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Posted on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 07:30 PM by
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For many social media users, we read articles and blog posts first thing in the morning. Most of those we’d like to share with our networks, but we don’t want to bombard our contacts with all the content we’ve read. Companies have come up with tools that help us schedule our tweets and status updates, but many still require us choosing a time and date for a post to go live. There needs to be a simpler solution.
That’s what Buffer co-founder Joel Gascoigne (@JoelGascoigne) realized when he encountered this issue. And in 2011, he came up with a tool that allowed users to stagger their social media updates throughout the day in preselected time slots. To date, Buffer (@bufferapp) has about 120,000 users, and is growing by 30% monthly. But the service isn’t just about making social media sharing easier. According to co-founder Leonhard Widrich (@LeoWid), using Buffer can increase clicks of links: “We took 1 million Tweets sent via Buffer and wanted to find out how Buffer would improve performance. The key result was that anyone starting to use Buffer, would increase the number of clicks on their links by 200%, they would double the number of retweets and increase their Klout score by 3.5 points within 3 weeks. This was very powerful to learn.” What’s in it for Small Businesses? Using a tool like this to keep your social media stream steadily pumping out content is not only a time saver, but it also helps you connect with your social media contacts by providing useful articles and links. There are a few ways you can Buffer a website or a status update: 1. Log into your Dashboard and type in an update. Choose the “Buffer” option, which sets your update aside until your next scheduled status update slot. 2. Install a browser extension for Chrome, Safari or Firefox. When you visit a page you want to share with your network, click the Buffer button. 3. Find sites that have the Buffer button installed (similar to the other AddThis or Share buttons on blog posts) and click to share. There are currently 3,000 blogs that use the Buffer button. You can get analytics on each update, and see how large your potential reach was, how many people retweeted it and how many people clicked the link. Currently Buffer supports Twitter and Facebook accounts, but Widrich says LinkedIn offerings are around the corner, and the company hopes to add Google + and Pinterest as well. Currently users can Buffer from iPad, iPhone and Android based phones as well. Buffer offers a free account that lets users manage one Twitter and one Facebook account, and hold up to 10 posts in the Buffer. After that, plans start at $10 a month. MORE NEWS FROM SMALL BUSINESS TRENDSBarnes & Noble Nook Tablet for Small Business Owners“Tablet computers are for kids and gamers” is the prevailing sentiment that I hear from small business owners. The logic is that a tiny handheld computer won’t really help you get your work done. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dissed the iPad by stating it is not a mobile device. But despite a myriad of less-than-positive commentary, tablets are a big part of the near-term business future. Small Businesses Pay More For Health Care CoverageIn a 2009 study by the White House, small businesses pay 18% more in premiums for health coverage than their big box competitors per employee. As a small business owner are you surprised by this statistic? Creating Google Alerts Directly in Google AnalyticsA few weeks back I wrote about the powerful new metrics that small business owners can glean from the new Social reports within Google Analytics. And since that post, even more neat features have been released to help business owners learn more about not only what’s happening on their site, but what’s happening off of it, as well. Nominations Are Open for the Small Business Influencer Awards!Does a special person or company come to mind when you think of someone or something important in the world of small business? Perhaps you think of a client of yours. Or maybe a favorite vendor or supplier, or a software app that has transformed your small business or made it more profitable. Or perhaps you think of a favorite journalist who covers issues important to small businesses. G8 Leaders Call for Growth: Six Things You Can DoLeaders the world over including those at this week’s G8 Summit are calling for economic growth, not just budget tightening, in an effort to combat world market instability and speed recovery. But for all the talk in policy circles, this growth will ultimately come from the private sector and especially here in the U.S., from small to medium sized businesses that create many of the jobs and employ many of the workers already in our economy. Here’s a look at the economic growth G8 leaders are calling for and six things you can do to promote growth in your business today. RELATED SMALL BUSINESS NEWSHow Low Can Facebook Stock Go? And What Route Will It Take to Get There?Facebook ended Tuesday, its third day of trading at $31 per share -- $7 less than where it launched on Friday.... Mayan Doom or Time to Buy?According to ancient Mayan prognosticators our world should be coming to an end sometime around Christmas. If you’re sitting in Greece or JP Morgan’s bond-lending group, the end might seem like it’s already here. And off the Peruvian coast, wildlife is literally dropping from the sky.&... When 'I'm Too Sexy' Lawsuit Settles, Will IRS Win Too?This is a great country, one of equal opportunity and more. Where else could you find the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handling a complaint alleging religious and gender discrimination occurring in a lingerie warehouse?... Want to Hangout With the SBA Chief? Join UsAs part of National Small Business Week, we'll be moderating a live chat with SBA chief Karen Mills and winners of the SBA's video contest Wednesday in a Google+ hangout. ... Private Equity Investments: A Question Of Supply And DemandThe PE investment picture as 2012 began looked very much like the one that prevailed two years ago as the industry was clawing its way back from the depths of the downturn. But as we discuss in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2012, conditions today are more favorable for PE deal ... |
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