social media: scheduling vs. organic

confession: until my experience at food media south in february, i didn't even realize this was a true debate. at one of the panels, our parting wisdom regarding social media was this: don't ever, ever schedule social media.

my friends and i collectively flipped out.

scheduling social media has been my saving grace. without tools that allow me to do this like hootsuite, or buffer, i'm quite positive i would have lost my sanity somewhere along the way. there is a true beauty in being able to sit down and proactively plan your brand/blog's voice - even if you only plan a few days in advance. knowing that your social media is active, present and there while you're busy is comforting.

but what are the cons?

during the panel on social media at food media south, one of the cons expressed was, undoubtedly, the potential for your scheduled tweets/posts to render as insensitive due to events unfolding at the time of their scheduled posting. in today's world of rapid citizen based reporting, it's almost inevitable, however, that many posts can be classified as insensitive simply because they are posted during a certain time, their content irrelevant.

say a national weather tragedy strikes - floods overtake the great plains. you own a pool installation company in this region. you sit down and plan your tweets for the week on a certain day, far in advance. during the frantic tweets about flooding, the iphone videos of water overtaking a house... there's your tweet: "want a better way to relax? GET WET with our SOAKING summer deals!" hmmm, well damn, i think everyone is surely wet enough....? and now you look like an asshole.

but what makes sense for your brand? consider this: are your scheduled posts relatively neutral in their content? could they stand among frantic weather tweets and not look silly? i mean, let's face it - tragedy does not stop the world from uploading youtube videos, making vines and snapchatting. what does this mean for your blog, business or brand?

unless you have a full-time social media person to manage it for you, 24/7 organic posting for many is, simply, impossible. for some brands who post 1-2 times daily across all media, sure, it's feasible. but for most, who are trying to stay afloat in the never-ending chatter, scheduling is a must, and at minimum, must be used to supplement organic posting.

social media scheduling do's

• DO decide how often your posts need to be written. once weekly? every 3 days?
• DO write content that is neutral, but aware. think about the time of day you're posting. draw attention to this - if you're posting a link to an article at 6am, prompt the "early birds" to click & read over their morning coffee.
• DO keep your social media outlets on your phone with (if you can stand it) notifications on. this way, your scheduled content is published, and you can still reply, favorite and retweet in real time.
• DO write organic posts in addition to scheduled ones. if you spot an article, remember a factoid, or feel the need to have something put out there - do it. don't schedule it. just whip out your phone and tweet it.
• DO stay on top of your "voice" in your posts. don't sound robotic.

social media scheduling don't's:

• DON'T write your posts for the week and never glance at your facebook or twitter again until it's time to write more posts. scheduling doesn't mean you don't pay attention, it just means you aren't sitting at your computer all day writing.
• DON'T write posts that could be rendered irrelevant at the time of their posting - remarks about the weather, current events or newsworthy topics are best left for organic posting.
• DON'T rely on scheduling as your only form of social media interaction. mediums like instagram and pinterest require more organic thought and energy - schedule time to work on these as you deem appropriate, but don't forget about them if they coincide with your brand.
   

do you schedule any social media? do you see a benefit to doing so? why or why not?