Buffer

Introducing more publishing options for Instagram 🎉 For every post you schedule to Instagram you can now choose between: ⚙️Automatic publishing Buffer will automatically post your content for you. OR 📲Notification publishing Buffer will tee up your post, send you a notification, and help you finish the post yourself on Instagram. Whatever you need to create the perfect piece of Instagram content, Buffer is here to help you stay organized and save time. 💫 #instagrammarketing #socialmediatips

If you’re on X/Twitter, how is your content performing? If you’re focusing on other platforms instead, which ones are they?

I'm on something of an AI tool testing frenzy. 😆 I've gone from being pretty AI-averse to digging into every possible application (the things I will do for content) of artificial intelligence. I'm still learning the art of the prompt, but I do think it's made me faster and more efficient. (A post for another time, maybe.) I've documented it all on the Buffer blog — you'll find articles there on the best AI writing, productivity, and video tools — but my deep dive into AI image generators has definitely been my favorite. It's also a great excuse for a LinkedIn carousel. 👀 So: Here's a bird's eye view of my favorite AI image tools. You'll find more on why these tools were my favorites, how to use them, pricing + (very important) using AI-generated images commercially via the full article, linked below. 1. Adobe Firefly → Can be used in Adobe products, but there's also a standalone online version. Generates exceptional quality AI images — people actually look like people — all 100% commercially safe. 2. Midjourney → Offers incredibly unique, photo-like AI images via Discord. Definitely top of this list in terms of quality and realism but bit of a learning curve. Still great value for money and loads of fun. 3. DALL-E Open Ai → Baked into ChatGPT, delivers consistently beautiful AI images (sometimes a little too beautiful?). 4. JumpStory - Images with Impact → Simple tool that generates high-quality, realistic images. Only trained on its own library and data, so images are “100% legal with licenses such as Public Domain and CC0.” 5. Canva → Easy to use and fun to play around with. Wide variety of art styles to choose from, which makes prompting really simple. Mild glitching on faces. 6. AI at Meta → Baked right into Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. A bit of trouble with photo realism and some weird faces, fingers, and screens. Can animate images into short videos and GIFS. 7. DreamStudio by Stability AI — Loads of control over output, slight learning curve. Delivers visually beautiful images, but some very glitchy teeth and fingers. P.S. While I've tested dozens of AI tools, I'm sure there are loads of great ones I haven't gotten to! If your tool of choice isn't on this list (and should be), let me know. P.P.S. Should I do a post on all the weird AI finger/teeth/screen glitches? 👀

Here are 7 AI video tools we recommend for creators and marketers ⬇️ Best beginner video editor with AI features: CapCut Best AI video tool for podcasters and interviewers: Descript Best experimental AI video generator: Runway Best AI video tool for marketers: Lumen5 Best AI video tool for using digital avatars: Synthesia Best intermediate video editor with AI features: Wondershare Filmora Best AI video tool for generating a starting point: InVideo AI Note: None of the options out there are going to eliminate the need for human creativity required for brainstorming, filming, and editing engaging video content, but they can certainly help lighten the load by simplifying some of the frustrating work that comes with creating videos, freeing you up to focus on the creative process. Check out our article for how to use these AI video tools, who they’re best for, and how much they cost:

We are experimenting with a few AI tools to scale our customer support experience at Buffer. We are currently using, experimenting with, and alpha testing: 🤖 AI-drafted replies—AI generates drafts based on the last 20,000 conversations in HelpScout and our Help Center. We decide whether to use the draft, edit it, or ignore it. We always double-check all information and links and add personal details to the customer message. We've found the drafts super helpful as an inbox co-pilot, and we're able to spend a bit more time on some of the more complex queries that come through. 🤖 AI bot - AI generates answers to preset questions in our web widget or questions the user asks using our external Help Center. We're only testing this experience internally, but we plan to roll it out to a smaller segment of users in the next few weeks. Today's customers expect the convenience of AI-powered assistance for really fast support. We don’t want to only meet but also exceed customers' expectations, offering great customer support responses within seconds through an AI bot. 🤖 AI for knowledge management and search —We're testing a tool called Albus, which allows the team to ask for help in Slack. Often, these questions concern recent bugs and workflows. We have not found these tools to work perfectly, but we're invested and excited to be part of the journey as AI keeps improving. Done well, I think AI is an awesome co-pilot for customer support to help deliver a stand-out customer support experience. How are you and your team using AI for customer support? I'd love to learn how other customer support teams use AI to create a great customer support experience!

Join us for an exclusive AMA with Simon Heaton, our Director of Growth Marketing! 💙 Simon has been at Buffer for over 2 years 🌍 He’s based in Ottawa, Canada ✨ Fun fact: Simon has caught the travel bug since joining Buffer and has visited more than 8 new countries in the last 2 years. Ask Simon anything about how he works or about his work! Recently, Simon has worked on: 📧 Launching our email preferences center 🪄 Working currently on the visual refresh of buffer. com 🧪 Ongoing A/B testing on buffer. com 👥 Hiring for our marketing automation manager 🚀 Growth modeling for Buffer 👇 How to Participate: In the comments below, drop any burning questions you have about his role in growth marketing, being a leader on the marketing team, or about working at Buffer and Simon will be replying to all of your comments! #AMA #growthmarketing #marketingstrategy

Nyshell Lawrence's philosophy is: If you have the capacity to expand your business, do so. It can bring in more revenue and brand awareness, giving you a better chance of gaining new customers. Nyshell turned her lifelong love of reading and desire to support Black women into Socialight Society, a local bookshop in Lansing, MI that caters to Black women who often lack representation in traditional bookstores. But, no matter how passionate she is about the books she curates or the Black authors she features, profit margins in bookselling are just too small these days to achieve success from that alone. Instead of giving up on her dream, she decided to build out multiple revenue streams like: -Selling gifts and custom merchandise -Opening their space for event rentals -Offering creative consultations Rather than taking away from her core business, these revenue streams have given Nyshell the freedom to run her bookstore the way she wants without having to stress as much about income. Read our blog to learn how she manages different revenue streams to support her business goals without taking away from her core mission (or burning herself out): #smallbusiness

Carousels have been popular on Instagram and LinkedIn and are now being prioritized by TikTok, making them a must-add to your content. In this article, we cover TikTok carousels – what they are, what they look like, and why you should make them: https://buff.ly/3JULmGB #socialmediastrategy #contentcreation

Employee advocacy is invaluable for your LinkedIn SEO content strategy. When employees actively (and willingly) create and share content around your company's industry and amplify the brand's message, it leads to benefits like: ↪️ Increased reach and visibility ↪️ Increased trust and credibility ↪️ Thought leadership ↪️ Employee engagement You have an arsenal in your employees – encourage them to share their own content, reshare company posts, and add personal insights in the comments. Highlight their stories to humanize your brand and strengthen the sense of community. Learn more about LinkedIn SEO and how you can use it to grow your brand's online presence in our latest article:

This went live on Buffer's IG and TikTok this week! 🥳 I adapted it from an article about how to create a media kit as an influencer on the Buffer blog, linked below for interest. The clip was really fun (and time-consuming 😅) to put together. I definitely feel like I'm getting better at video — I took in as many of the brilliant suggestions folks shared on my last post as I could — and I'm much happier with this one. It also feels a lot more authentic to me to have kept the minor bloopers in... curious to hear folks' thoughts on this. Is it distracting? Though, watching it back now, I realize it's still way too long. This could even have become two videos — one on the 'how to' and one on the influencer media kit examples. 🤔 If anyone has any other feedback on what I could do to improve, I'd love to hear it! I'm filming some clips this weekend. 🤓 Also, a huge thank you to: - Ayomi Samaraweera of Canopy - Ryan Prior of Modash - Amanjit Heer of We Heer You. - Andreea Moise of Hype Maven - Gigi Robinson, M.S., BFA - Aysia B Ross - Brenden Guy - Valerie Moore - Kambria Hall for sharing their expertise and media kits for this meaty article! ✨