Before we start, let's look at some stats:
- Facebook — 3.05 billion MAUs (Monthly Active Users)
- WhatsApp — 2.78 billion MAUs.
- YouTube — 2.49 billion MAUs.
- Instagram — 2.04 billion MAUs.
- WeChat — 1.32 billion MAUs.
- TikTok — 1.22 billion MAUs.
- Telegram — 800 million MAUs.
- Snapchat — 750 million MAUs. (Source: Buffer)
Approximately half of the world's population is on social media.
Social media has become the hunting ground for marketers to promote their products. It is the best way to educate users about the product and direct traffic to the website.
If you are a content writer/marketer and want readers to notice and read your WordPress posts, then you must share them on social media channels. The quicker the better.
The best way to quickly share your WordPress posts to the most social channels is by scheduling them. There are many ways you can schedule your WordPress posts, and one of them is using Buffer.
In today's write-up, we are going to share how to schedule WordPress posts for social media using Buffer.
Take out your notebook and let's get started-
Why Schedule Your WordPress Posts?
Suppose you live in South Africa and are writing a post for an audience in the USA. You have figured out that US readers are most active on social media on Monday at 2 a.m. But you are 6 hours ahead in the timezone. So, should you set your alarm clock to 7 a.m. in your timezone to match the US timezone and schedule posts manually?
Wouldn't that be a hassle and also hamper your productivity? So what can you do?
Just schedule your posts according to the US timezone and automatically share them.
This is just one use case. There are several other advantages of scheduling posts including-
- Share posts to multiple platforms at a time
- Schedule posts right after post-publication
- Increase social media channel activity
- Boost engagement and increase traffic.
Social commerce is revolutionizing how businesses connect with customers. You can elevate your brand and boost sales through these social platforms!
There are no downsides to scheduling posts other than you may face some technical errors here and there.
Luckily, there are many handy tools to do this. Today we'll use buffer to schedule WordPress posts. You may ask WHY? Here is the answer:
Why Use Buffer to Schedule Your Social Posts?
Buffer is a web-based platform that allows you to schedule your posts to multiple social channels.
It has a centralized dashboard that will help you manage all the posts and also see all the scheduled posts. You can integrate Buffer with your Facebook, X(Twitter), Threads, Mastodon, etc account. It also offers post analytics so that you can see how your posts are doing.
Read this blog to automatically tweet when you publish a new post in WordPress.
The platform has a WordPress plugin that will connect your WordPress site to Buffer. That way you can easily schedule posts right from the WordPress dashboard.
Now let's see how to schedule WordPress posts using Buffer.
How to Schedule WordPress Posts Using Buffer
Scheduling WordPress posts using Buffer is relatively easy. If you have some knowledge of using website platforms and WordPress, then you won't face any hassle. And if you follow our steps, then it will take you no time.
Here are the steps to schedule WordPress posts using Buffer:
Step 1: Create and Configure Your Buffer Account
First, you need to create a Buffer account. If you already have one, then great. But if you don't, then you need to create one.
Just go to the Buffer website and click on the login button. If you have a prior account, then give your credentials or fill out the necessary information to create an account. After creating an account, you will get their onboarding page.
Choose the Connect Channel option-
Then on the next page, you will find all the social channels. Choose your preferred one. We are going to choose Facebook-
You need to choose if you want to connect a Facebook page or a group to your Buffer account-
Next, you need to authorize Buffer to use your Facebook page or group-
If you have more than one page, then you need to select the page you want to schedule your posts to-
Finally, you will see that Buffer is connected with your Facebook account-
Now, if you want, you can configure your Buffer account.
You will find the link shortener option, post queue options, and Google Analytics option in the General settings of the channel you have connected to Buffer-
In the posting schedule option, you can change the Timezone, posting schedule-
You are done with your configuration of the Buffer account.
Step 2: Connect Buffer to WordPress Using a Plugin
You can schedule any posts manually using the Buffer account. But if you want to schedule WordPress posts, then you need to install a plugin on your WordPress site.
You can use the WP to Buffer plugin to connect your WordPress site to Buffer. Just log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins–> Add New. There type Buffer and you'll find the plugin. Install and activate the plugin-
Then you need to authorize the plugin to connect to your Buffer account. Make sure you are logged into your Buffer account in the same browser.
You need to give authorization to Buffer to connect to your WordPress site. Click on the Allow access button-
Then you will see your WordPress site is connected-
This is how you can connect your WordPress site to Buffer.
Step 3: Schedule Your WordPress Posts
Now that your WordPress site is connected, you can schedule your posts from your site.
Make sure the Timezone in your WordPress site matches the Buffer account timezone. You can schedule both posts and pages using Buffer.
Configure your schedule settings from WP Buffer–> Settings.
Also, you can choose the Facebook account that you want to share your posts to-
You need to set the schedule timing from your Buffer account.
See the logs from WP Buffer–> Logs to see which posts have been scheduled and published-
To enable the advanced features, you need to purchase one of Buffer's premium plans. But you'll get a 14-day trial period to test it out.
This is how to schedule WordPress posts using Buffer. Cool isn't?
Bonus: Tips to Share Your WordPress Posts to Social Media
You now know how to schedule posts from your WordPress site using Buffer. But before you go out and start randomly scheduling posts, go over these tips so that you can get the most out of your social posts-
- Customize for Each Platform. For example, LinkedIn may require a professional tone, while Instagram benefits from visually engaging and casual content.
- Track Social Media Performance. Tracking metrics such as likes, shares, and click-through rates helps identify which posts resonate best with your audience
- Engage with Your Audience. Respond to comments, shares, and messages on social media platforms to build connections with your audience.
- Use Eye-Catching Visuals. Visual content tends to perform better, making your posts more appealing and shareable.
- Optimize Post Timing. Share your posts when your audience is most active on social media, that is where a scheduling tool can help you a lot.
Hopefully, these tips will help you get the desired engagement from your audience from your social posts.
Start Scheduling Your WordPress Posts and Get Noticed!!
This is it. After going through the steps, you can start to schedule your WordPress posts using Buffer.
Whether you like social media or not, you can't deny the impact of it. Especially if you want your brand or posts to get noticed by the audience. Social media also plays a big factor in increasing website traffic.
You can also go through our guide on How to Automatically Share Your Old WordPress Posts on Social Media to share the old posts from your WordPress site.
Do you have any further query about how to schedule WordPress posts? You can share your thoughts or queries in the comment section below.