At Buffer, we construct with prospects, not only for them. In case you’ve seen my LinkedIn posts asking for fast chats, that’s why. Actual conversations sharpen our product considering, so each time we begin exploring a brand new concept, we discuss to the individuals utilizing Buffer every single day.
As a product supervisor centered on how our customers create content material, these conversations are notably useful in understanding how customers give you concepts and the place Buffer suits into their workflows.
As we explored enhancements to Buffer’s content material creation and scheduling expertise, I spoke with 30+ customers throughout industries and targets: solopreneurs, group managers, and creators rising private manufacturers. We needed to know how they plan, create, and publish, and the place Buffer suits in that stream.
These conversations clarified our customers’ wants and reminded us that behind each publish is an individual balancing creativity, consistency, and chaos. Beneath are the large themes we heard and the way we’re utilizing them to form Buffer’s roadmap.
Throughout interviews, one theme that got here up repeatedly is that individuals love Buffer for its reliability and ease of scheduling. It’s what retains them coming again, whilst their social methods evolve.
That’s nice to listen to, but it surely additionally reveals a chance. Scheduling is a energy of ours, but it surely’s only one piece of the puzzle. We’re working to evolve Buffer from a scheduling app into a real social workspace.
Think about opening Buffer to brainstorm publish concepts, collaborate with teammates, draft captions, plan campaigns, and evaluation efficiency — multi functional tab.
For lots of the creators we spoke to, that type of linked workflow is strictly what they’ve been piecing collectively manually utilizing a number of apps. Our objective is to make that have seamless inside Buffer, and one thing we’ll be working in the direction of within the coming months.
Organizing content material is tougher than it ought to be
A recurring theme throughout almost each dialog was content material group. Creators usually have a mixture of concepts, drafts, and scheduled posts, however discovering what they want can take effort.
Individuals instructed us issues like:
- “Generally I can’t bear in mind if I already printed an Concept.”
- “I want I may search all my content material in a single place.”
- “I believed I saved a draft, however I don’t know the place it went.”
We’ve felt this ourselves. We’ve added a variety of highly effective options to Buffer over time, however they don’t all the time really feel as linked as they might be, and generally it may be exhausting to maintain observe of your content material. We’re exploring methods to make group smoother and scale back friction between associated ideas like Concepts and Drafts.
Our imaginative and prescient is to make Buffer not solely the only supply of reality to your content material, however one which’s straightforward to navigate, set up, and perceive.
For a lot of customers, there’s all the time one other device within the combine, like Notion, Trello, Canva, or perhaps a easy Google Doc.
Many creators plan or brainstorm elsewhere, then deliver content material into Buffer to schedule. And truthfully, that’s okay! The most effective creators construct techniques that work for them. Moderately than making an attempt to switch these instruments, we see this as a chance to satisfy customers the place they already work, by higher integrations and smarter import choices.
That’s one of many causes we’re investing in our public API. We would like Buffer to sit down on the intersection of the instruments you utilize, serving to you seamlessly hook up with and share your content material from wherever it resides.
Think about having the ability to pull an concept out of your Notion database straight into Buffer, or routinely import a design from Canva right into a media library. The objective isn’t to lure your content material inside Buffer; it’s to assist it transfer extra freely between the instruments you like, and share with the world what you have made.
In case you’re studying this and have an app, system, or workflow you’d love to hook up with Buffer, we’d love to listen to from you. These conversations are precisely how new concepts, and new integrations, start.
Visible readability wins over complicated options
We’re presently engaged on updates to the look, really feel, and stream of our composer. Once we confirmed customers early prototypes, one factor stood out instantly: simplicity and visible readability matter greater than complicated performance.
That doesn’t imply we’re abandoning superior workflows or customization. However we’ve discovered that energy shouldn’t come at the price of usability.
At Buffer, we’re dedicated to supporting particular person creators and small companies. A lot of our customers are simply getting began with social media, they usually depend on Buffer not solely to publish but in addition to study what works. We do not need them to get misplaced within the nuance, however fairly really feel empowered to deal with what actually issues: posting persistently, and connecting authentically with their viewers.
Realizing this, we’re centered on making Buffer much more intuitive and visually cohesive. We have got some nice updates on the horizon, and I am excited so that you can see them!
AI ought to help creativity, not substitute it
We additionally requested customers how they really feel about AI of their content material course of. What we discovered was pretty constant throughout customers: most aren’t in search of AI to write down their posts. They need it to assist with the method.
That resonates with how we’re approaching and refining our use of AI in Buffer. We would like it to be a inventive assistant that helps refine your concepts, not substitute your voice.
Assume grammar and tone solutions, platform-specific optimization, or efficiency insights, not robotic captions. We would like you to seek out your personal stream, create genuine and interesting content material, and develop significant connections. AI will help you get there, but it surely should not be the tip consequence.
The place we’re headed
These insights aren’t complete of every part we have deliberate at Buffer, however they are a glimpse into how we’re excited about sure facets of the platform.
We would like Buffer to be greater than a social scheduling device; we would like it to be a social productiveness device. An area the place you’ll be able to brainstorm, set up, publish, analyze, and interact, all with out friction.
We have got some thrilling modifications on the horizon, all in help of creating Buffer probably the most intuitive, pleasant, and linked social media device on the market.
And when you ever see me publish on LinkedIn asking for a fast chat, now you understand why.
