Overall Satisfaction with Buffer
I use Buffer for my own social media for my business and also for clients. It solves the problem of social media posting when you can't be at the computer or on social media platforms, such as overnight, weekends, and so on. It also helps you post consistently, a problem for some organizations.
- Buffer is EASY to use! So easy to use every day and to set up in advance. I do have the paid version, but there's a free version, too.
- Buffer provides good support if you have any questions/issues.
- Buffer also has an image tool, Pablo, incorporated into it, so you can very easily pull images, add text if desired, and add them to your social media posts.
- They took away the optimal timing feature, which I used and found valuable. I was never sure why they completely removed it, but they should bring it back.
- They took some of the features that were free and put them in the paid version. Granted, it's not terribly expensive ($100/year), but it felt a little like pulling the rug out from under some of the users.
- Better reporting/analysis would be nice. I see they've added an analysis tool, but it's another $50/month.
1 - Owner of the business/consultant, using Buffer to schedule social media posts primarily on Twitter, but sometimes also on LinkedIn and Facebook. I act as the social media manager for my business as well as for clients. Buffer makes it so much easier to set up posts to go out any time of the day or night.
- As it's important for me to post regularly on social media, Buffer solves that problem for me. I have absolutely seen my followers increase since I started posting consistently with Buffer.
- Visuals are important on social media, and Buffer's tool, Pablo, really helps me with that. I don't have to spend any money creating visuals (competing tools charge for that). It's very easy, fast and free. It definitely saves me probably at least $400-500/year.
- Using Pablo, Buffer's image creation tool, also ensures I don't need to worry about violating any photo copyrights. That can also be costly if you just pull images by using a Google search. Some companies charge royalty fees -- so that would save a lot of money as well, and save time that you don't have to spend researching whether or not an image is OK to use.
I've used Sprout Social for two clients now and find it somewhat difficult to use. I'm sure there are ways to circumvent the issues, but I've even tried talking to/working with customer service and one issue just couldn't be worked out.
Buffer is easy. I've maybe had to contact customer service a couple of times, if that. For a small business, I would completely recommend Buffer.
Buffer is easy. I've maybe had to contact customer service a couple of times, if that. For a small business, I would completely recommend Buffer.