Buffer started as a tool to help your create preset times when you wanted to share to your social media accounts, allowing you to think about “buffering” the articles and links that you found, rather than “scheduling” them. You could simply add a link to your buffer and know that it would be shared at the next available timeslot. But what about links and posts that you wanted to go out a specific time? For that, you’d need a different tool. Until now.
Buffer has added “Custom Scheduling” to the toolbox. Now, whenever you set up a new link to be shared via Buffer, you have the option to schedule a specific date and time for that post, in addition to sharing immediately or adding to your buffer to be shared later.
Between the apps (which will have updates available shortly) and the browser plugins, sharing links and posts across multiple social networks has never been easier.
When you click your Buffer extension button, or the Buffer button on a website, or just copy and paste a link into your Buffer account, you’ll see the share dialogue box above. With Buffer, you can select from whatever social media accounts you have connected, edit the share, and preview how it will look. Buffer has added a clock icon at the bottom of the box that you can select to choose a specific schedule to share your post.
Scheduled posts will appear within your queue right along with your buffered posts, and the scheduled posts will have grey shading behind the post date to indicate that it’s a scheduled post. You can edit the date or move it into your buffer queue at any time prior to the post date.
With the Buffer extension installed, this means that you can schedule Tweets right from within Twitter, as well as right mouseclick on any image you see online and choose Buffer to schedule that image to be shared to Facebook whenever you wish.
This adds a great deal of flexibility to Buffer, and brings it more in line with the major social media management tools like HootSuite or Sprout Social.
What do you think? Will you schedule a post or two using Buffer now? If you haven’t yet given Buffer a look, head over to http://www.BufferApp.com and give it a try.