Social scheduling for marketing agencies with Buffer

Posting by hand to every client channel takes a slice of every day. If an agency runs 10 channels for local clients, posts 3 times a week on each and spends 5 minutes a post, that's 150 minutes a week, about 645 minutes (10.8 hours) a month.

Buffer lets you queue and schedule posts to connected channels, and its AI Assistant, which the pricing page lists on every plan including Free, refines and repurposes your content. Write the week's posts for a client in one sitting, use the assistant to adapt the wording for each channel, schedule them and move on. The Free plan allows 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel, so an agency with 10 channels needs a paid plan. Essentials allows 1 user, so a team that shares one account needs Team, which has unlimited users.

A small social media agency in Exeter manages 10 channels across 5 local clients. One social manager schedules about 30 posts a week, 3 per channel.

About 6.5 hours a month saved (387 minutes), worth about £194 at £30 an hour, if the 2-minute figure holds (an assumption to test). Cost: Essentials is $5 (about £4) per channel a month on yearly billing, so 10 channels is $50, about £38 a month ($600 billed yearly), for one user. If several staff need to post, Team is $10 (about £8) per channel, so $100, about £75 a month. Prices are in dollars and no monthly-billing price is shown on the page, so month-to-month will cost more.

1. 1Connect one client's channels on the Free plan and schedule a week of posts to see how it works.
2. 2Count your channels and your users, then choose Essentials (1 user) or Team (unlimited users); the price is per channel.
3. 3Write a week of posts per client, use the AI Assistant to adapt the wording to each channel, and edit every post yourself.
4. 4Send the schedule to each client for approval before posts go live.
5. 5Add a note on any post that needs an ad or sponsored disclosure, and check it before it is scheduled.

• AI-adapted captions can add claims the client has not made or cannot substantiate. A person checks every post against the client's brief and the CAP Code.
• Paid partnerships and influencer posts need clear disclosure under advertising rules. Don't rely on a scheduler to add it.
• The Free plan is limited to 3 channels, so 10 channels need a paid plan (scheduled-post slots free up once posts publish), and Essentials is for 1 user.
• Yearly billing is paid up front per channel. Dropping a client mid-year may not refund the channel, so check terms before you buy.