Publication scheduling

Social media platforms use complex algorithms to determine what to show to each user based on previous interactions and what content is available for them to view (i.e. posted to them).

For example, one factor that can affect the appearance of posts is how recent it is.

Scheduling posts allows the creator to arrange for posts to appear at the time hen they have the greatest chance of being viewed. In part, this decision can be made by using the analysis tools that social media platform provide: these can show the breakdown of when all posts have been interacted with, and the most popular time can be selected.

The danger is that if a user has a busy social media feed but does not visit on a regular basis, your posts will be lost amongst many others that have been posted more recently. As an example, if your user base typically go online at 5PM after work, this is a good time to schedule a post. Scheduling it for midnight will mean that it appears long after your users have been online, and by the time they next log on, many other posts will have been published, causing your post to be moved down the list, and therefore less of a priority.