In the beginning, there was only manual posting.
Then there came scheduled posting – manual with a temporal twist.
And now, in addition to manual and scheduled posting, comes smart scheduling.
The EveryoneSocial Smart Scheduler is now active for all Enterprise tier users!
Consistent with the core functionality of this new feature, you really don’t need to read how to use it (Smart Scheduler has your back regardless!) If you’re curious, however, read on as I go over why we developed this valuable new tool, how it works, and what it all means for achieving your social goals moving forward.
But first, a preamble reference to the pre-eminent computer science and lifestyle author Cal Newport on his definition of “digital minimalism.” 👇
A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else. (Digital Minimalism, 28)
In other words, get the most out of your engagement on social media after having set boundaries on how much time you spend upfront. Enjoy the benefits that social networking has to offer, without derailing your day into frivolous scrolling.
While we always like to say: you get out of it what you put in, this is a very “maximalist” approach, and certainly yields returns, but at what cost to your schedule and eyeballs?
We all have work to do and lives to live, and so EveryoneSocial ensures you get the most out of any social engagement. This is the best, and only, way to leverage social media in the workplace.
Like a Social Squire, Now at Your Service!
Or maybe content caddie is a better alliterative metaphor — either way, Smart Scheduler tees up shares for your review when life gets in the way of maintaining a regular social media routine.
As the leader in employee advocacy, EveryoneSocial helps employees and companies get the most out of their social networks. Doing so requires setting goals, leveraging tactical tools like Smart Scheduler, and, if Cal Newport is any indication, a little philosophy (of social optimization) helps as well!
But what happens when you miss out on a piece of impactful company content that could have easily been shared? Missed opportunities like this are nothing to lose sleep over, but they’re also easy wins to always engage with.
That’s where Smart Scheduler comes in — assisting the digital minimalists amongst us to share top-performing content, even if such light-touch employees are “AFK BRB” (famous last acronyms).🚶💻
Smart Scheduler ensures that busy employees (executives, salespeople, maybe you?) stay active and sharing great content, so you can maintain program engagement and stay focused on what matters.
Consistent with our general best practices for getting the most out of employee advocacy, spending just ten minutes on EveryoneSocial per week can drastically increase your program ROI.
But as we’ve always said, it’s no one’s job to do employee advocacy — we all have to want to do it. If an activated employee has never shared at all, however, sometimes all they need is an initial assist, which Smart Scheduler provides.
No matter what, Smart Scheduler is here to ensure consistent sharing of content that generates engagements and clicks doesn’t get in the way of the million other things your people need to be doing on a weekly basis.
Speaking of which, let’s go over how Smart Scheduler actually works!
So What Makes This Scheduler So Smart Anyway?
The new EveryoneSocial Smart Scheduler looks for the best piece of content for users to share who haven’t recently shared anything to their connected social networks.
Sounds straightforward enough, so why isn’t this feature just called Simple Scheduler? Not a bad question, but here’s where it gets intelligent. 👇
Enabled for all authenticated networks (like LinkedIn, Twitter, etc), Smart Scheduler then looks for a shareable post in your EveryoneSocial timeline. Whichever post that has received the most external engagements will be considered for sharing.
But not so quick! The post must also come from a group that the user is following. Furthermore, the post must contain share copy, still be within any expiration date, and not be something the user has already shared.
That’s a lot of conditions. 😤 But rest assured, in any given week, multiple options should be available for users taking advantage of Smart Scheduler.
Once an optimal piece of content has been selected according to all that logic, Smart Scheduler notifies the user that it has been scheduled to be shared to their selected networks at 9 a.m. (in their timezone) within the next three workdays.
By following up on the notification link (via email or push) sent by Smart Scheduler, users can manage the scheduled share before it sends out, adjusting the share copy or canceling the share altogether.
Just like manually scheduled posts, upcoming shares prepared by Smart Scheduler will be under your Activity page, and under the Scheduled Tab specifically.
What Does It All Mean?
Employee advocacy provides real value, but it’s important to remember that humans — and only humans — drive that ROI. This is the whole point really, and it’s easy to forget, but authentic content requires living one’s life to begin with.
Smart Scheduler ensures that your EveryoneSocial program consistently provides value for your company even when employees forget to share, go on vacation, or are out sick, or simply have other stuff going on.
“Part of what makes this philosophy so effective is that the very act of being selective about your tools will bring you satisfaction, typically much more than what is lost from the tools you decide to avoid.” (Digital Minimalism, 56)
☝️ Said differently: A little goes a long way, especially when scaled across the entire company.
Another way to look at the Smart Scheduler is that the more employees you can get sharing on a regular basis, no matter how light a touch, the greater your employer brand will shine. The momentum of any employee advocacy program accelerates as it gains personnel mass.
What’s essential is turning activated employees into engaging employees. Consider listening to this conversation about the 90-9-1 rule (or “1-9-90 rule”) for more information on why turning lurkers into engaging users, and engaging users into creators makes a world of a difference.
Not to mention, all other use cases for employee advocacy will benefit from Smart Scheduler, including sales social enablement, executive social presence, personal brand building, and many others.
End of the day, living your life: family, neighbors, ups and downs — all comes before content. Not only are these categories of experience more important, they’re what prompt the creation of relevant and relatable content.
Whenever you have to duck out and need to leave social media for a moment, and for the idle users alike — Smart Scheduler will ensure that both your personal and company social presence don’t go cold.
If you’d like to hear more about how Smart Scheduler can help you achieve real ROI and take your employee advocacy program to the next level, check out our Enterprise Plan and schedule a call.
We’re excited to help you raise the bar at both ends (bottom and top) to get the most out of your employees’ social reach — minimalists and maximalists alike! Drop us a line and let’s talk more.
