Should you schedule social media posts?

We are going to be pretty to the point about this one, and our answer is no, not usually. Of course, we know many social media managers swear by scheduling apps such as Hoot-suite and Buffer. It saves so much time, they cry. Yes, but does it though? And is there a better way?

It’s easy to see the allure of scheduling social media posts, especially if you’re very busy, manage multiple accounts, or don’t really enjoy social media. In theory, you can block off a few hours at the beginning of each week or month, upload your images and captions and then just forget about logging in to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, secure in knowing that your scheduling app will post what you want when you want it without any more input from you. Sounds okay, doesn’t it? But does it work in practice? 

Well, it sort of does. And hey, if there’s absolutely no other way you’re going to get social media done then go for it. But while it does have that one big pro, it’s important to be aware of the cons too. What are they? 

First of all, it’s a myth that you won’t ever have to actually log in to your social media pages. Because if you don’t, you’re going to see a HUGE drop in engagement. Never logging in means never replying to your comments and messages, never following anyone new and never liking, sharing or commenting on anyone else’s posts. Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself at the very back of the algorithm queue and struggling to develop traction. In order to solve this problem you’ll have to get back in there and start interacting again, every day. So if you have to log in every day anyway, has scheduling your posts in advance really saved you any time? Or might you just well do the post right then and there too? 

There’s a few other difficulties around scheduling too. One of the major ones to our minds is that if you’re writing posts up to a week or more in advance, you just can’t be as responsive and up to date. Worst case scenario is you might schedule an extremely light hearted, jokey sort of post on a day which ends up experiencing a catastrophic event — and you may not even remember what you’ve scheduled in order to be able to cancel it. Less serious but more likely, you’ll be unable to adjust your text to reflect current events, weather and similar issues that make your posts extra relevant to your audience. 

Most scheduling tools also don’t have all the functionality you get from posting directly from the platform, plus the algorithms are likely to pick up on the fact that you’re almost never on them and punish you for it with less reach. So in many cases, it’s simply not worth scheduling every post in our opinion. Instead, we recommend having a rough calendar or schedule so you know what you’re going to post and when, then create it within the platform at the time, taking a few minutes to engage with other accounts while you’re there. It’s the best of both worlds — knowing exactly what you’re going to post but able to be reactive and maximise your reach. 

Of course, sometimes you do need to schedule — maybe you’re going on holiday or have an extra busy week ahead. What should you do then? We recommend using the platforms own scheduling tools — it’s easy to schedule tweets through Twitter, and Facebook Creator Studio allows you to schedule both Facebook and Instagram posts. Or if you generally don’t ever have time to post, consider getting a social media manager to do it for you — like us!