Do you have multiple social media accounts and want an easy way to help you schedule your content?

Scheduling on social media can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social let us manage multiple social media accounts from one place.

If you’re looking to completely off-load your social media management, give us a shout at hello@mclernonandco.com. If you’re looking to tackle scheduling posts yourself, here is a step-by-step guide for each platform.

Hootsuite

1. Log in.

2. Make sure your social media networks are connected.

3. To compose a message click on the “New Post” button on the top navigation bar.

4. Publish by selecting the “Post Now” button.

5. Save as a draft by selecting the “Save Draft” option, or…

6. Schedule by clicking on the calendar icon.

7. Selecting “Schedule” will open a window that will offer 2 options:

Auto schedule: Select “On” and Hootsuite will choose the optimal time to publish the post. AutoSchedule is a useful feature that will pick the right time for your post to have the most impact. It will automatically schedule a message for a time of day that you don’t have any posts scheduled.

Manual schedule: Select “Off” and use the calendar to choose the preferred date and time for publishing. You will see a pop up saying that the message has been scheduled.

NOTE: Make sure to the correct time zone is selected in your Account Settings.

To review scheduled messages and make edits:

1. Go to the left-hand navigation bar and click on “Publisher”. Select “Content” on the top navigation bar.
2. Click on the pencil icon to edit. This will let you change the text, the selected social network or the corresponding image.
3. Delete: you can delete the message by clicking on the “X” on the far right side.

Buffer‍

1. Log in.

2. Select the social profile and compose the message in the designated field.

3. You can add to the queue by clicking the blue button.

4. You can share or schedule the post by clicking on the down arrow.

5. The schedule will open a calendar where you can select the day and time to publish. You can change the time zone under “My Account” at the top right side of the menu bar.

6. Once the post is scheduled, you can delete, edit or share by selecting the appropriate options. The post can be rescheduled by selecting “Edit”.

Sprout Social

1. Log in.

2. Select the “Compose” button at the top right corner of the screen.

3. This will open a window where you can select the social profile and type in your message copy.

4. From here you can publish, schedule manually or save to drafts. Note that the Sprout Queue allows to queue up multiple posts for your profiles and have them published automatically throughout the day. Used as a compliment to your existing publishing strategy, it can help you streamline the distribution of content that isn’t time-sensitive.

5. You can review, delete, edit or share scheduled and queue messages on the calendar page in the publishing section.

Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout are automation tools designed to make scheduling, engaging and reporting simple, in a one-stop shop. However, each is different, and one size does not fit all.

We encourage you to take advantage of the free trials to look around, test them out, and choose the right fit for you. Should you decide to invest in an upgraded version, they each offer business accounts at competitive prices.

At McLernon & Co. we manage many social media accounts each and every day. If you’ve checked out these scheduling platforms, and are still overwhelmed with managing your business’ social media, give us a shout. We are experts at managing multiple social media accounts, and can manage your social media.