Comms professionals are saddled with the unique responsibility of serving as the voice of corporate entities and building connections with their audiences. With how fast-paced the job can be, there’s a huge need to plan and scheduling tools can take a huge burden off your shoulder.
Imagine having all your messages perfectly timed and ready to go without scrambling at the last minute. What if all you had to do was monitor the progress and engagement on each post or message because you put it on schedule days, weeks or even months in advance?
To some, this sounds like a dream but it’s very possible. Scheduling tools can help you achieve all this and more.
Some professionals might wonder about the need for scheduling tools but the dynamic nature of Comms roles often requires a proactive approach to work.
Do you know that some social media apps have built-in scheduling features? LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter allow you to schedule posts weeks and even months in advance. These platforms have their peculiarities and you might want to explore your post settings and to what is possible.
What are the benefits of scheduling?
- Time Management: The reality is that using social media takes up a lot of time. If you tend to create social media posts on the go, you’ll probably find that it sometimes takes longer than you expect to get things done. Instead of constantly rushing against the clock, you can use the advantage of scheduling to help you achieve a more relaxed approach to content creation and management.
- Increased Productivity: What if your blog post could go live while you’re in a meeting with a stakeholder? You wouldn’t have to scramble around for your phone or your laptop at that moment and that is the power of scheduling. When your hands are free, you can do a lot more. While Comms professionals might be able to create things on the go, there might be better approaches for long-term and sustainable creativity at work. Finding a balance is important to ensure lasting productivity.
- Flexibility: When content is created in advance, you have the freedom and flexibility to move things around because you have options. A great way to do this is to create a content pool that gives you multiple choices and the room to make changes.
- Better Planning: Successfully utilising scheduling tools requires you to plan ahead. This eventually leads you to see the bigger picture as you have to think through your content, assets and creatives in advance. This improves your skills as a professional and affords you the room for strategic thinking.
- Better Alignment with Organisation’s Goals: Scheduling your content ahead gives you the opportunity to thoroughly review this content and ensure that it aligns with your organisation’s strategic focus. You’re able to get the feedback and possibly the buy-in of colleagues, your manager and maybe senior management when you give everyone enough time to look through.
While our websites and social media platforms might have tools that help you publish posts on schedule, some third-party apps are also very helpful. Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social and Coschedule are some great tools to begin your scheduling journey with.
Whether you’re a newbie in Comms or an experienced professional, scheduling offers numerous benefits that can aid you in your work. The best part is that you can always make changes before the post goes live!
