PipeflowWhat can be automated and what can't
Social media consists of several tasks: finding ideas, writing texts, taking or designing images, publishing posts, replying to comments and looking at the results. Some of these steps can be handed over to tools well, others hardly at all.
What can be automated well is above all publishing at the right time. Tools now also help a lot with writing and designing. Real photos from your business, personal conversations in the comments and your judgement of whether a post suits you are hard to replace. The pros and cons in detail are explained in the guide Automating social media.
The platforms' built in schedulers
Before you look for an additional tool: Instagram and LinkedIn can schedule posts themselves. For Instagram and Facebook there is also the free Meta Business Suite with a calendar on your computer. On LinkedIn you schedule directly when creating a post via a clock icon.
These solutions cost nothing and are safe because they come from the provider itself. The downside: you work separately for each platform and have to create all content yourself. How this works in practice is covered in the guides Schedule Instagram posts and Schedule LinkedIn posts.
Scheduling tools for several channels
Scheduling tools show all your channels in one calendar. You upload image and text, choose date and time, and the tool publishes. Many also offer approvals in a team, combined statistics and an overview of which topics were covered when.
Such schedulers fit well if you already have content or like creating it yourself, but run several channels or work with others. As a rule, they don't supply the content itself.
Design tools
Design tools help you create images for social media: text tiles, templates in your colours, carousels, simple videos. For people without design skills they are a great relief. Many now also have AI features and some have their own scheduling.
They make sense if your posts should look consistent and you enjoy designing yourself. When a text tile and when a photo works better is covered in the guide Text tiles or photos.
AI writers and chat assistants
AI tools can gather ideas, draft texts, improve wording or rewrite an Instagram text for LinkedIn. For many this is the biggest time saver, because the blank screen disappears.
Important: AI only knows your business as well as you describe it. Read every text, check facts and adjust the tone so it sounds like you. What to watch out for is covered in the guide Creating social media posts with AI. AI images have their own rules, more on that in AI images: what to keep in mind.
All in one solutions: content and scheduling together
A newer type of tool combines several steps. They create suggestions with text and image from information about your business, schedule them and publish them after you have approved them. You switch from the role of creator to the role of reviewer.
That fits if what you lack most is time and you don't want to search for ideas yourself every week. It is less suitable if you want to design every post from scratch yourself or mainly make videos. Pipeflow is one example of this type of tool.
Which type suits you?
A simple orientation, depending on where you get stuck:
- You have content but forget to post: A built in scheduler or a scheduling tool is enough.
- Your posts look different every time: A design tool with templates in your colours helps.
- You can't think of any texts: An AI assistant or an all in one solution takes the start off your hands.
- You lack time for everything: An all in one solution where you only review and approve.
- You are a team or work with an agency: A scheduler with an approval feature.
What to look for in any tool
Whichever type you choose, clarify these questions beforehand:
- Official connection: The tool should connect via the official authorisation dialogs of Instagram and LinkedIn. Never give your password to a third party service.
- Approval: Can you review every post before it is published?
- Channels: Does the tool support exactly the channels and account types you use?
- Language: Does it work well in German, including Austrian terms?
- Data protection: Where is your data processed? Ask if it is not clearly stated.
- Testing: Can you try the tool before you commit?