Not all social media schedulers are the same. When I began my VA business in 2016, I was using free versions of Buffer and Hootsuite (as in, before Hootsuite’s 30-post limit). It was great to have content being shared across my social media channels automatically.
Unfortunately, platforms such as these require constant topping up and/or updating.
It wasn’t until a client of mine asked me to manage their social media using SmarterQueue, that I noticed just how much maintenance these types of apps actually require.
SQ was different in many ways, but most of all, it recycled posts!
While it’s taken me some time to figure out some of the features, it’s one of the best social media scheduling apps I’ve ever used. It’s not perfect, though – there are still things I’d love for it to be able to do (currently, copying the queue from one category to another, rather than having to copy each individual post).
However, here’s what you should know:
Schedule both one-time and evergreen posts
When creating a post, you can choose whether to reschedule the post after it’s shared, or just share it once.
SQ offers a wide variety of platforms to schedule posts to
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest! While not as in-depth as an app such as Tailwind, it’s quite handy!
Instagram posting isn’t automatic – YET
It was great when Hootsuite came out with automatic posting! You could just schedule your posts, and be done with it until it was time to top up your queue again. I do wish SQ would adopt the same posting structure.
So, with SQ, you add your posts to the queue, add your image, caption, hashtags… then schedule the post. At the posting time, SQ will send your phone a notification (yes, you need the SQ app on your phone). You need to open the notification, click on the post you want to share, and complete the posting process by choosing Story or Feed, and paste the text (that automatically copies to your clipboard during the process), then share the post.
LinkedIn requires account reconnection every 30 days
This has something to do with LinkedIn’s API, it resets every 30 days and requires manual reconnection via SQ. It’s not just SQ, though – this happens with every scheduler.
Tweets, after they’re shared once, will automatically come up as an RT (retweet)
This is mildly annoying, and the only way to combat this problem is by editing/changing the text in SQ so that Twitter doesn’t consider it a duplicate tweet.
Even better news…
You can share one post and vary the images that go with the post
Each time the post is shared to the platform, SQ will cycle through all of the images in sequence (which can be changed, just drag and drop the order you wish the images to be shared in) so that your content looks fresh each and every time.
You can ALSO vary the text!
As an example, if you have the same message but don’t want to repeat yourself, by rewording it several times, this also makes your content look fresh and new. This is terrific for all platforms but I especially like it for Pinterest.
SmarterQueue is very organized
SQ has awesome filters so that you can easily change or update posts, by category, profile, one-time posts or evergreen, or posts by content. SUPER handy.
SmarterQueue also keeps track of how many times your posts have been shared by displaying what cycle it’s in. At a glance, you’re able to see a post that’s been shared 8 times and decide if you want to update it or not.
Turn it off, and turn it back on
Another great feature is the ability to pause a category, profile or your entire queue. You can unpause it whenever you like.
Analytics
Like the majority of social media scheduling tools, SQ also has an analytics tool so you can easily see the stats of your posts.
In summary, SQ is not *completely* hands-free once you plug some content in there. There are some maintenance aspects involved to keep content fresh, however, it’s probably one of the lowest-maintenance scheduling tools around. SmarterQueue definitely tops my list.
Get a free trial with my link https://smarterqueue.com/?ref=6e8
Need some help with your social media? Book a free consultation call with me and let’s talk.
