As writers, we all need to effectively manage our time. Many writers feel they need to spend an enormous amount of time on social media to build a platform and name recognition. I disagree with this strategy. We need to get our priorities in order. First, we need to dedicate our writing time and second, we need to engage in social media.
Let’s talk about one way to actively engage in social media for 12 hours but only spend 15 minutes doing it.
If you follow either or both of my twitter accounts (@vesselproject or @keikihendrix), you’ll find that I tweet regularly. On The Vessel Project Twitter account you will find posts about free books, book reviews, new releases, book trailers, and lots of books on sale. On my personal Twitter account, you’ll find tweets about web design, writing, or other interesting stuff that catches my eye.
Look at either of my Twitter streams and you will see posts appear around every hour or so. Am I at the computer posting that tweet every hour? No, I’m off doing what comes next in my day. I schedule several post to Twitter in the morning. When I have a moment while I’m taking a walk or while I am waiting in line at the grocery store, I will check Twitter and read, retweet, and/or comment.
Best Twitter Schedulers
There are several free programs you can use to schedule your tweets. Some programs update Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with multiple account support. Some have mobile apps and some do not. I’ve listed the most popular programs here…
Since I love to experiment with social media apps, I’ve tried all of these. My favorite is Socialoomph. I’ve used it for years. In fact, it’s probably the oldest social media scheduler. But, we all have different tastes so go through the list and see which one works for you.
A second app I absolutely adore is TweetCaster by OneLouder. This is a twitter app for your phone that allows you to schedule your tweets from your phone. This is particularly handy when I am perusing Twitter and find several things I’d like to retweet but don’t want to send them all out at one time. For a complete list of Tweetcaster features, go HERE.
When and how often to Tweet
According to Kiss Metrics, 80% of the general US population is in the Central and Eastern time zone. Post or schedule your tweets with this time zone in mind. The best time of day to post on Twitter is noon and 6:00 pm. The frequency of your tweets should be kept from 1 to 4 per hour.
So, you see spending hours on social media isn’t necessary, especially with Twitter. Yes, it’s important that an author maintain an active presence on social media sites like Twitter. But, using a Tweet scheduler can minimize the time spent on maintaining your presence down to about 15 minutes.
Tell me, do you have a favorite Twitter program you use to schedule/manage your Tweets?
2 Comments
Leave a Reply
Subscribe
Social Media Profiles
Keiki Hendrix is a writer and web designer. She has published hundreds of articles on various online outlets. Her passion is to help others build their influence through blogging. 
The Christian Publishing Directory provides writers, readers, editors, publishers one site to search for all things related to Christian publishing. 
Keiki launched The Vessel Project, a website for those who love Christian books, in 2008. It is her flagship site where she helps authors by providing featured book status and advertising.
Mine is Hootsuite, particularly for their Hootlet app. If you’re reading something online and you’d like to tweet that link, Hootlet will format a tweet using a shortened URL and the title of the article or blog post. And you can use their “Autoschedule” feature to tweet it at a time when you’re likely to have good activity.
I’ve been scheduling tweets for about a year, and it’s been SUCH a help for me. Thanks for the tips, Keiki!
Yes, we all have our favorites. It takes some time to get acquainted with all the features of a program. I know many friends who use HootSuite and have for years, but I’m partial to Tweetcaster and SocialOomph. They work well for me.