Set it & Forget it? When to Schedule Social Media Posts

Engaging an audience online means creating social media content that is timely and informative, but it doesn’t always have to be spontaneous. But how much planning ahead is needed versus “in the moment” posts?

For Cincinnati-based breweries MadTree and Esoteric, both use a plan-ahead approach for the most part as they shared at the 2022 Ohio Craft Brewers Association Conference.

MadTree tries to fill about two-thirds of the month ahead of time, explained Marketing Manager Trevor Self.

“[But you go in] knowing that things are going to change on the drop of a dime,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that can be considered ‘timeless,’ so you may have the assets and stuff ready to go for that. But if something more important, more relevant, and timely, comes up, you can kind of push that off.”

Esoteric co-owner Marvin Abrinica said nearly 75% of his brewery’s posts are planned ahead and scheduled.

“There should be no surprises when it comes to marketing,” he said. “At the end of the day, you know what’s going to happen in the taproom each week. You should have this on the schedule. Know what holidays are coming up, what games are coming up. You should know all those things in advance.

“The more prepared you are for it, then there’s more reason to play more jazz and improv when you can. You want to be able to riff on some things that’s happening out there … whatever the hell is out there.”

Abrinica said the Esoteric plan is for posts to be structured around three circles: in-house, community, and improv.

“We’re programming stuff for the neighborhood, stuff that we’re going to do in our community, in our circle, like a run club or happy hours,” he said. “Then there’s diverse stuff that’s happening, like Black History Month. We know that that’s something we can plan for.

“There are different things that are kind of relevant in pop culture that you want to jump on. But all the basic building blocks, it’s really about just planning it.”

Self agreed in leaving room for when something better comes along from what is planned.

“[If there] is something that you got an opportunity to pounce on and attach to branding and keep telling your story,” then do it he said.

Photo courtesy Esoteric

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