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Twitter today announced it’s rolling out the ability to schedule tweets.
The long-awaited feature, which is already available within Tweetdeck and other third-party clients, will allow users to write posts in advance and publish them at a pre-defined time.
Tweet scheduling on https://t.co/v6ePJIz9Tz? Yes please! Starting today, we’re experimenting with bringing one of @TweetDeck’s handiest time-saving features into Twitter. Tell us what you think if you’re part of the experiment. pic.twitter.com/R8jIwnGALV
— Twitter Create (@TwitterCreate) November 20, 2019
This feature is likely of interest to a small niche of users, particularly those working within publishing and professional social media. It’s also indicative of a renewed push from Twitter to regain the ground it has lost to rivals like Buffer and Hubspot, who offer paid social media management tools.
No secrets on Twitter
It’s worth noting that this feature has been in the works for some time. Jane Manchun Wong, a hacker renowned for discovering secret features within social media apps, discovered an early version almost two months ago.
Twitter continues working on Schedule Tweet for Twitter Web App pic.twitter.com/ZSQ9npwsBm
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 3, 2019
Why did it take so long for Twitter to formally release scheduled tweets? I’d speculate that it’s got something to do with the technically complicated nature of the problem. Anything to do with timing is hard. Factor in the global scale of Twitter, and you can understand why they chose to be so cautious.
A king without a crown
I don’t think Twitter will replace Hubspot and Buffer. For those working with large accounts where analytics and customer engagement are key, a paid third-party service is still the best option available.
That said, for those managing smaller and less demanding accounts (like for a small blog or coffee store), Twitter’s stock web experience may soon become the default way to manage the social media presence.
This, as well as the availability to see analytics data on each tweet without a third-party tool, hints towards a new direction for Twitter. It’s not merely content to be a platform. It also wants to make inroads with those using Twitter for work.
Social media is a huge business. Buffer and Hubspot are huge businesses. Why wouldn’t it want a piece of that pie?
What do you think? Would you like to see this feature made available to everyone? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- Amazon just gave non-Prime members free access to Amazon Music on smartphones and TVs
- Facebook is trialing a new feature that feels a lot like Instagram
- Sadfishing is the new social media trend that needs to quickly fuck off
- Tech Hangover: We’re all getting hacked
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