Want to reach Twitter users in all time zones?
Learn how to schedule tweets!
Twitter is a powerful tool for businesses. It allows you to connect with customers and followers in real time, share news and updates, and build relationships with other businesses.
But Twitter can also be a time suck – if you tweet manually.
In this article, we will look at how to schedule tweets from your desktop and mobile devices. Plus a helpful app that can make the process easier.
Let’s get started!
Disclosure: If you purchase a product from a link in this article, I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.
How to Schedule Tweets on Twitter
Scheduling a single tweet from the desktop version of Twitter is very simple:
Step 1: Click the blue Tweet button – Log in to your Twitter account and click on the “Tweet” button.
Step 2: Write your tweet – Type out your tweet. Next, click on the “schedule” button.
Step 3: Choose when to tweet – Select the date and time you want your tweet to be published. Then click on the “Confirm” button.
Step 4: Schedule the tweet – One more button to click. Your tweet will now be scheduled and published at the selected date and time.
Step 5: Check it is scheduled (if needed) – You can view your scheduled tweets by clicking on the “Tweet” button, clicking the “Schedule” button, and then selecting the “Scheduled Tweets” option in the popup at lower left.
How to Schedule Tweets on Mobile
Twitter used to have the option to use the Twitter mobile app to schedule tweets. But this has disappeared more recently.
Now you can schedule tweets for paid advertising through the app, but not for organic (free) tweets. The only way you can schedule tweets ahead of time is if they are part of an ad campaign.
To schedule tweets via your mobile device, you can go to Twitter.com on your mobile browser. Then follow the instructions above.
Or, use a third-party app.
How to Bulk Schedule Tweets
Unfortunately, Twitter does not offer this option through their app or desktop site. However, there are external scheduling apps that give you the ability to plan and schedule multiple tweets at once.
One such option is SmarterQueue, which allows users to create content categories, schedule retweets, and track post performance.
Bulk scheduling helps save time and ensures a steady stream of content for your Twitter followers! We’ll cover this in a minute.
How to Schedule Tweets with SmarterQueue
There are two main ways to schedule single tweets with SmarterQueue. Choose one based on your preference and the urgency of the tweet.
One is to create a new post and add it to your queue – either to the next open slot, or the last one.
The other is to schedule it for a specific time and date.
To start a tweet in SmarterQueue:
With both options, you start with the ‘Create a Post’ option. Add your caption and any images or video.
Then select ‘Schedule’ to pick a specific time and date to send the post.
Or use the ‘Add to Queue’ option. This adds it to the next available slot based on the queue schedule you created when you set up the app. Or, you can choose to add it to the end of your queue of tweets.
You can also just use ‘Post Now’ if you want to send it out immediately.
Recurring Posts and Twitter
One thing you can’t do with Twitter is to send the same tweet more than once to the same profile. Twitter tries to suppress duplicate tweets, aka copypasta, to avoid a spammy or boring feed.
So while you can use SmarterQueue to set up recurring posts with profiles such as Facebook, this option isn’t available for Twitter.
How to Bulk Schedule Tweets with SmarterQueue
The easiest way to bulk schedule tweets is with SmarterQueue.
They even provide a sample CSV file to use the get the right format. You can add post text, a link, an image, scheduled time, and a category to the file.
Once you have completed the information, make sure you save it in the UTF8-encoding option if possible.
Then you can go to the Find Content option on the top menu in SmarterQueue.
- Select the ‘bulk upload from spreadsheet’ option and add the file.
- Edit any settings and select your Twitter account (you can also send the posts to other profiles).
- Choose where to add the posts to the top or bottom of your queue or save them as drafts.
- If you want to send them at a specific time that isn’t a slot, save them as a draft then follow the process above to add them.
- Choose the rest of the options around UTM tracking and Google analytics then import.
You can only import up to 200 lines at a time. If you have more than this many posts, split the document into more than one.
Take SmarterQueue for a free trial run and see how you love the ease of bulk uploads! It’s an incredible time saver – worth well more than the small cost.
4 Tips for Scheduling Tweets
Maximize your impact by following these Twitter tips!
Location matters
When it comes to social media and digital marketing, location matters. As marketers, we need to be aware of time zone differences and plan our content schedule accordingly.
This is especially important for tweets, which have a shorter lifespan and less room for error.
If your business has a global audience, make sure to consider the different time zones when scheduling tweets.
For example, if you have high engagement from followers in Japan, you may want to send out your tweet at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m EST to reach both audiences most effectively.
Know your audience
It’s important to know and understand your target audience. This means conducting research on who they are, what their interests and pain points are, and how they use social media.
Are they more likely to engage with content during their morning commute, during lunch hour, or in the evening?
Gathering this information allows you to tailor your messaging and optimize the timing of your tweets for maximum engagement.
Pay attention to Twitter analytics
You must have a good understanding of your Twitter analytics. By paying attention to key metrics, you can develop a better strategy for reaching your target audience.
So if you notice that certain types of content receive higher engagement than others, try adding more of that type in your future tweets.
Don’t forget to track critical things such as website clicks or conversions, too. These metrics can give valuable insights into how effective your tweets are in driving actions from your audience.
Know when to pause your Tweets
Scheduling tweets ahead of time is a big time saver. But it’s important to stay vigilant in monitoring your scheduled tweets.
Current events can change quickly, and a tweet that made sense weeks ago might now be out-of-touch or even offensive. That’s why it’s crucial to regularly check your scheduled Tweets and make any necessary changes.
Don’t hesitate to pause or delete a scheduled tweet if it is no longer relevant or appropriate.
Mastering your Tweet Scheduling
Scheduling tweets lets you batch jobs and get more done in less time.
There’s limited help on the Twitter website. Or you can go with my favorite option – use SmarterQueue to make it even easier.
If you’re serious about tweeting and pressed for time, give SmarterQueue a try. Then let me know what you think.
However you do it, schedule your tweets for maximum impact on your audience!
Prabhu Tharmarajan says
What a nice read Louise! I love reading posts like this to help me improve my skills. The tips in using HootSuite is awesome, I will definitely use this!
More power!
Prabhu Tharmarajan
Louise Myers says
Thanks Prabhu! HootSuite is a wonderful tool
Sebastian says
Is there an option to to schedule individual tweets right now? With twitter, without having to use a program?
Louise Myers says
That’s only available to Twitter advertisers. But there are lots of free programs, including one from HootSuite.
Lynne says
Thanks for the tip! I am not familiar with HootSuite and will definitely go over how it can help me with my tweets. I definitely need some help and your post did just that. Thanks again.
Louise Myers says
Awesome Lynne, so glad it was helpful.
Cristina Piva says
Great post. I love that you share how you organize your files by content type– and I loved the odd-and-even-hour posts idea. Always find shareable pearls on your site!
Louise Myers says
I appreciate you, Chris!
PS I “fill in” the even numbered hours because I post my blogs at 5:55am – therefore they get tweeted at 6 – 6:10 😉
Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound says
Louise, this is such a valuable tip! Someone I met at a conference a year ago told me about this, and I couldn’t remember the name of the program she used. Love your content on Social Buzz Club and share it regularly!
Louise Myers says
Thanks Joan, I appreciate you, and love sharing your posts too!
Christine Buffaloe says
The one thing I really love about using HootSuite Pro is that I can have several of my clients’ streams up at the same time and I can also schedule different tweets to go out at different times for the different clients, whew!
I also schedule their LI updates to not only their profiles, but to their company pages. Google+, the same…and on and on.
A Very Cool Tool!
Louise Myers says
No kidding, Christine, it is so helpful! I love being able to see several streams at once.
Thanks for your comment!