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Simple answer. Yes it can. Many companies use popular scheduling tools like HootSuite and Sprout Social and that is fine as long as an actual person is there to follow-up on those postings and engagement. Engagement is the number one rule to have a successful social media platform. If a company just scheduled their posts and never replied or acknowledged their fans, people would start turning away from that page.

Here are some key points you do NOT want to do with your scheduling:

  1. Schedule posts the same time everyday. Although you may think followers will never notice the times your posts are released, some may realize it. Mix up the times from morning to afternoon. There are all types of different people and some may like to check social media after lunch as opposed to when they arrive in the office.
  2. Schedule posts weeks in advance. This is okay if you have an event that is planned for the future and you want to take a few days before to promote it. However, if you are casually scheduling posts and forget what you schedule, that could result in a situation. For example, you own an ice cream shop with a patio and you schedule two weeks in advance, “what a great day for some peanut butter chip ice cream on our patio.” What happens on that day when the post is released and it’s lightening and thundering out? Only schedule big events that a very unlikely to change.
  3. Do not ask a question to your followers and then not follow up. If someone asks a question in response, it will look bad on the brand if there is not a response. If you schedule a question, make sure you check that post in a few hours.

These issues can be resolved by using your smartphone or tablet to check social media while you’re on the go. Make sure the articles you post are not time sensitive and when posted, they are still relevant. Also, take time to answer questions and concerns that are posted on your page. You do not want to look like a company that is ignoring potential customers.

Monitoring a social media page is not something just anyone can do. You have to find the voice, the right content and the right audience. There is a lot of research that goes into creating a social media plan and Baker Creative is here to help.