Tools for Marketing and Content Creation

Threads has over 150 million daily active users. Great for reaching new audiences. Also, a discovery problem. How do you get seen when millions of conversations are happening at once? Enter: Trending Topics for Threads, right in Buffer. It brings real-time trending conversations directly into Buffer's composer. Built in partnership with the Threads team, Trending Topics surfaces what's trending on Threads to anyone, no matter your location, through Buffer's API access. The discovery challenge on ThreadsThe Threads algorithm rewards genuine conversation and authentic engagement. Success comes from joining discussions people actually care about, at the moment they care abou…

From the moment I launched The Flourish Market — a boutique that specializes in selling clothing, accessories, and gifts that have a bigger purpose — I knew that we would need to think about our holiday promotions differently. Given that most of the 200+ brands we partner with are B Corps or fair trade companies, our margins are already tighter than the average store. I felt the biggest discount we could afford to offer holiday shoppers would be 20%, which isn’t very exciting when the big box stores and even smaller boutiques would be offering 40-60% (or more) off. I’ve always been a big believer that when you can’t compete, you get creative. So I thought about what we …

Remember good old chronological news feeds? Back in the early days of Facebook, circa 2006 or so, posts were shown pretty much in order of recency when you opened up the social media platform. Well, things look a bit different nearly twenty years later. What started as a place for sharing updates and photos with friends and family — putting the ‘social’ in social media — has grown into a full-fledged content platform. Facebook has evolved from personal profiles to a space where people can follow creators and brands, join communities and groups, and promote events. Instead of just text and photo posts, there are now disappearing stories, reels, live streams, and much more.…

Imagine a place where you can stay updated on your college roommate’s life, get book recommendations, discover new brands, and learn more about anything you like. That’s exactly what Instagram is for you, for me, and for over one and a half billion other active Instagram users. In this beginner’s guide, I’ll share everything you need to know about Instagram — from getting started by creating an account to growing your business or personal brand on the platform. What is Instagram?Instagram is a photo and video-sharing app. You can use this social media platform to create, edit, and publish anything visual. Your followers react to your posts by liking, commenting, sharing, …

Have you ever wished you could just skip the Instagram algorithm altogether and guarantee your content gets seen by your target audience? Or, rather than asking folks to click over to your bio to find your products, content, or website, just include a link right in the post? Well, meet Instagram ads. They are paid posts on the platform that you can use to promote your business, product, or services and reach new people. Ads appear in the same format as organic posts across Instagram Stories, Reels, Explore, and in-feed posts. But unlike organic Instagram posts, Instagram ads have a link to redirect users to a website to shop for your products or check out your services. …

A few months ago, I created an Instagram Reel that (I thought) looked great when I was making it. I uploaded, hit post, and tapped on it to fill the screen — only to find a sliver of the text got cut off at the edge. It’s a tiny detail that can have a big impact, especially for brands and creators with a high bar for quality. There’s a small kind of joy in seeing your post appear exactly the way you imagined it, and that comes from getting your Instagram image sizes exactly right. If you're pouring your energy into creating standout visuals for Instagram, you'll want them to look their absolute best when they go live. No strange cropping, no weird blur — just a clean, sha…

If you’re not an experienced content creator, it might be difficult to determine the best length for Instagram Reels to get the best results. And knowing the ideal number isn’t everything – your metrics might tell you something entirely different. In this article, we explore everything you need to know about the ideal length of Instagram Reels and other Instagram content – according to the team themselves. How long can Instagram Reels be?Instagram Reels can be anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes in length. Previously, Reels were capped at 90 seconds, until Instagram increased the length of video uploads in January 2025. "We’ve heard a lot of feedback from a lot of you c…

Instagram Stories are one of the first things I tap on when I open the app. I love seeing the more authentic, in-the-moment content creators and brands post there, rather than the polished Instagram feed. Many Instagrammers will spend hours creating beautiful Instagram Reels and photo posts, but ignore their Instagram Stories — and they’re missing a trick here. The Instagram Stories feed appears right at the top of your followers’ screens when they open the app. And if they’re anything like me, tapping on the lit-up profile pictures is tough not to do. "Stories is designed to really connect people with others that they know in real life, their friends," Instagram Head, …

If your Instagram profile looks a little different, you’re not alone. Instagram is rolling out a new 4:5 aspect ratio for post previews, replacing the classic 1:1 square grid. This means posts now appear taller, bringing the profile grid in line with the vertical-first format already used for feed posts and Reels. …

"What should I post this week?" If you've ever stared at your social media accounts asking yourself this question, you're not alone. Creating and finding enough content to maintain an active social media presence is one of the biggest challenges we hear from our customers. That's why we built Feeds — a new Buffer feature that brings fresh content from your favorite websites directly into your Buffer account. What are Feeds?Think of it as the bridge between the content you love reading and the content your audience will love seeing. You can add feeds from your favorite blogs and websites, and their latest posts will automatically appear in your feed collections, ready to b…

Staying consistent on social media is one of the best routes to success on any platform — though that's easier said than done. Which is why we wanted a way to make this easier (and more fun!). Enter: Streaks! What are streaks? Streaks is more than just a feature — it's your personal trainer for social media content creation. The concept is beautifully simple: share a post every week, and watch your streak count grow. Miss a week, and your streak resets, gently nudging you to stay on track. How streaks workWe've designed streaks with three key motivational elements: Weekly streak counter: A clear, visual representation of your posting consistency. Each consecutive week yo…

If you're a regular reader of our content, you know we spend a lot of time thinking about and researching the optimal posting times for every social platform. We've analyzed millions of posts to pinpoint the days and times that lead to the highest engagement rates on each platform. I'm excited to share that we've now incorporated our data and research directly into Buffer, so you can always post at the best time to post. 👏 Now in Buffer, you can set set a weekly posting goal for your social channels and Buffer will automatically add recommended posting times to your schedule. With this combination, you can stay consistent and be "in the feed" when it matters most. I’m an…

As a consultant, having a flow of high-quality clients is a must for steady, sustainable business growth (and making the rent every month). Thankfully, LinkedIn can make this a whole lot easier. While many lead generation channels need constant investment in ads or sales (things that solo consultants often don’t have the budget for), LinkedIn offers a way to bring new clients to you. In my three years as a consultant, I've found LinkedIn consistently delivers the highest quality leads with the least ongoing cost — once you understand how to use it effectively. In around that time, I’ve built up an audience of 14,000 followers on LinkedIn, which has been crucial in helping…

Think you know which social platform has the most engagement? The data might surprise you. Social media trends are always evolving, but lately, engagement has been shifting in unexpected ways. LinkedIn is seeing record-high interactions, Pinterest is quietly on the rise, and Threads — once a breakout success — is settling into more stable patterns. Meanwhile, Instagram’s engagement is lower than ever, but that doesn’t mean it’s losing relevance. If you’ve ever felt like social media engagement is unpredictable, you’re not alone. But while platforms and algorithms change, one thing remains the same: understanding the data gives you an edge. At Buffer, we analyzed millions …

LinkedIn used to be the place you'd dust off your resume and hunt for your next job. Today, that’s just a sliver of how people are using the social platform. A quick scroll now throws up founders building in public, creators sharing their wins, and hot takes on everything from positioning to pricing to — of course — AI. And while businesses are still hiring on LinkedIn, many are also pulling back the curtain to show what life inside their company really looks like. This evolution has opened up serious opportunities for both brands and creators. With over 1 billion users, LinkedIn has grown into a place where B2B professionals, creators, and businesses alike can grow thei…

A statement that definitely won’t surprise you: TikTok’s algorithm seems to prioritize videos that keep users on the platform for longer. But here’s a follow-up that might: That means videos longer than a minute tend to get more views and watch time than their shorter counterparts. When we set out to uncover what TikTok video length performed the best, I certainly didn’t expect it to be longer videos. Because when you think TikTok success, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Fast-paced, snappy, short and sweet videos, right? Turns out the TikTok algorithm might be flipping the script a little. According to our analysis of more than 1 million TikToks (1.1 million, t…

Meta has announced a new mobile video editing app called Edits, which will be available in app stores in February 2025. The announcement comes hot on the heels of ByteDance's CapCut temporary removal from major app stores as part of the TikTok ban, leaving creators scrambling for alternatives. The timing is no coincidence, of course. Meta has a history of making strategic moves to fill market gaps. Remember when they launched Instagram Reels right after TikTok's ban in India? Or how Threads emerged as X (formerly Twitter) was going through changes? Still, the news will be a welcome surprise to Instagram Reels creators — particularly since it looks like it’s going to be a …

With each new year, come new possibilities. You’ve probably already set goals to tap into that fresh energy that comes with a change of the calendar. If one of those goals is to grow on social media in 2025, you’re in the right place. We believe new habits take work — and content creation is no exception. It’s not as easy as picking up a phone, despite what some success stories might have you believe. You need systems and structures to build something sustainable. That’s where Creator Camp comes in. Creator Camp is a free 30-day community challenge to help you build consistent social media habits while developing your brand and connecting with fellow creators. We had over…

A few weeks ago, we completed our seventh profit share at Buffer, distributing $377,005 to 75 teammates. This represents more than a dollar amount. It reflects a real turnaround in our growth and in where we are headed. Just a few years ago, we were not in a position to do this at all. We went through two years of net losses, made hard decisions, and focused deeply on rebuilding a healthy, sustainable business. There were moments when profitability and profit sharing felt far away. So returning to this practice in 2025, with an average share of $5,095 per teammate, feels especially meaningful. It reflects the resilience of our team, the care people have put into their wor…

Great experiences rarely come from one big moment. They’re built through hundreds of small details that add up over time. That idea guided how we spent some time this year focusing on customer experience at Buffer. Customer Experience Week was our first dedicated, cross-functional sprint centered entirely on how Buffer feels to use. We took advantage of the natural slowdown at the end of the year to form small teams, each focused on one improvement they believed they could meaningfully ship in a short window. This wasn’t our first experiment with focused building time. We’ve run initiatives like Build Week in 2022 and 2023, where teams explored new ideas and shipped exper…

Delivering consistent mobile experiences is hard. Between iOS and Android's distinct design languages, different versions of native components, and Buffer's own design language, mobile apps can sometimes feel fragmented. Designers and developers end up speaking different languages, duplicating work, and shipping experiences that feel inconsistent across platforms. At Buffer, we really felt this friction. Our mobile design workflow wasn't as efficient as it could have been. We spent too much time reinventing the wheel, manually patching together screenshots, and playing catch-up with our web app counterpart. We knew we needed a better way. So we built one. Meet 🍿 Popcorn T…

I used to be a chronic overthinker, and it fueled my anxiety. Whenever I had to attend social gatherings, give a presentation, or even record a talking head video, my mind would spiral. I’d analyze every tiny detail until I was paralyzed, putting off the thing I intended to do. That started to change when I joined the global 100-Day Project this year — and chose posting on TikTok as my challenge. I took it on specifically to push back against the anxiety of showing up online. The more I showed up, the less I worried about being judged or coming off as “cringe.” Over time, I noticed a shift — I felt less anxious and stopped overthinking every move. Each post became a sma…

The remote work movement is a growing global phenomenon. 79 percent of knowledge workers worldwide said they work from home, and 80-90% of the U.S. workforce would like to work remotely at least part time. And while no two remote work situations are identical, there are some common themes when it comes to the tools and accessories for success. Of course, the most crucial element is wifi. But after that, there’s still plenty to consider: the desk setup, the commuter bag, the headphones, the travel accessories and more. And then, there are the more classic questions… Mac or PC? iPhone or Android? On Buffer’s global team of 80 folks, many team members have spent a great deal…

“If you want engagement, do engagement.” It’s probably the simplest social media advice I’ve ever seen (hat tip to Buffer’s Suzanne Kelly and Carolyn Kopprasch for coining that) — and it’s 100% accurate. Not just anecdotally, either. Replying to comments on your posts can significantly boost engagement across six major platforms, according to a massive analysis by Buffer’s data scientist, Julian Winternheimer. He pored over nearly 2 million posts from over 220,000 accounts on Threads, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, and Bluesky. His conclusion was a clear and consistent pattern: Posts where creators and brands reply to comments perform better almost every time. You want…

Ever noticed how, if you’re really on top of replying to your LinkedIn comments, your posts seem to perform better? I certainly have — and now I have some seriously impressive data to back my anecdotal evidence. Replying to comments on your LinkedIn posts can boost engagement by around 30%, according to a massive analysis by Buffer's data scientist, Julian Winternheimer. Julian analyzed 72,000 LinkedIn posts from nearly 25,000 accounts, and the pattern was clear: When creators engage back in their comments, their posts perform significantly better relative to their own baseline. This is one of my favorite data analyses we’ve done at Buffer, because it’s hard evidence that…