The Science of Social Media - podcast cover

The Science of Social Media

Bufferbuffer.com
Each week 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.

Episodes

'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 → --- 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 audi...

Mar 05, 202536 minTranscript available on Metacast

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, P...

Jun 07, 202338 minEp 210Transcript available on Metacast

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 an...

Mar 14, 202311 minEp 209Transcript available on Metacast

What is the Ideal TikTok Length?

Today we’ll be discussing a topic that we have been asked several questions about: what’s the ideal length for a video on TikTok? More specifically, we explore whether there is a one best TikTok length and look at examples from content creators who make both short and longer videos on the platform. 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 ...

Mar 01, 202312 minEp 208Transcript available on Metacast

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 ...

Feb 15, 202315 minEp 207Transcript available on Metacast

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 S...

Jan 31, 202314 minEp 206Transcript available on Metacast

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 epis...

Jan 19, 202311 minTranscript available on Metacast

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 bri...

Jan 04, 202313 minEp 205Transcript available on Metacast

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...

Dec 22, 20229 minEp 204Transcript available on Metacast

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 e...

Dec 16, 202213 minEp 203Transcript available on Metacast

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 episo...

Dec 07, 202212 minEp 202Transcript available on Metacast

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 ...

Nov 29, 202219 minEp 201Transcript available on Metacast

Introducing Small Business, Big Lessons Season 2 — A Buffer Original Series

Listen to a preview of Small Business, Big Lessons, a podcast from Buffer that goes behind-the-scenes with inspirational small businesses to explore how they are questioning the best ways to build a business and uncover the big lessons we can learn from their journeys (so far). The eight-episode series tells business stories from extraordinary small businesses and the people behind them, examining how they’re doing things differently and what we can learn from their journeys. These stories prove...

Oct 11, 20223 minTranscript available on Metacast

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-...

Dec 02, 202019 minEp 200Transcript available on Metacast

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'...

Nov 12, 202014 minEp 199Transcript available on Metacast

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...

Sep 24, 202013 minEp 198Transcript available on Metacast

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 brand...

Aug 13, 202017 minEp 197Transcript available on Metacast

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 f...

Jul 09, 20208 minEp 196Transcript available on Metacast

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 n...

Jun 25, 202013 minEp 195Transcript available on Metacast

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.&n...

May 26, 202018 minEp 194Transcript available on Metacast

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 updat...

May 11, 202013 minEp 193Transcript available on Metacast

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...

Apr 30, 202013 minEp 192Transcript available on Metacast

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, w...

Apr 23, 202013 minEp 191Transcript available on Metacast

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 ...

Apr 06, 20209 minEp 190Transcript available on Metacast

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 epis...

Mar 30, 202015 minEp 189Transcript available on Metacast

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 ...

Mar 23, 202015 minEp 188Transcript available on Metacast

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://b...

Mar 19, 202012 minTranscript available on Metacast

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 ...

Mar 09, 202013 minEp 187Transcript available on Metacast

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...

Mar 02, 202014 minEp 186Transcript available on Metacast

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. An...

Feb 25, 202016 minEp 185Transcript available on Metacast