A Crash Course in Building Custom Audiences for Your Social Media Ads by The Science of Social Media

'Bluesky Wants to Help Creators Make Money' — COO Rose Wang: Introducing Buffer Chat

Buffer Chat is Buffer's brand-new show — get a sneak peek of what to expect in this bonus episode.

Find all episodes of Buffer Chat here →

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Bluesky wants to be a new home for creators, on their terms. 🦋

In this episode of Buffer Chat, host Kirsti Lang sits down with Rose Wang, COO of Bluesky, to explore the platform that’s shaking up social media as we know it.

Rose breaks down how Bluesky is different, from empowering users with custom feeds to ensuring creators can truly own their audience and content.

She also touches on the platform's plans for subscriptions and how a premium account might work.

Whether you’re curious about decentralized platforms or looking for ways to grow your personal brand, this episode offers really helpful guidance for both beginners and intermediate Bluesky users.

What you’ll learn:

🌀 How Bluesky’s decentralized model works and why it’s a game-changer for creators.

✨ The power of custom feeds, moderation tools, and Starter Packs to create your ideal online community.

🎨 Why Bluesky is a must for creators — from better organic reach to the promise of monetization

💸 How Bluesky's upcoming subscription model is going to work🏗️ Features coming to Bluesky in 2025

--🦋 Follow Rose on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rose.bsky.team--

🌟 Ready to explore Bluesky? Here are some more resources that could help:

► All of Bluesky’s Features (So Far) and How to Use Them: https://buffer.com/resources/bluesky-features

► 7 Bluesky Content Ideas and Tips for Your Next Post: https://buffer.com/resources/bluesky-content-ideas

► The Significance of Bluesky and Decentralized Social Media: https://buffer.com/resources/bluesky-decentralized-

-🔔 Subscribe to Buffer for more social media tips, tricks, and resources for creators, small businesses, and social media managers.► Get started with Buffer for FREE: https://buffer.com► Join the Buffer community: https://buffer.com/community-- 👀 Find us on socialLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bufferappInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bufferThreads: https://www.threads.net/@bufferBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/buffer.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bufferappFacebook: https://facebook.com/bufferappMastodon: https://mastodon.world/@buffer

From Zero to 30K YouTube Subscribers in Six Months

Ready to unlock the secrets to YouTube growth? In this episode, we delve into the world of YouTube and share invaluable tips from YouTube creator Paul O'Malley. Learn how to harness the power of short-form content, optimize your posting schedule, and make the most of Buffer's new scheduling feature for YouTube Shorts. With Paul's expert guidance, we'll uncover the strategies you need to expand your audience, captivate viewers, and skyrocket your success on the platform.

Cheers, Phill!

Shownotes:

Learn more about Buffer + YouTube: https://buffer.com/youtube
Paul’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@paulomalley
Paul’s Mastodon account: https://universeodon.com/@paulomalley

Why you shouldn't add links to your social posts

Here’s a question that puzzles most social media users …

Why do some of my posts get more views than others?

It’s a difficult question to answer. Each social network has a different algorithm. Each algorithm promotes and demotes posts in their own unique way. We’ve spent months analyzing reach and have attempted to determine why some posts (with links) get less views than others. Tune in to hear why.

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you listen to the show).

Create your Start Page today: Buffer.com/start

- Phill

Shownotes:

It’s Here… AI for Social Media Scheduling

Hello there! Today, we're talking about the brand new Buffer AI Assistant, a game-changer in the world of social media management. With the ability to suggest post ideas, write posts for you, optimize, shorten, or even translate your content, the AI Assistant is like having a virtual marketing assistant at your fingertips. Don't worry, it's not a replacement for creators, it's designed to help you tweak, improve, and optimize your work. Discover how the AI Assistant can help you save time, grow your followers, and create engaging, click-worthy posts for any channel. Join us for a beginner's guide to using AI in social media management!

P.S. This description was written entirely by Buffer’s AI Assistant!

Shownotes:

Try Buffer’s AI Assistant: https://publish.buffer.com/content/new
Learn more about Buffer’s AI Assistant https://buffer.com/ai-assistant/
Umber’s blog about AI: https://buffer.com/resources/conflicted-ai-writer/
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://buffer.com/newsletter
Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/EgGrmX6NTu

A Beginner's Guide to Mastodon

Are you tired of feeling like just another number on centralized social media platforms? Look no further than Mastodon, the decentralized, open-source alternative to mainstream networks. In this episode, we dive into what Mastodon is, how it differs from traditional social media, and how to get started on the platform. From building a community to customizing your experience, we'll cover everything you need to know to join the Mastodon movement and take control of your online presence.

- Phill

Shownotes:

6 Ways AI Can Support Content Creators

Hello there! As audiences demand more content across different platforms, the number of content creators is growing to meet the demand. But it’s hard to keep up the pace of consistent and quality publishing without the support of a team. Content creators need all the help they can get – and they can find it in artificial intelligence, or AI. In today’s episode, we will explore six ways in which AI already supports content creation and which tools are leading the charge.

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you listen to the show).

- Phill

Shownotes:

7 Important Skills You Need to Be a Successful Social Media Marketer (Repeat)

A decade ago, the role of a social media manager might not have even existed. Today, however, almost every company is involved in social media one way or another.

But what does it take to be a great social media manager? What are the skills to master in order to be effective?

In this episode, we'll cover the primary skills that we employ for social media here at Buffer, plus a few skills we’ve noticed in social media managers around the web. A social media manager has a toolbox filled to the brim; come peek inside the toolbox with us and see what we find!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to Build Your Personal Brand: Top Tips for 2023

Hello there! Personal branding has become an increasingly important aspect of successful career growth and social media is the tool everyone’s using to achieve that growth. On today’s episode we explore the future of personal branding as told by experts interviewed for our Social Proof series and in-house predictions.

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you listen to the show).

- Phill

Shownotes:

Predictions about the future of personal branding: https://buffer.com/resources/personal-branding-predictions/

Social Proof content at: https://buffer.com/resources/social-proof-series/

12 trends that will shape our careers in 2023: https://junglegym.substack.com/p/12-trends-that-will-shape-our-careers#%C2%A7building-identity-beyond-company

Most popular video content type worldwide in 2nd quarter 2022, by weekly usage reach: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254810/top-video-content-type-by-global-reach/

Surviving the Holidays as a Small Business Owner

Today we'll be discussing how to set boundaries during the holiday season. The holidays are supposed to be a time for rest and relaxation, but for many small business owners, it can be a hectic and stressful time. We'll be sharing tips and strategies for setting boundaries with family, friends, and clients to ensure that you're able to enjoy the season while still taking care of your business. Tune in to learn how to make the most of the holiday season without burning out.

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you listen to the show).

- Phill

Shownotes:

Study: Individuals who work over 61 hours a week have an increased risk of developing high systolic blood pressure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6617405/

The Twitter Upheaval and What it Means for Marketers

Hello there! On today’s episode we dive into what’s happening at Twitter and how it will impact marketers. We also share some advice for getting more engagement on Twitter, featuring a brand new Buffer feature, Twitter Threads scheduling. Learn more about threads scheduling at https://buffer.com/twitter.

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you listen to the show). ️️️️

- Phill

Shownotes:

How social media managers are coping with the Twitter debacle

https://digiday.com/media/how-social-media-managers-are-coping-with-the-twitter-debacle/

In less than a month, Elon Musk has driven away half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers

https://www.mediamatters.org/elon-musk/less-month-elon-musk-has-driven-away-half-twitters-top-100-advertisers

I told my team to pause our $750K/month Twitter ads budget last week

https://www.teamblind.com/post/i-told-my-team-to-pause-our-750kmonth-twitter-ads-budget-last-week-4dnbo1Ft

Mastodon hits 1m monthly active users

https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/109300967725833789

7 Reasons to Use Emoticons in Your Writing and Social Media, According to Science

https://buffer.com/resources/7-reasons-use-emoticons-writing-social-media-according-science/

5 Social Media Content Ideas for 2023

Oh hi there, it’s been a while! We’re experimenting with kicking off the Science of Social Media podcast again! On today’s episode we take a look back at our best performing social media posts of 2022 and share what worked! We’ll also celebrate the launch of our latest Buffer feature, Ideas, a tool to help you save, store, and action all your best ideas. Head here to learn more: https://buffer.com/ideas

I hope you enjoy the episode! We’re testing the waters to see if we can get this show back up and running, so make sure you give us a shout on social media if you want to hear more episodes. As always we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ️️

- Phill

Shownotes:

Buffer’s best performing Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/108311429241313/posts/7204551369617248

One of Buffer’s best performing LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6943563156040425472/

Buffer’s best performing Twitter post: https://twitter.com/buffer/status/1579094350079762432

Buffer’s best performing Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cf63xsQAxfG/

Buffer’s best performing TikTok post: https://www.tiktok.com/@bufferapp/video/7099110112547147054?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to Build an Audience on Twitter (with Matthew Kobach)

Welcome to episode 200 of The Science of Social Media! Thanks to each and every one of you for tuning in to the show and joining us on this journey.

Today we're focusing on how you can build an audience on Twitter.

Twitter has over 321 million monthly active users, and it’s the perfect platform to build an audience — either for your personal brand or on behalf of your company. But how do you actually get people to follow your account, and engage with the content you share?

To dig into all-things Twitter growth, we're joined by Matthew Kobach. Since early 2019, Matthew has built an audience of over 85,000 followers on his personal Twitter account and in just a couple of months, he's helped grow Fast's Twitter following to over 20,000.

I hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Allyship and Anti-Racism on Social Media

Today’s episode is a little different from usual. In this episode, we’re focusing on allyship and anti-racism on social media.

Back in June, Buffer made a commitment to anti-racism work as an organization, as did many other brands worldwide.

And we want to regularly focus on this topic here on The Science of Social Media to keep ourselves accountable and also help others to continue to move forward and stand up to racial injustice and fight for equality for all.

In this episode, we're joined by Buffer teammates Keisha Washington and Katie Gilmur.

We hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Heather-Mae

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

No Budget, No Problem: Shifting Social Media Strategy in the Face of COVID-19

As Q4 approaches, budgets are top of mind for many of us.

And if you’re feeling worried about managing budgets, and hitting your goals, you’re not alone — a recent study on the marketing impact of COVID-19 from LinkedIn found that budget cuts are the top concern and the biggest challenge for marketers right now.

In this episode, we're joined by Buffer's VP of Marketing Kevan Lee. Kevan shares how COVID-19 has impacted marketing budgets and how brands have shifted social strategies to focus more on organic growth due to smaller budgets for paid.

I hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How Local Businesses Can Crush It On Social (And Keep Customers Coming Back... Without Spending a Dime)

As of July 2020, more than half of all the people on Earth use social media.

With so much of the world’s population using social channels — and more joining for the first time each day — social media offers incredible opportunities to connect with your customers, no matter your business size.

And in this episode, we’re going to focus in on exactly how local businesses can get most out of social media. We'll discuss why social media is important for local businesses, share examples of local brands doing great things online, and discuss some ways businesses can build their audience and connect their online and offline customer experiences.

Here are a few useful links from the show:

I hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Measuring Social Media Success Using Data

The thing we love most at Buffer is helping you succeed at social media. But I’m sure every social media manager has at some point asked themselves the question… "what exactly does success look like?"

In this episode, we’re going to help you to define what success might look like for your business and specifically how you can use data to measure success, thanks to some expert advice from Buffer's Alfred Lua.

I hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to Sell More Online

According to data from Shopify, new stores created online grew 62 percent between March 13th to April 24th, 2020.

With so many businesses moving from brick-and-mortar to online, and many people embracing their inner entrepreneur and starting completely new businesses, we’ve seen a ton of people asking questions around how to sell online.

In this episode, we're joined by Simon Heaton, Demand Gen Lead at Shopify, who will be sharing five tips to help you to sell more online. Whether you’re new to eCommerce, an experienced seller or just looking to learn the best tactics to sell your products or services online, Simon’s talk will have something to help you.

We hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Inside Buffer's Formula for Customer Engagement on Social Media

As people have been spending more time and home, screentime and time on social channels have also gone up. This has led to big jumps in engagement for many brands. And though a rise in engagement is great for marketers, it can also bring unexpected challenges and more demand for support.

With many brands not expecting such a sudden increase in messages on social, we spoke with Buffer's customer advocacy lead Darcy Peters to learn how we manage social engagement and support in busy times.

In this episode, you'll learn how to deal with more questions and comments, and keep response times down, as well as how to set up your team for success.

We hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to Stay on Top of an Ever-Changing Industry in 30-Minutes Per Day

Does this sound familiar: One minute your social strategy is flying... the next, numbers are down, and it's hard to pinpoint exactly why. We're sure every social media marketer can relate to this in one way or another. But no need to worry. Today, we're opening up about how we stay on top of the social media industry here at Buffer.

In this episode, we'll be sharing how to stay one step ahead with your social media strategies without spending all day chasing the latest news, platform updates, and feature launches.

Join us as Buffer's Sophie Gil walks us through her day-to-day workflows and how she stays keeps up-to-date on the industry in just 30-minutes each day.

We hope you enjoy the episode! And if you do, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Adapt and Thrive — Social Media Advice to Get You Through (Part Two)

This week we’re jumping back into our Buffer Session on how to adapt your social media strategy and thrive in this changing times.

(If you didn’t catch part one, we released that last week. Feel free to jump back and start there.)

In part two, Buffer’s Kevan Lee and Darcy Peters are again joined by Janet Mesh CEO at Aimtal. In this episode, we join the session as they begin to tackle audience questions on a host of social media marketing topics from paid advertising and how to adjust budgets, to what’s working on social video and marketing with empathy.

Check out the full session here: https://lp.buffer.com/social-media-sessions

We hope you enjoy the episode! If you like our new format, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Adapt and Thrive — Social Media Advice to Get You Through (Part One)

Now more than ever social media may be one of your most important channels for connecting with your audience and your customers.

The tricky part? Social media strategies have changed just as fast as everything else!

This past week we held our first Social Media Sessions event. During the session, Kevan Lee, Buffer’s VP of marketing, was joined by our Customer Advocacy Lead Darcy Peters and Janet Mesh CEO at Aimtal to answer a bunch of social media marketing questions.

In today's epsiode, we're bringing you some of the key insights and takeaways from Kevan, Darcy, and Janet. The session covered topics like engagement, messaging, and creating content in the moment.

Check out the full session here: https://lp.buffer.com/social-media-sessions

Hope you enjoy the episode! If you like our new format, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Why Brands Shouldn't Overlook Pinterest (Plus 3 Strategies You Can Use Today)

When most people think of social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter — maybe even TikTok — tend to be top-of-mind. But today we're sharing why you should be thinking about Pinterest and how it could fit with your social strategies.

Occasional Science of Social Media co-host and Buffer’s head of PR Hailley Griffis takes a deep dive into data and tactics shared with us by the Pinterest team. For example, did you know that 90 percent of weekly Pinners use Pinterest to make purchase decisions?

Listen to this episode for a ton of actionable data and ideas on how your brand can utilize the power of Pinterest.

I hope you enjoy the episode! If you like our new format, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

What’s Next for Instagram? New Strategies to Make Your Brand Stand Out

"I feel like I’m getting tired of Instagram and I get the feeling other people are too."

This week, we speak with Buffer’s head of content Ash Read to discuss the future of Instagram. Ash shares a few unconventional opportunities for brands to stand out on the platform and how he sees Instagram marketing evolving. We also discuss why brands should be focused on community building above all else, and the one aspect of marketing that will never change... storytelling.

Hope you enjoy the episode! If you like our new format, we'd really appreciate a review and five stars on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to the show). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How a VP of Marketing Looks at Social Media Metrics

What metrics really matter to social media marketers and marketing leaders?

We’re really excited to share our new podcast format with you all today. Every week, the Buffer team (and occasional special guests) will be answering your biggest social media marketing questions.

This week, we speak with Buffer’s VP of marketing Kevan Lee, to discuss the metrics that really matter for social media marketers and how Kevan looks at challenges such as inflated video view counts and finding reliable data sources.

Hope you enjoy the episode!

- Dave & Hailley

About the Show:

Each week in Science of Social Media the Buffer team answer your questions and explore marketing strategies and tactics to help you grow your business through social media and build a brand your customers love. Join our 25,000+ weekly listeners.

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Social Media Management in Times of Crisis

These are times of fast-changing news around COVID-19. It’s clear that what we are facing — not just as marketers, as friends, and parents and colleagues — is unprecedented. And we’re all in it together.

So what does social media management look like over the coming weeks and months? We’re still figuring it out.

We hope that the thoughts in this episode can act as a starting point to work from as we navigate the current and up-coming challenge.

- Dave & Hailley

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-management-in-times-of-crisis

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Encore: Inside the Facebook Ads of Your Competitors

(Right now we’re working on creating a brand new, refreshed version of The Science of Social Media. We can’t wait to share it with you next week. We think you’ll love it. In the meantime, we're revisiting one of our top from the past year. Thank you for being along for the ride and for making The Science of Social Media part of your podcast routine. We're very grateful to have you.)

If you're looking for inspiration for your next great Facebook ad, then we've got you covered with this episode!

We're diving into the Facebook Ad Library to give you tips on how to research the ads of your competitors and how to find inspiration from some of the most creative and effective Facebook advertisers out there. We'll share some specific tips on how to get meaningful Facebook ad results, and we're hopeful you'll leave with a list of ideas that you can test today!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/facebook-ad-library

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Encore: A Crash Course in Microcopy for Social Media Captions

(Right now we’re working on creating a brand new, refreshed version of The Science of Social Media. We can’t wait to share it with you in just a few weeks. We think you’ll love it. In the meantime, we're revisiting one of our top episodes of 2019. Thank you for being along for the ride and for making The Science of Social Media part of your podcast routine. We're very grateful to have you.)

Copywriting is one of the most essential skills for a marketer to have.

Good copy is everywhere! Websites, advertisements, blog posts, and especially on social media.

We want to give you the tools to write exceptional copy for even the tiniest of things on social: captions, tweets, Stories, and more.

Consider this a crash course in copywriting for all the little things you write on social media everyday. Every word counts, and we want to help make sure even your small words have a big impact!

- Dave & Bonnie

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/copywriting-microcopy

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Encore: Marie Kondo-ing Your LinkedIn — The LinkedIn Audit Blueprint to Help Your Profile Shine

(Right now we’re working on creating a brand new, refreshed version of The Science of Social Media. We can’t wait to share it with you in just a few weeks. We think you’ll love it. In the meantime, we're revisiting one of our top episodes of 2019. Thank you for being along for the ride and for making The Science of Social Media part of your podcast routine. We're very grateful to have you.)

We wish for you to have the very best, most fulfilling career possible, doing work that you love.

And one of the best routes to that dream job is having a dreamy LinkedIn profile!

We'll show you how.

Today we’re giving you a checklist for a LinkedIn makeover. We’ll provide many different ways to optimize your LinkedIn profile and boost your presence - and the presence of your brand - so that you can shine.

Whether you’re looking for your next great job, seeking to grow your thought leadership, or wanting to build a better brand, we have the tips for you. Listen to find out the best ways to make over your presence on LinkedIn … today!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/linkedin-profile-audit

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Find the Best Times to Post on Social Media

Does the timing of your social media posts still matter?

Here at Buffer, we think so! And in today's episode we'll be guiding you through our processes for finding the best times to post on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here are the show notes: https://buffer.com/library/best-time-to-post-on-social-media

- Dave & Bonnie

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to discover what works: Our guide to social media experiments

Over the years, we’ve shared plenty of tips and tactics to help you with social media marketing but one thing we haven’t really done well is to explain how to run social media marketing experiments…

Today you’ll learn the six simple steps we use to run social media experiments, and we’ll also share some experiment ideas that you can get started with right away.

Here are the show notes: https://buffer.com/library/run-social-media-experiments

- Dave & Bonnie

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2020 (Plus a New Stories Feature)

Do you have a burning question about the Instagram algorithm? If you do, chances are it may have been answered recently.

Instagram recently held a Q&A where it shared the ins and outs of the algorithm and publicly addressed some myths and rumours about how it works. In this episode, we’ll give you a run through of the main questions Instagram answered during this Q&A and we’ll dive deeper into how the algorithm works based on some data Instagram shared a while back.

We then wrap up by sharing a new, little-known Instagram Stories feature that was recently released.

- Dave & Bonnie

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

11 Thumb-Stopping Instagram Stories Design Tips

Instagram Stories has over 500 million daily active users, meaning half of Instagram’s overall user base create or view stories every single day.

This means you have the potential to connect with your Instagram audience in two different places on the app — the feed and stories — and you don’t want to waste that opportunity with dull Stories and visuals.

To help you captivate your audience in your Instagram Stories, we’re going to share some Instagram stories design tips that will have you creating high-quality visuals your followers will go back to view again and again.

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/library/instagram-stories-design-tips

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How Brands Can Leverage Pinterest To Make Sales

Did you know: Pinterest is such a key part of the buying journey for its users that over 90 percent of weekly active Pinners use Pinterest to make purchasing decisions.

Talk about buying power!

Pinterest is no longer simply a place to save ideas and build dream boards. Instead, Pinterest has turned into the world’s largest visual discovery platform.

Thankfully there are some really simple ways that you can start leveraging Pinterest to reach new audiences and optimize your pins and profile in order to drive sales sales directly from the platform.

In today's episode we share some tips directly from the Pinterest team.

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/how-brands-can-leverage-pinterest-to-make-sales

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Encore: The 7 Important Skills You Need to Be a Successful Social Media Marketer

(This week, we're re-airing our top episode of the year. Thank you for being along for the ride and for making The Science of Social Media part of your podcast routine. We're very grateful to have you. Wishing you a great 2020!)

A decade ago, the role of a social media manager might not have even existed. Today, however, almost every company is involved in social media one way or another.

But what does it take to be a great social media manager? What are the skills to master in order to be effective in 2019?

In this episode, we'll cover the primary skills that we employ for social media here at Buffer, plus a few skills we’ve noticed in social media managers around the web. A social media manager has a toolbox filled to the brim; come peek inside the toolbox with us and see what we find!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Encore: 8 Fun Things to Try on Instagram You Probably Haven't Thought of Before

(This week, we're revisiting one of our top episodes of 2019. Thank you for being along for the ride and for making The Science of Social Media part of your podcast routine. We're very grateful to have you. Happy new year!)

It can be hard to stay on top of the latest news for everything that’s coming to social media. We'd love to help you. This episode of The Science of Social Media takes a dive into Instagram marketing with a look at eight little-known features that you can try today.

We want to ensure you get maximum exposure for your brand on Insta. These tips may be just the thing to help you stand out. Here's hoping!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/podcast

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Introducing: Breaking Brand, Episode One

Today, we have a special episode for you — something a bit different than usual.

We’d love to share the first episode of our new podcast series, Breaking Brand, which follows the story of a world-class branding agency closing up shop in order to start a totally new business from scratch.

If you enjoy this episode, the full season is available to listen to now, wherever you get your podcasts. Just search Breaking Brand in your podcast app to subscribe.

Hope you enjoy the show!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Learn more about Breaking Brand:

https://lp.buffer.com/breaking-brand

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

The Best Instagram Stories of 2019

Instagram Stories was one of the most dynamic social media channels in 2019. So much happened with Stories — from new developments with the product to strong returns on Stories ads and organic reach.

Over 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day.

So when it comes to picking some of the best Stories campaigns of 2019, we really have a lot of options.

We’ll run through a list of our favorites, and you can see videos and screenshots of them in our show notes at buffer.com/podcast. If there are any favorites of yours that we missed, please do let us know by using #bufferpodcast on social.

We hope you enjoy the list and get some great ideas for new Stories content in 2020!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/library/best-instagram-stories

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Why social commerce will rule social media in 2020

What will the future hold for social media?

We have a pretty good guess that social commerce will play a large role. From Instagram Checkout to Pinterest Shop the Look - and everything else in between - the social networks have commerce on their roadmaps. Expect to see a lot more of it in 2020, and get your brand and business prepared today with our episode all about social commerce. Find out the latest on what it is, what it looks like, and how you can make the most of this buzzworthy new opportunity to further your brand and your business.

Social commerce is an especially fun topic to talk about during the holiday season. Shopping is on everyone’s minds. Ours, too. We’ll go deep on the current state of social commerce, plus give you tips on ways to get started right now.

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/library/social-commerce-2020

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

The Complete, Actionable Guide to Marketing Personas

Marketing personas are the foundation that holds your strategy and messaging together.

This week's episode will give you some insight into the persona process that will hopefully kick start your social media strategies for 2020.

If you’re not in planning mode yet, then hopefully this gives you some inspiration on where to start. Marketing personas can do a tremendous job of aligning all the work you do across your marketing channels: website, blog, email, social — you name it. Knowing who you’re talking to and what you’re talking about will hopefully make your job on social media even easier!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/library/marketing-personas-beginners-guide

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

Brand Secrets for Standing Out in a Crowded World

We live in a world of infinite supply…

The secret to standing out is to have a brand that your customers connect with and care about deeply.

In today’s world, brand is often the only differentiator between your business and your competitors. So in today’s episode, we'll show you how to build a brand! Hear the best tips and strategies from the people behind some of the biggest brands out there -- Sweetgreen, Pattern Brands, and more. These insights all come from our new podcast series: Breaking Brand.

If you want to listen, search Breaking Brand wherever you get your podcasts.

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/podcast

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

BFCM: Last-Minute Black Friday + Cyber Monday Marketing Ideas for Social Media

The biggest retail dates of the year are just around the corner. Do you have your social media marketing ready?

In this episode, we'll share some of the trendiest marketing ideas for Black Friday + Cyber Monday, including flash sales, messenger marketing, and UGC. We’ll cover a host of new ideas, tips, and tactics that can help you boost your already-planned campaigns or give you some inspiration for an upcoming piece of content.

Find out some of the numbers behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and see what the most cutting-edge brands are trying out this holiday season.

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/custom-audiences

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

A Crash Course in Building Custom Audiences for Your Social Media Ads

When you want to get your message in front of the right people on social media, where do you turn?

More and more, brands and businesses are turning to social ads and custom audiences. You can do a lot of awesome, targeted messaging by focusing on the right audiences with your ads -- whether you're talking to a group of customers, a bunch of website visitors, or a list of subscribers

In this episode, we’ll talk you through ways to build custom audiences and lookalike audiences on all the major social media platforms, plus share a couple ideas of how you can put these audiences to the best use. Best wishes for some well-targeted, highly successful ads!

- Dave & Heather-Mae

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/custom-audiences

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

9 Social Media Goals You Can Set for Your Business (and How to Track Them)

The thing we love most at Buffer is to help you succeed at social media. And a key part of social media success is knowing which goals and targets to set for your team.

Without goals, it’s hard to know exactly how well your social media strategy is performing and where you need to iterate to continue moving forwards.

Today we’d love to share with you a bunch of super-actionable social media goals you can use to help your team achieve great things. In total, we’ll walk through 9 very different, but effective social media goals and for each goal we also relevant metrics to track and share how to measure your results. Hope you enjoy!

- Heather-Mae & Nate

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/library/social-media-goals

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

The Keys to Epic Engagement on Social Media

Social media engagement seems like a slam dunk strategy. Everyone should be doing it, right? But it certainly comes with its blind spots and questions.

Should you be replying to everyone?

How can you make sure you capture all your mentions?

What are the best ways to respond quickly?

In this post, we’ll run through some of the reasons why investing in engagement makes business sense, and we’ll touch on the specific tips and workflows to master engagement on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

- Heather-Mae & Nate

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-engagement-tips

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

News Roundup: The Future of Facebook, Pinterest's Latest Changes, the Most Popular Stories, and More

As always, a ton is happening in the world of social media, and it can be hard to catch every story.

So we want to highlight some of the biggest news items from recent weeks that might impact your social media marketing.

We’ll touch on Facebook’s most recent product changes and strategic plans, how Pinterest continues making splashes with its business and shopping features, and the latest data on social media trends and usage. Learn what’s coming next to Instagram and find out what’s more popular: Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, or Snapchat.

- Heather-Mae & Nate

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-news-october-2019

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

How to Schedule Instagram Stories (Plus 10 Ideas for What to Make Next)

Where can you practice storytelling in front of an audience of 500 million? Instagram Stories, of course.

Instagram Stories are empowering marketers to tell better and deeper stories about our brands. There are some fantastic examples of great Stories out there. We've collected some favorites for you!

In this episode, hear about 10 Instagram brands and influencers who have been doing rad things with Stories to give you some inspiration on what you could do for your Instagram Stories, too.

- Heather-Mae & Nate

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/instagram-stories-who-to-follow

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

The Science Behind the Best Instagram Bios

Small-but-powerful. Front-and-center. Instagram bios are well worth the time and investment to write well and test often. They're one of the most visible descriptions of who you are and what you're about! We’ll sort out all the best practices, design tips, and strategies that the top brands and profiles are using today.

Should you go highly descriptive of what you do, or keep it loose and aspirational?

Should you include contact info? hashtags? emoji?

And how often should you update it?

We’ll unpack these questions together and send you on your way with some tips that you can try on your bio today!

- Heather-Mae & Nate

Read the Show Notes:

https://buffer.com/resources/instagram-bio

About the Show:

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you're a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you're sure to find something useful in each episode. It's our hope that you'll join our 27,000+ listeners each week and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.

We'd love for you to check out the detailed show notes at www.buffer.com/podcast

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/buffer

Check us out on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bufferapp

Check us out on Twitter - www.twitter.com/buffer

The Science of Social Media

By Buffer

Available on