So we’re all crazy busy this time of year. Be it marketing end of year or holiday events, sharing out information on family and friend get-togethers, conferences, last minute and end of semester information PLUS our regular daily responsibilities we are inundated with information to get out through our social media profiles and platforms. So for the past few months, to help relieve some of the craziness I’ve been scheduling more tweets.
Now, many big time social media gurus and marketing offices already do this, but it can also help student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and even personal brands. Over time I’ve found and adopted several best practices and philosophies when scheduling tweets.
#1: Scheduling is an Aid and Tool
Don’t schedule every tweet that you can. Many times the worth of social media is the instantaneous life it can take. Schedule information such as reminders, deadlines, or regular fun facts that are not responsive to any current or active situation. Some examples could include final exam schedules, building hours, how many holiday trees are in your building, or reminders of campus sales and book-buy back dates.
#2: Remember What You Schedule
While setting up scheduled social media posts, don’t forget about them! If you can’t remember all of them, then just keep a running list of scheduled tweets next to your computer. I utilize TweetDeck as my Twitter platform of choice for all my major tweeting and engagement initiatives including scheduling tweets. I do utilize the scheduling column to see what tweets are about to be sent and when, however, I like to use my hard copy next to my computer to remember what was sent previously. This way, I remember what and when I scheduled past tweets so I can remember and better anticipate any questions or inquiries that may be in result of those scheduled tweets as well as response to any comments made.
#3: Don’t Over Schedule
It can be addictive and attractive to schedule every piece of information that you wish to send out for the week and that could easily amount to over 100 preset posts
for the following days. Just like in any marketing scheme, less is more. Key in on the most important information to schedule. Provide more links to allow students or patrons to peruse the information on their own. For example, don’t schedule out each exam time for multiples schools or departments. Link a website where they can look up the information quickly and specifically to their class/degree/department.
#4: Don’t Forget You Voice
Even when scheduling your posts, don’t let the ability to schedule cause you to lose your voice or brand. Whether you post live or schedule them they should all remain consistent and utilizing the same voice. For example, if you live tweet in a casual and informal voice, be casual and informal in your scheduled posts. If you are formal in live posting then be formal in your scheduled posting. Its a small and perhaps minimal component of scheduling posts, but it can help keep your brand consistent, be it for your institution, organization or personal brand.
I hope some of these help and if you have any others, let me know!
Until next time!
Peace, Love and Pandas!
Hello World, Its Me, Brian 