Buffer Automatically Schedules Tweets for Power Twitter Users
Q: I use my Twitter account a lot. Sometimes I worry that I'm sending too many tweets at once, spamming the feeds of my followers and pushing them away. Is there a better way to space things out without having to sign in to my account several times an hour?
A: Are you a power Twitter user or do you handle social media responsibilities for an organization that requires you to send out lots of 140-character messages? Buffer is a Web-based application that takes your tweets -- and links and articles -- and schedules them out so that you don't annoy any of your followers. Before, you might have logged in to Twitter or whatever third-party client you use to access the service and pushed out a bunch of messages all at once, clogging the feeds of any followers who happened to be signed on and reading tweets at that time. Now, you can log in just once and feed everything into Buffer; let it take care of the rest.
To make things even easier, Buffer can be added to your Chrome browser. When you come across a page that you want to tweet out, the click of a button will bring up a window in which you can compose the tweet that will accompany a shortened link representing the page when Buffer sends it out. The point is that this isn't completely automated; there's still some personality. Buffer isn't just a Twitter robot.
"We genuinely want to help you create an authentic and honest appearance on Twitter because we believe that there are no 'short-cuts' to succeeding on a platform where engagement is so crucial," Buffer's creators explain on the app's official website. "We know that Buffer is one solution amongst many out there. You will often find us recommending a variety of tools on our Twitter account or on our blog. We believe that providing the best value for your particular situation is far more important than a quick sale of our product."
Buffer is a free service if you only need to keep 10 items or less in your account. More features and a larger queue are available to heavier users at $10/month for a professional account or $30/month for a premium account.
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Image: Buffer.