If you’re a heavy social media user, then hopefully you’ve heard of Buffer. If not, then the basic idea is Buffer is an online app that let’s you queue up posts for your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. You then specify times of the day to upload the posts, and then Buffer makes those posts on your behalf. Now before you think this is a spammer approach, think of it more as a way to automate reminders about upcoming shows, new songs, etc…. You can still post freely as you wish and should do so. This just makes it easier to set a recurring schedule of update posts.
The one issue you will run into with Buffer is there is no way to schedule specific posts for specific dates and times. Since it is a queue system, you just add another post to the list and when Buffer gets to it, it will post it. So time-sensitive information is not something to use Buffer for. Just use Buffer to post things that you can schedule out. You will also need to consider how you have your accounts linked together. If you have your Twitter posts automatically go to Facebook as well, then make sure you don’t set Buffer to post to Facebook. If you do then you’ll have double posts occurring and will look spammy.
In addition to making sure you are not “over-posting” due to your accounts being linked, you also need to avoid actual over-posting by combining automated and manual posting. Posting several times in several minutes is spammy, even if you’re posting your full upcoming show schedule. Yes, I have seen artists do this and while they only do these posting bursts for the schedules, it is still annoying to see five posts instead of one with a link to their full schedule elsewhere. Try to think about how it will look from the eyes of your average fan before you start posting like crazy. Space out your posts during the day. I read a survey recently that noted the most effective times of the day to post on Twitter and Facebook and how often a day the most popular artists would post. The most followed artists only post two or three times a day on average. Why? Because they don’t overwhelm their followers feeds with their posts which keeps them from becoming annoying.
Try to keep these points in mind when you create your posting schedule, and go beyond thinking of a daily routine and consider a week-long routine like this sample one:
* Monday: 1 Quote, 1 news/schedule announcement, up to 5 Replies/FB Comments
* Tuesday: 1 New blog/video/audio post, 2 Re-Tweets/FB Shares
* Wednesday: 1 Post about current music or world news, up to 5 Replies/FB Comments
* Thursday: 1 show announcement for coming weekend, 3 Re-Tweets/FB Shares
* Friday: 1 show announcement for show that night, Post pic/vid clip from show setup/performance
* Saturday: 1 show announcement for show that night, Post pic/vid clip from show setup/performance
* Sunday: 1 Post thanking those who came to your shows, up to 10 Replies/FB Comments/Re-Tweets/FB Shares