and innovation since. They even took the reigns as the owners of the Digg Digg social sharing plugin last year and continue to rise to the forefront when it comes to young entrepreneurs and successful start-ups.
They have built an awesome and very knowledgeable support team, and if you're really serious about taking your social media engagement to the next level, Buffer needs to be integrated into your strategy.
If you are taking on social media tasks for your clients, I strongly advise you to consider using The Awesome Plan for working with teams and accessing countless social media profiles and unlimited posts.
Have you tried it yet? If so what do you think about Buffer?
[gp-comments]
Hey Ileane,
I’ve recently discovered Buffer and must admit I really enjoying using it, I only have the free package at the moment but think I may upgrade.
It really is a great piece of kit for sharing and keeping on top of your social profiles.
Thks,
Mark
Hi Mark!
Good to know that you are taking advantage of Buffer. It’s super handy and don’t forget to use the little <3 on the Bufferapp to get more space in your account.
Thanks will check that out
Ileane, its good to hear from you just like it always is. This article really hooked me not for using this plan but surprisingly, creating a team. Blogging Team.
Ok glad the post inspired you Saqib. Thanks for the feedback.
I am using the free version of Buffer. It helps me spread out my Tweets and Facebook updates, and gives me more time during the day to get my work done. I find social media can be very distracting when I have deadlines to meet. Thanks for sharing this Ileane.
I use Buffer in many occasions…Especially for scheduling the Tweets.
Hi Larry,
That’s a great point. If you have deadlines during the day and you want to get things done, Buffer is great for maintaining a consistent presence on Twitter and even Facebook.
Thanks for stopping by Larry.
Buffer seems good and effective. I will also use buffer and hopefully the experience would be awesome as you had.
Hello Ileane mam,
really you have shared such a nice stuff and hopefully I use it very soon. But if i got some problem then i will ping you back.
Thanks a ton mam.
Sure Lalit,
You can ask me questions about Buffer anytime.
Ileane, I always say “It’s a good day if all my buffers are filled.” I actually took today off from them but will prepare for tomorrow shortly. I love the buffer app and the Digg Digg button, you were the one that told me what it was, remember? I kept seeing it and didn’t know how to get it a year ago 🙂 Thank you again for that. I love those 2 apps the most! Not surprised they own both now!
I haven’t delved into the analytics for buffer app yet but will after watching the video again. Thanks again!
Hi Lisa,
Yes I do remember that! Since I shared that tip with you, it’s amazing to see what you have done to grow your network. I’m even having a hard time keeping up with you these days.
Keep up the great work! 🙂
Thanks for the tip
But socializing has became so Common these days that People has started to Ignore those who overdo it, And is Buffer really that useful for traffic?
Ravi, if you are getting traffic from social media than Buffer can increase the amount of traffic you’re getting.
For example, I rarely get a chance to visit my LinkedIn account to post anything manually but Buffer and another tool I use called Social Buzz Club help me post interesting articles easily which drives traffic back to my blog.
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.
Thanks for the tip, this is new to me. I’m not completely sold on it but every day is a learning day.
Hi Ileane!
Thanks for the recommendation, is the tracking available for the free version of Buffer too? Would be very useful if I could track the clicks I’m getting from my social media campaign. Anyways, I will definitely go and have a look at it later!
Ardiv Jauhari
Ardiv, Absolutely the tracking comes with the free version of Buffer.
If you are using it solely for personal use than the free one will be perfect for you. The paid plans are more helpful for teams and people who are managing social media for clients.
Well, heard it for the first time here, was using a different social CRM before. Will try to have a look at this too.
I’m surprised that you haven’t heard of Buffer Bishwajeet – it’s very popular. Do you use the Digg Digg plugin on your blog?
That is exactly I enjoy reading your blog, as you are always sharing great tips. I have never tried this before, but I am convinced it will help my social media effort.
Thanks so much for your kind words Julian!
Keep me posted with your thoughts on Buffer when you get a chance.
Hey Ileane,
I have known buffer for a few months now. I think I knew it while I was still running EasyRetweet (That was before I got into blogging) but have hardly given time to it. I think this is the moment.
Thanks for the post and encouragement
Hi Enstine, I’m surprised you haven’t tried Buffer yet. What tool do you use to manage social media scheduling now? Do you schedule Facebook posts or only Twitter?
Let me know how you make out with Buffer.
I have just used Buffer recently, but I found it very useful. Especially when it comes to schedule twitter tweets. I won’t overwhelming people by lots of tweets immediately but rather spread them through all the day.
Robert,
One thing I like to do when I schedule my posts is use different wording when I Tweet an older blog post. Many times that will get people’s attention depending upon their interests.
Hi Ileane,
When you use Hootsuite to post to Facebook the “share” link is stripped out so your FB friends cannot share your posts. Do you know if when using Buffer whether or not the “share” link appears on Facebook? I haven’t found note of this anywhere.
Otherwise if it’s even easier to put all social media posts together in one place then I’m all for it. Thanks!
Hi JoLynn,
I have the share button on my Facebook posts from Buffer and HootSuite. I’m not sure where you are seeing this issue. Can you take a screenshot and post the link here so I can take a look.
Give Buffer a try, I’m sure you’ll find it handy.
Thanks Ileane for providing best app for social media. Actually I don’t know even small things about buffer.
Buffer is one of the best way to use for Social Media. Thanks for providing useful information on BufferApp. I will try it.
I used buffer since very long and always impressed with its usefulness. You’ve done a nice review of this application and it helps new friends to learn why they need to start using this application immediately.
Suresh, I know that is the truth because here is your comment on Leo’s guest post here back in March of 2011 (almost 2 years ago!)
https://basicblogtips.com/buffer-review.html#comment-4553
It’s like you are a fortune teller and you predicted the future of Digg Digg and everything else way back then.
Buffer rules. First i had a free package but then switched to premium one and was really blown away! Although everyone who wants to start dealing with it I would recommend to go for free one first, just toy with it a bit, see how cool it is and then get a paid version.
Great advice Evan. What is your favorite feature of the paid version? Do you have more than one Twitter account or Facebook Page?
It seems great. For a tech blogger, who gives continuous posts Buffer should be very useful in scheduling. It will be also helpful in reducing the workload so that we can find more time to focus on other things.
Nice article. Thanks for the share.
hey I came back second time in your blog nice content . I get always new and important content for blogger . Thanks Please keep it up!!
Thank you for the small little addon that could do lot of wonders for our Social Media account management. I will try at it and see how it works.
Hi Rajkumar, I’d love to hear your feedback about Buffer after you use it for a few days. Keep me posted ok?
Hi Illeane, I was ignoring this tool but have just registered. But one thing I noticed is that when you press the app button on chrome, they shorten the URL to theirs which I don’t like, is there a way to prevent that?
Shalu, you’ll love Buffer! I know you like to use multiple social networks and Buffer is great for that!
Here’s a screenshot of how to change the link shortening. You can turn it off or use bit.ly like I do.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1_OEXzauo_QUy1wZElMX2RmWDQ/edit
Hey Ileane, thanks for that screen shot. Found it and implemented and will be checking it out.
I have been using buffer since last few weeks and its really awesome. It helps me to directly post on Facebook wall and on twitter page. But I am still sticked to free.
Hello Ileane,
You have shared some nice piece of info and I’m going to try this tool right away. I think this tool would be great.
Thank You
Hi Ileane.
I have been using since Buffer Apps for sometime now. It is just a cool and an easy tool to use.
Very interesting information on how to achieve Social Media Success. This field is still kind of grey for me and I am glad there are useful posts like this one that help out bloggers to go in the right direction. Thanks a lot!
this was such a great article – thank you. As a new blogger, I sometimes feel like everyone is already at the next level so it was good to get some advice for social media.
Certainly a great application, I hope it would soon include Google+ into its social media list. I already using buffer and it really helps you a lot to share useful content with your followers.
A month back I started and it made my work easy to post while I was sleeping.
Never tried it`s paid version, did anyone tried buffer Awesome plan?
~@Khajamoin1
I’ve never come across Buffer before but it looks like something I absolutely need for my blogs 🙂
Yes, buffer is one of the most useful application for bloggers & online business owners as you don’t need to spend more time working on social media promotions if you use this app.
I am using free version of buffer & I think its good idea for me to upgrade now. Thanks for excellent article.
Use the free version of it, It helps to spread out social media updates, and gives more time during the day to get the work done. Good post, thanks a lot for sharing.
it is very nice video and very helpful for us by social media we get hug amount of money thanks for sharing..
Very informative post, Illeane.
I use the very basic free features of Buffer and I’ve installed the chrome extension on my browser. One thing that I love about Buffer is the ability to schedule updates to Facebook, which I couldn’t do before I discovered it. There’s so many scheduling tools out there for Twitter, but it’s hard to come by one for Facebook, so that’s a plus.
Thanks for your detailed tutorial. I learned a lot!
Ti
Hi Ti,
I started using Buffer when Leo did his first guest post here on the blog and it’s been amazing to watch how the company has grown.
I use it everyday and I love the Digg Digg plugin too.
Thanks for stopping by Ti!
Good info, I have been reading on how to do facebook ads but you first have to get a FB fanpage up and running so I am going to look at Buffer, hopefully it will help.
Thanks.
Buffer is excellent. I like using it even if I don’t schedule posts, and opt to “post now” so that I can track clicks, favorites, and retweets.
Hi Paul, this is one of the best comments I read all day 🙂
I completely forgot to mention this. I think I touched on it in the video though. If you are managing more than one Twitter account, Buffer is so helpful even when your are using “post now”. With all the accounts I manage I must use the post now option in Buffer at least 10 times a day! And just like you said, I get the stats 😉
Looking forward to more chats with you (I just added you to circles on Google+)
I just recently started using Buffer more and this article is great. I learned a lot in just one article. Thank you!
Hi, its really nice to read a post like this. Its really best idea to publish the business in social media, but its also important which one you selected. Its really effect your business. Thanks for your innovative information.
Hi Leena,
Give Buffer a try. I think you’ll quickly see how easy it is to manage your social media postings.
It was good to read your post and how to use the Buffer app. I was not so clear with the usage of this app earlier but after reading your post, it is easy to understand how to use it. I am happy you shared this information through your post. This is very much helpful. Thanks.
This tool is amazing and would love to recommend this too everyone. Not only can you manage the time of tweeting and you’ll also see the steady growth of your followers overtime. This is a great tool, you should definitely try this tool out.
Thanks – Ferb
Hi Ferb, That’s an excellent point. Putting out a steady flow of consistently valuable content will help you grow your following.
Hi Ileane.. thanks for introducing me to Buffer – quite embarrassing actually that I had not come across it before your post!
I think our biggest problem (opportunity?!) on our cartoon blog is that we don’t leverage social media properly – and this despite having over 6000 fans on facebook already… the challenge has always been finding appropriate ways to engage with readers through the likes of facebook and twitter. Anyway, am hoping Buffer will make things more measurable and regular with the social media interactions we have.. thanks 🙂
Hi Wonkie,
I think it’s amazing that you have so many Facebook fans already and that’s a great start. In your case I would give special treatment to your Facebook fans and do most of your interaction right there inside the platform. I wouldn’t use Buffer there. On the other hand I would use Buffer to repost all of your most popular content on Twitter. Good luck with your social media efforts.
Hi Ileane… thanks for the tip – I definitely have not been using Twitter as effectively as I could have been so will give that a go. 🙂
Thanks for calling my attention to Buffer – hadn’t heard of it and certainly need something to put more time in my hands. Planning on playing with free version for testing. Catch ya soon!
Hi Ken,
Once you sign up, remember to use that little heart every few days so you can send out a message encouraging your friends to sign up. That way you can get more space in your Buffer account.
Great tool it appears to be . I will include it in my social media campaign as soon as possible 😉
Thanks for sharing such useful social media service. Mam Ileane If I ask you to make a comparison so how you will compare Hootsuite with Buffer?
Hi Adil,
HootSuite let’s you monitor your streams and you can’t do that with Buffer. On the other hand Buffer is much easier to use and it’s more for posting and scheduling. If you watch the video you’ll see a little trick I did. I used a Twitter sharing button (you can do this on any site with a Twitter sharing button) but I still added it to my Buffer on a totally different Twitter account. You don’t get that option with HootSuite. That’s why I use both 🙂
Well this looks good. I am using the hootsuite.com which is an online tool and it is as same as buffer. But will give try to buffer 🙂
Hey Ileane !
Excellent post by you. i did not know about the buffer but thanks for the detail introduction. hope it will be proved helpful for me specially.
Thanks again.
Matt
Ileane, Buffer is the best Twitter tool to use!
I use it everyday and couldn’t think of not having it there everyday!
Hi Samuel!
I agree. I couldn’t be a Social Media Ninja without Buffer 🙂
Thanks for the post Ileane. I was looking for such kind of information. I find social media marketing a lot difficult and challenging, yet it is full of interesting stuff.
hi Ileane ,as I always said that there is the only place of good and right information and you are the real person to follow.This article is awesome and this is quite perfect information,As you said above that its not easy to decide the good social media website to invest time but I don’t need to worry because you are the best leader who always suggest right way to walk on.So thanks …
Loves me some buffer Ileane!
LOVE it!
I’ve made it an absolute point to find one that I can use G+ with. Hopefully the brilliant minds over at buffer are working on the solution. Other than that, me likey. I’ll definitely be sticking with it! Thanks for the info Ms. Smith, how was your weekend?
Hi Mys,
The issue with Google+ is that they haven’t publicly released their API yet. They did a limited release involving HootSuite but that is limited to Google + PAGES only (not profiles).
There is an extension for Chrome called DoShare that will allow you to stagger your Google+ profile posts but there is a huge downside to it. You need to have your browser open in order for it to work. That’s not the ideal scenario but it’s something.
My weekend was fab!! Thanks for asking.
Thanks it will help me to raise more followers and drive more traffic to my new blog.
Keep writting such informative articles
That’s a great point. If you have deadlines during the day and you want to get things done…
Nice article. Good to see this…
Thank You Very Much for posting this.. 🙂
Keep up the great work, I’ve bookmarked for future reference.
Hi Vikram,
When you’re a blogger, there deadline always seems to be lurking around the corner. Isn’t that true?
Thanks for stopping by.
I have used Buffer a few times and found it to be very useful. That said many Social Media Experts sneer at tweet automation, claiming that it removes the “social” element. How would you address that particular argument?
It is a good idea and it is nice to read
keep sharing
Social media is a great way for getting attention of other users. It can create some loyal visitors for you also. Nice post thanks for sharing it.
hello Riz
Same Thing here.I also never know about this app until I read this post.Currently I am not using it,But I will Try it in future As Ileane mam said it has really some awesome feature.