Tools for Marketing and Content Creation

Timing can make or break many things: Heating leftover pizza in the microwave, delivering a punchline for a joke, canceling a free trial — and it’s no less important when it comes to the best time to post on Twitter. OK, OK: Posting your tweets at the right time might not be as critical as, say, preventing soggy pizza, but it’s still an important consideration when it comes to your social media marketing strategy. I hear what you’re thinking: X no longer has a chronological feed — how can the time you post matter so much when X’s algorithm is in the driver’s seat? Posting times might not be as vital as they were in Twitter’s early days, but they still seem to affect conte…

Picture this: You’re demonstrating your products or services at a kiosk — its benefits, use cases, social proof, all that jazz. You know your offer is A+, but no one seems to notice. They’re just passing you by like you’re invisible. What are you doing wrong? How can you get your audience’s attention? This is precisely what social media feels like without engagement — like you’re shouting into a void. After all, engagement makes social media “social” in the first place. You want to reach the right people, spark conversations, and help each other. Which is why a social media engagement strategy can be incredibly helpful for achieving your social media goals. But with so ma…

It might not be the most obvious social media platform choice when it comes to building your brand as a creator or business. But, when used right, Pinterest could become the most effective platform in your social media toolbox. A bold statement, but I stand by it. That's because Pinterest has what many other social media sites don't — the ability to include links in every single post. Of course, there's more to Pinterest than just clickable posts. Unlike other social platforms, where content tends to disappear quickly, Pinterest acts more like a visual search engine — meaning the pins you post today can continue driving traffic weeks, months, or even years from now. Wi…

I’ve written plenty about how creators can monetize their social media — from general to platform-specific advice. But a few months ago, I decided it was time to stop just talking about it and actually put my theories to the test — starting with LinkedIn. Honestly, I had no clue if sponsored content would even work on LinkedIn — or if brands would care. So, I decided to find out publicly, and my community immediately responded with helpful feedback. However, I wouldn’t take any meaningful action until January of 2025, with what I called my #LinkedIncome Journey. I shared my goal to make $20,000 in 2025 from LinkedIn brand partnerships, and within two weeks, I got my first…

Podcasts have an undeniable allure for both their creators and fans. They hit all the right points – accessibility, depth, and variety – and have cemented their top content format status. As of 2024, over 5 million podcasts and 70 million episodes are available worldwide. With that many podcasts, you can be sure there’s a podcast for everyone. Whether you want a humorous retelling of a 20-something’s first time reading the Harry Potter series or your news fed directly to your ears, you likely have something you return to periodically. We selected the podcasts on this list so that whether you’re looking for advice to grow as a content creator or for the latest marketing…

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…

As a type A perfectionist, there are few things that give me more satisfaction than a good old spring clean. Come change of seasons, I’m always overcome with the urge to clear out drawers, declutter cupboards, and rearrange shelves. Doing it is a bit of a slog, of course, but that feeling you get after a good tidy-up? Worth every second I spend cursing over piles of old clothes on my bedroom floor. Now, wouldn’t it be neat if we could do the same for our online spaces? (You see where I’m going with this) As it happens, you can — on Instagram, at least. And, unlike spring cleaning, it won’t do a number on your back. In November 2024, the social media platform quietly launc…

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. …

When it comes to social media platforms, Facebook is as crowded as they come. The social network currently has a staggering 3 billion active users — so almost a third of the world population has a Facebook account they use regularly. Crowded as it may be, it’s still a powerful social media marketing platform for businesses and creators — if you have the right social media strategy in place. Part of that content strategy involves figuring out the best time to post on Facebook for maximum engagement. When it comes to the Facebook algorithm, engagement — reactions, comments, shares, and the like — is a strong signal that your content is valuable and that more people will enj…

Everyone talks about how different social media platforms are, and it’s not hard to see why. X is treated as the town square. Threads wants to be the friendly alternative. Bluesky champions decentralization and user control. But when we analyzed 1.7 million posts, a surprising pattern emerged: posts on X, Threads, and Bluesky get the same median engagement. In other words, whether you posted on X, Threads, or Bluesky, the median engagement lands at exactly four interactions. At first glance, this might make these platforms seem more alike than we’d expect. But a closer look tells a different story. Beyond that baseline, their engagement dynamics diverge dramatically, reve…

Ever wondered how to increase your reach and engagement and, in turn, grow your following on Instagram? Your Instagram captions could hold the key. Yes, Instagram is a visual social media platform, but your caption carries more weight in the Instagram algorithm than you think. A strong visual can catch users' attention, but carefully thought-out Instagram captions can do more heavy lifting when it comes to growing your following on Instagram. For another, your caption can be crucial in prompting engagement from your followers. For example, you could use those 3,000 characters to: Authentically connect with your followers in a meaningful, vulnerable caption.Ask them a que…

Social media marketing is using social media platforms — like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, etc. — to promote your business and build a community. It also includes paid social media marketing, like running ads and influencer marketing. But what’s the difference between a social media calendar and a social media marketing strategy? A content calendar is the place where you slot your social media posts. It shows what content will go live, when, and on which social media platform.A social media marketing strategy is the driving force behind why you post what you post and choose the social media platforms you’ve selected. It outlines your social media goals and the metric…

Remember the days when ‘likes’ were the gold star metric on Instagram? Now, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to the sheer volume of data available to help you measure the performance of your content. Impressions, views, comments, shares… It’s exciting — if a little overwhelming. Instagram analytics can be a goldmine of insights for you as a creator or small business owner. These numbers can shape your Instagram strategy, helping you pinpoint exactly what kind of content will boost your reach and help grow your audience. But how do you get these insights? How do you spot patterns, connect the dots, and use your performance numbers to inform your strategy? And — bes…

If newsletters have a million fans, then I am one of them. If newsletters have only one fan, then that is me. If newsletters have no fans, I am no longer on earth. Drama aside, email newsletters are such a fascinating medium because they come in so many shapes and sizes. With the right combination, you get a wide range of experts in your inbox periodically, sharing news, insights, and advice. There are a ton of great newsletters to choose from – almost too many. So for this list, we focused on newsletters relevant to our audience of social media managers, creators, and small businesses. With the newsletters on this list, you can stay on top of all things social media and …

At Buffer, we are always looking for ways to help our team work more effectively and creatively. Our latest investment in productivity is a company-wide AI Tools Stipend of $250 per teammate per year. This initiative reinforces our ongoing commitment to supporting innovation while giving our teammates the autonomy to choose tools that best fit their individual workflows. Here's why we're introducing this stipend and how we expect it to impact our work. The evolution of AI in our workflowsOver the past year, we've seen AI tools rapidly transform how many of us work. What started as occasional experimentation with tools like ChatGPT has evolved into more regular integration…

Substack has a reputation. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the best place to build a newsletter business or a platform that only works for big-name writers. The truth? It’s somewhere in between. While Substack has helped established journalists and authors go independent, it’s also a powerful tool for up-and-coming writers, niche creators, and anyone looking to build an audience without relying on social media algorithms. But is it the right platform for you? As a newsletter writer myself, I know how tough it can be to settle on a platform. There are plenty of great options, and choosing one feels like a commitment—especially if you’re planning to grow long-term. I …

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. …

So many factors contribute to the success of your videos on YouTube: your video title, thumbnail, YouTube SEO, and (perhaps most importantly) the quality of your content. It’s a lot to consider, and it’s often not easy to pinpoint what will resonate with your YouTube subscribers the most. But thanks to our analysis of more than 1 million videos shared on YouTube, we can offer a little more concrete guidance on at least one of those factors: the best time to post on YouTube. As we’ll get into later on, this is not a magic bullet for content success — the factors I mentioned above have an outsized impact. But compared to all the work that goes into the rest of these process…

Let's be reel real: no matter how well-thought-out your Instagram strategy is, you can never predict exactly how it’s going to perform. Your followers (and potential followers) are human, after all, and there is so much nuance in the way folks behave online. This is why I often advise aspiring Instagram creators and social media marketers to experiment. Try new things. Take risks. Don’t ignore those wild ideas. And, while this might not feel like much of a hurdle on platforms like TikTok, it’s a little easier said than done as an Instagrammer. The platform is a lot more focused on a curated, aesthetic feed than others. It’s also a place where followers are hard-won. Takin…

AI chatbots like ChatGPT have become ubiquitous and vital to how many knowledge workers, content creators, and business owners operate. But as powerful as ChatGPT is, it’s not the only player in the game — and sometimes, exploring alternatives can reveal new ways to streamline your workflow. That’s where this guide comes in. Instead of just rating chatbots based on generic criteria like accuracy, speed, and creativity, I wanted to see how they perform in a real-world content workflow. So, I paid for the subscriptions (courtesy of Buffer’s AI Tools stipend that will help me recoup those costs) and fed them data from my own social media, and gave a structured challenge to e…

Creating content on social media can be powerful, both for businesses and aspiring creators — but it can be tough to figure out where to begin. You’re hemming and hawing over which social media platforms you should be on, which content creation tools you should use, and building a social media content strategy. It’s all too…overwhelming. Where do you even start? As it happens, right here. We've created this guide to be a one-stop shop: your action plan to start, scale, and maintain your social media content creation. Content formats and the social platforms that support itBefore we get down to business, you must know which social media network supports what content form…

Conferences have been on my mind a lot lately—specifically, the ones that bring together the brightest marketers and creators in the industry. After sharing the list with my Marketing team, one thought echoed across the board: "Our readers would probably love this, too." So, why are conferences on our radar in the first place? Well, being a remote team has some huge perks—working with people from around the globe, for starters. But there's something about meeting face-to-face that simply can’t be replicated through a Zoom call. Plus, the right conference does two things at once: gives you access to top-tier education and opens doors to incredible networking opportunities.…

Picture this: Your boss is asking you about the business impact of your social media strategy. You know you’ve moved the needle — brought in website visitors, converted some of them, and nudged brand awareness. But how do you prove it? This is where a social media dashboard comes in handy. It’s a visual representation of the key metrics that prove the impact of your social media efforts. Your job as a social media manager is to convert the raw data of social media metrics into something easily understandable for you, your team, and your executives. But that’s not all it is. A social media marketing dashboard also helps in: Uncovering actionable insights about what kind of…

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…

Social media marketing has become a necessity in most businesses' toolkits today. And B2B companies are no different. If you’re saying, “But we sell to other businesses, not individuals, why do we need to practice social media marketing?” remember there’s still a human behind every B2B purchase, too. Numbers tell the same story: 75 percent of B2B buyers use social media to make buying decisions60 percent of B2B marketers say social media is the most effective channel for driving revenueThat said, there are key differences between how you formulate a B2B social media strategy and a B2C social media strategy. This article will highlight those and help you create a solid soc…