When I do social media training with businesses I never leave without having set them up on an online scheduler and, without fail, it positively affects their ability to produce good quality online content.
The benefits of using a scheduler include saving time, enabling better targeting and making it easier to implement a well-planned content calendar. An online scheduler will also allow you to view all of your online profiles on one dashboard, which makes for easier measurement of analytics.
And they’re not the only reasons why you should be using one…
LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE
Monitor your brand, your competition, and what your customers are saying about you on social media.
ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS
Never miss an opportunity to connect with your audience or join conversations that are important to your brand.
MEASURE YOUR SOCIAL ROI 
Make smarter, data-driven social media marketing decisions with confidence, so you can grow your business and your revenue.
My favourite scheduler is Hootsuite which supports social network integrations 
for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Blogger, and much more. It also has some great downloads such as:
- Hootlet – ‘Find & Share Anywhere’. Quickly and easily share content to your social networks from anywhere on the web
- Hootsuite App – Free mobile app to schedule, publish, and monitor conversations
- Hootsuite App Directory – Collection of extensions and applications business professionals can add to their Hootsuite dashboard to create a customised experience eg. Dropbox, Gmail, Google Drive, Mailchimp, Review Tracker, Survey Monkey, Vimeo.
While Hootsuite works for me, there are other options out there too such as Everypost, Buffer and Social Oomph. Several custom pricing plans are available, and each can be tested out through a free trial period.
Conclusion
Each social media scheduler has advantages and special features, but it all comes down to what you personally prefer. Whichever one you choose, just make sure your business is using one. You’ll reap the benefits, I promise!
Karen Twomey is a freelance PR & Social Media Consultant who specialises in online campaigns and social media training. For further details check out her website www.communicationshub.ie