Digital Marketing - Study Notes:
Content scheduling is the method by which content is uploaded for future publishing.
Types of scheduling
There are two main ways you can schedule your content for publishing.
- Native scheduling: This is a method of publishing content that uses a social platform's own upload function – for example, Twitter Studio or Facebook Publishing Tools.
- Third-party applications: Tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social are used by validating logins for your platforms and scheduling or spreading content across multiple platforms through the single hub.
Benefits
Why do content marketers schedule their content?
- Time efficient: Scheduling a large amount of content in one sitting allows for time spent on other activities.
- Cross-posting: Some third-party tools let you schedule content to multiple platforms with a single click from their integrated approach. A word of caution here. You should never cross-post automatically without planning for each platform and thinking ahead. Specifications for images, videos, and copy vary between platforms. Usernames and hashtags can also differ. Cross-posting without thinking shows the audience you're not really building a community, but just putting content out there without thinking about why you are doing it.
Note: It's also important not to post too far in advance, in case something changes in the world or the market, and your scheduled post might seem insensitive or inappropriate. Keep track of scheduled posts and make sure that you or another team member always have access to edit or remove a post at short notice. It’s also important to ensure that marketers should never auto-cross-post, because image, video and copy specs vary between platforms. Usernames and hashtags differ too. Cross-posting shows the audience that you're not building a community, but just pumping out content!
Back to TopWill Francis
Will Francis is a recognized authority in digital and social media, who has worked with some of the world’s most loved brands. He is the host and technical producer of the DMI podcast, Ahead of the Game and a lecturer and subject matter expert with the DMI. He appears in the media and at conferences whilst offering his own expert-led digital marketing courses where he shares his experience gained working within a social network, a global ad agency, and more recently his own digital agency.

Clark Boyd
Clark Boyd is CEO and founder of marketing simulations company Novela. He is also a digital strategy consultant, author, and trainer. Over the last 12 years, he has devised and implemented international marketing strategies for brands including American Express, Adidas, and General Motors.
Today, Clark works with business schools at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Columbia University to design and deliver their executive-education courses on data analytics and digital marketing.
Clark is a certified Google trainer and runs Google workshops across Europe and the Middle East. This year, he has delivered keynote speeches at leadership events in Latin America, Europe, and the US. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Slideshare. He writes regularly on Medium and you can subscribe to his email newsletter, hi, tech.

These walkthrough videos give clear, step-by-step demonstrations and guidance on how to apply key digital marketing concepts and strategies, and use industry-standard tools.