Buffer has been my social media scheduler of choice for over two years now. Its ease of use, layout, integrations and mobile apps all work together seamlessly to deliver what I believe is the best scheduler of the bunch.
When you include their award-winning blog and curation app (Daily), you have a complete platform to execute your social media strategy.
But in Buffer’s effort to become your exclusive content curator, one significant hurdle remained.
Image creation
For months now, I’ve been using Canva to create fantastic images. As Craig Rowe noted earlier this week, it might be the best app for creating engaging content and not mere clickbait. In fact, it’s well-known that Buffer has created hundreds of images using Canva.
Check out this quote on Buffer’s belief in compelling images: “Engagement-grabbing social media images might be the closest thing we have to a magic wand on social media.”
Images boost shares and views on blog posts, while also working particularly well on Twitter. With numbers like this staring us in the face, Buffer decided to create Pablo, its own image-creation tool.
Pablo isn’t as feature-rich as Canva, but it’s not meant to be. The purpose is to create eye-catching images in less than 30 seconds.
How does Pablo work?
The beauty of Pablo is that all the features are present on the same screen and integrate directly in to your Buffer queue.
The text window allows you to edit existing quotes or add your own. This is especially useful for creating images with statistics or announcements (see examples below).
You can then change the font, text size and color. Further down you have the ability to swap the image out or upload your own; as a bonus, your uploaded image will be resized to Twitter standards. Finally, click a publishing option, and you’re done.
Here are several examples of how Pablo can be utilized in the real estate industry:
- Open house announcements
- Mortgage rate changes
- Community events
- New blog posts
- City news
- Local farmers markets
- New business openings
- Client testimonials
Pablo is not without kinks however. Image upload can be slow if the image is too big and causes crashes. If you attempt to upload a small image, automatic resizing can look blurry and off-center. There’s no option for aligning text, so you’re stuck with align left for now.
Granted, Pablo was released today, so take the kinks with a grain of salt. Knowing Buffer’s history of lean testing and development, I expect more useful features and updates to be released as soon as they learn what matters to users.
One final point is you do need a Buffer account to use Pablo. Even if you are using another scheduling service, I’d encourage you to sign up, and use it just for quick and easy images. Who knows? You might eventually become another member of the tribe.
Matt Ragland is a brand and content coach in Nashville. He helps real estate professionals build authority and trust through valuable and helpful content. Learn more about his work and get a free content marketing report at EngAgentCourse.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @MattRagland.
