Buffer Up
November 20, 2014

Buffer Up

Deanna Ayres | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Buffer

We use Buffer not just for our personal accounts to schedule updates and blog posts but we also encourage and train clients on the use of Buffer to schedule their companies news, blog posts, events, or even company pictures. Working for an extremely busy agency or company doesn't allow for regular updates across different channels and pages. Buffer solves the problem by not only allowing us to post across multiple channels but also schedule it for the times WE want content to go live to maximize exposure. Additionally, the feature of adding suggested content is brilliant as it helps break up the monotony of simply posting *business* updates. And frankly, there are some great posts in the suggestion queue that I post because I want to read it later. Finally, it's free. My personal account has been a tremendous help in connecting with different people due to the content and times it is posted and if I want to use it as a team, well then we use the very affordable AWESOME upgrade.
It's a tool that allows cross promotion on multiple levels, time zones, content and is easy to navigate. What more could an agency, a client and a team want.
  • Scheduling: In social media it is critical to post regular updates but not become that annoying person or business that posts the days or even weeks updates back to back and appears spammy. Buffer allows users to pre-set times and dates in advance or on the spot for posts that are being placed in the feeder. For example: I have a new company blog I want to share. I open buffer queue and enter my status update. Then I can chose where I want to post it (FB, Twitter, G+ page, LI) and next I can pick a time and date. I can also change it up and schedule the Twitter update for noon today, the FB update for 4pm tomorrow and the LI update for Monday at 9am based on my audience behavior. In the remaining time I can schedule generic posts to appear engaged.
  • Reporting: The weekly and monthly report is awesome. It is very detailed, easy to understand. The free version has a report as well but it is not as detailed as obviously the paid version.
  • Price: You cannot beat the price from a company or honestly even a personal standpoint. It is extremely affordable for the service you receive in addition to their amazing customer service.
  • Customer Service: They are by far some of the best in the world when it comes to customer service and appreciation. Even if you use their free app they still answer your questions or concerns with lightning speed and such a friendliness that you can't possibly leave upset. Their mission is to provide the best and more and they achieved it.
  • I personally wish they would integrate Tumblr and Google profiles. I understand there are limitations but I have hope they will overcome whatever is holding them back.
  • Facebook suggestions is another hope I have. Currently they only offer content suggestions that can be posted for Twitter and LinkedIn.
  • It has increased employee efficiency because now we can pre-schedule or schedule a post across 3 or more profiles with a few clicks. Think about the time saved. We post an update in our chat with a link and pre-set hashtags. Now everyone in the office takes it and copy/paste into Buffer. Each of us have different times entered and we have it set to post on Twitter, FB and LI. Takes less than 2 minutes. If we'd do this manually, we'd each have to log in to each account and post. It may not seem a lot initially but it adds up quick. 5 posts a day for example now take 10 minutes. Otherwise it would have taken 5 min. per update per account. 15*5 ... 75 minutes later. You have saved over an hour a day. 30 employees who all post - that's a lot of time that can be used for more useful tasks and projects.
  • It has helped drive social traffic because more people can pre-schedule, share, change up times and reach target audiences we'd miss otherwise. We have seen an increase to our blogs after the use of Buffer.
  • Thanks to scheduling regular posts we have seen our engagement rise as well. Including on our personal accounts. This in turn has increased the number of people who are now exposed to our content and social reach.
We still use Hootsuite Pro even with Buffer. But we have stopped using Hootsuite Free in favor of Buffer because it is just easier to use, visually more appealing and we love the culture that makes Buffer more than just another tool. Buffer has Android and iPhone apps that make sharing and scheduling so easy, I can't say I've had this experience with Hootsuite. Finally, Buffer Customer Service is the biggest selling point to consider. Hootsuite has yet to answer questions I'd send them over a year ago, including follow ups. Buffer answered in less than 10 minutes and went above and beyond to help - over Twitter.
Ease of use, affordability, time saved and just love for the app and the team. It's not a miracle tool that will suddenly increase your company's value or leads, you still need to put in quality posts, thoughts and content but when used regularly and with thought, you'll be happy in the long run.
It is suited for anyone in social media and quite frankly any business that wants their departments, teams and employees to participate and collaborate about social posts. There is a neat feature that allows team leads to approve posts before they go live. That is a life saver.
The biggest questions to ask are - Does it cover everything we need and does it make our day to day lives easier? Are we okay with pre-scheduling and monitoring as we go? How much do we want to spend? Do we need to pay for everyone?
To us, Buffer has provided us with extra value and time. It was a no-brainer.