To Schedule Or Not To Schedule
Darren Westall
August 18, 2022
Marketing
Worried about third-party marketing automation software tanking your reach? Don’t worry – scheduling tools actually help, not hinder.
A common myth when it comes to posting on social media is that the convenience of scheduling tools comes at the expense of low engagement. Actually, 77% of marketers using automation report an increase in digital engagement. No matter how or when it’s posted, successful content comes down to quality, consistent posting that fits with the preferences of the LinkedIn algorithm.
What Does LinkedIn Think Of Scheduled Content?
LinkedIn doesn’t treat scheduled content any differently than content posted via the platform.
LinkedIn favours organic posts – AKA unpaid social content shared by users to their networks. This kind of content relies on LinkedIn’s algorithm for success rather than targetted audience ads. There’s a general misconception that introducing a scheduling tool into the equation makes a post less organic, less likely to be interacted with, and therefore less likely to be successful…
Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, with Paiger, scheduled content performs better than manual posting.
John Espirian conducted a test on the performance of his posts, comparing manual publishing vs. Paiger’s social scheduler. Posts via Paiger received a 69.2% increase in views, a 29.2% increase in reactions, and a 29% increase in comments compared to native posting direct on LinkedIn.
Sound too good to be true? Let’s break down some examples of posts with high engagement on LinkedIn that were scheduled in advance.
Marketing Focused Post
Short, sweet, scheduled. Ella’s marketing post about an innovative marketing campaign was written ahead of time and published via Paiger’s social scheduler.
Off-the-cuff posting has its limits if rushed. But your network wants to hear what you have to say about the things you are genuinely interested in. We recommend scheduling a reactive post at peak times for the algorithm, to maximise the post’s performance.
This post wasn’t held back by scheduling. Instead, scheduling allowed for better planning, whilst maximising the quality organic content LinkedIn loves.
Personal Style Post
LinkedIn isn’t Facebook, but it is still a social network.
Jenny’s personal post about taking charge of and following dream career goals, was scheduled in advance and has all the hallmarks of a quality post consistent with Jenny’s personal brand and relevant to her network:
- Bite-sized text formatting
- Emojis (did you know that posts with emojis see a 57% increase in reactions?)
- An interesting story
- An image (posts with images are 98% more likely to receive comments)
- A personal opinion
It goes to show that quality and quantity mixed together, along with relevant formatting, is the perfect recipe for a high-performing relatable LinkedIn post, made easier via automation.
Hot Topic Post
Having your finger on the pulse can actually be done in advance, to your benefit.
When it comes to predicting trends, reactions, and relevant talking points, it pays to be prepared. Emily’s hot topic post, scheduled via Paiger, about marketing campaigns surrounding the Lionesses’ 2022 Women’s Euros victory is the perfect example.
The post was boosted by an optimised LinkedIn post structure:
- Short lines
- Relevant hashtags (the optimal number is 3-5)
- Emojis
- Tagging (make sure whoever you tag will interact back to be boosted 10-15%)
- A personal opinion
Despite being a hot topic subject, and therefore difficult to prepare in advance, current events can be magnified via scheduling tools. Instead of immediately posting live, schedule a few hours or a day later for an algorithmically optimised time.
As a guide, the best times to post on LinkedIn are 8am-11am, but this may slightly differ depending on your brand, network, and target audience. This means you can strike while the iron is hot, whilst enjoying the advantages of a scheduler.
But Remember - Don’t Post And Ghost
These three posts all have different tones, target audiences, and goals, and were all scheduled in advance – what unites them is having quality content and formatting. Yet, there’s one more crucial element to successful content: engaging with your network.
Low engagement actually comes from your actions after a post or lack thereof. Don’t post and ghost. If you have a high-quality post that works with the favoured formatting of the LinkedIn algorithm, you’re only halfway there. Posts that are well-structured, include relevant hashtags and are filled with plenty of interesting info still need your network to interact with you, and you to actively interact with your network back via likes/reactions, comments, and tagging.
There’s power in the comments especially. It pays to communicate back and forth with your network. A comment is 12x more powerful than a like.
This need for engagement and active monitoring is especially important within the first 90 minutes, of the post being live. Scheduling helps you prepare in advance in various ways, whether it’s to schedule for a time you know you’ll be free to interact or to prepare post likes and comments in advance (a feature Paiger offers).
Consistency is key – posting regularly is harder without a scheduler, but posting irregularly and randomly will cause the algorithm to downgrade your content.
To sum up, scheduling tools themselves have little impact on your reach. However, using them to your advantage, with quality content and active engagement, can still help you to prioritise consistency and boost your engagement. Using Paiger can increase your engagement by 58.2% via comments and reactions.
Get in touch
Here at Paiger, we’re experts at all things algorithm and personal branding. Not just a regular social scheduling tool, we can help you do it all – from content suggestions and scheduling to researching hashtags and tagging. All with an automated assistant to help you grow your network. Book a demo with us today.
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