One of my goals in my social media marketing plan is to share relevant, timely and interesting content within my networks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.
I don’t want to spend more time than I need to for this daily task, so anything that allows me to share content easily and reliably usually gets my attention. And there are a lot of choices for social media sharing apps and tools out there. In fact, just when I think I have what I want, 5 more pop up!
In the past, I’ve just stuck with Hootsuite for sharing content since I can schedule, shorten links, and access analytics data all in one place. In fact, I continue to use Hootsuite for a great deal of the content I share in my own networks, as well as part of the process for my clients’ content sharing processes.
But there’s a new kid in town that I absolutely love, and I think it deserves to be on the list of Crystal’s Favorite Things: Buffer
Buffer works inside my browser, allowing me to choose to share content that I’m viewing any time without having to leave the article/website/video etc. I can also share content directly from my Google Reader – a function I absolutely love. And, I can use it on any computer at home or away, the kind of flexibility that’s important in my business.
The same can be accomplished by the various social media sharing buttons that are available on most websites and media players, but Buffer offers a couple extra (and important) features:
1) Share content immediately or schedule it for later.
Buffer allows you to set up a queue of content that is pushed out on the days/times that you specify. You just add it to the buffer and forget it. (See why it’s called Buffer yet?)
In the past, I’ve clicked the share button on the article, then copy/pasted the tweet into Hootsuite, then set the delivery day/time. OR, I copy/pasted the article title into Hootsuite, then shrunk the URL. Buffer saves me those steps.
2) Access analytics on shared content
Clicking on the share buttons on a website is the easiest way to share content with your followers, and website owners like it because they can track the share data generated from their visitors, but unless you use a 3rd party app like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or others to for tracking you don’t have an easy way to know if your audience is reading, clicking or re-sharing your tweets/updates.
I wouldn’t recommend abandoning your other social media tracking services/tools – but the built in analytics that Buffer offers is, in my opinion, good enough for daily use. Sometimes, that’s all I need!
Of note: Buffer also syncs with your bit.ly account – so you gain the sharing stats from that service as well.
It is important that there is a free option for any tool that I choose to try or use in online business that isn’t too wimpy to even be considered an option. Buffer has that covered with their free plan – I’ve migrated to one of the paid plans now, but it’s not necessary to pay to gain enough functionality to make the service useful.
What tools or apps are you using to share content within your online community? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
My clients know me as the business & operations manager – basically, I’m the one that takes your ideas, strategies and plans and makes sure they are executed by your team from start to finish.. I’m the “Get It Done” Canuck.
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