Buffer has grown into a pretty comprehensive toolkit in recent years, and some of the newer features (some of my personal favorites) are super useful in ways that go well beyond the queue.
Here’s what else it can do.
If you’ve ever posted something, disappeared, and then come back three days later to a pile of unanswered comments, this one’s for you.
Community is Buffer’s unified comment inbox. It pulls in comments from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and You can filter by what needs attention, mark things as done, and even turn a good comment thread into a new post right from the dashboard.
Google Business Profile reviews are now also available in Community, which is a big deal for small businesses. Responding to reviews is one of the easier wins for local SEO and reputation management, and putting this next to everything else makes it a lot harder to let slip. TikTok, Mastodon and YouTube are also coming to the community soon.
We call it the “do not post and ghost” feature, and it’s available on the free plan, so there’s no reason not to try it.
See what’s trending in Threads as you write
Wires move quickly. A topic peaks, everyone comes in, and if you blink, you’ve missed it.
Trending Topics brings real-time trending Threads conversations directly to Buffer’s composer. You can see what’s going on right now, browse current messages from the conversation to get context, and voice your opinion, all without leaving Buffer to go hunting.
One useful detail: Threads only shows popular topics originally intended for users in the US and Japan. Anyone, anywhere can see them through Buffer’s API access. It is available for all plans, including free.
Discover what really works with analytics
There’s little point in posting consistently if you don’t know if something is coming.
Once you connect a channel to Buffer, analytics populate instantly, including up to six months of historical data, so you’re not staring at a blank dashboard waiting to build history. You can track likes, comments, reach, impressions, and engagement rates for all your connected accounts from one place.
A few recent updates worth knowing: Buffer partnered with LinkedIn to expand Personal profile analysiswhich now includes views, watch time, and engagement rate in addition to the standard metrics, all on the Sent messages tab. And X analyses are now also included in the free plan, after a long period behind paid levels.
If you want to go deeper, professional reports let you collect data across multiple channels and set your own rhythm. Very useful if you report to customers or just want a clearer picture of how things are going.
Actually, stick to a posting schedule with streaks and posting goals
Buffer’s own data is pretty clear on this: creators who post every week get dramatically better results than those who try hard for a while and then drop out. Consistency is what makes connections.
To make that easier, we’ve built some features around the habit itself. Post goals lets you set weekly goals per channel, so you have something concrete to aim for. Stripes track how many consecutive weeks you’ve reached your goal and send you a nudge if you’re about to exceed a goal. (more motivating than it sounds, I promise!)
And when you reach a milestone worth celebrating, Share your series generates an image ready to post.
Capture ideas before they disappear
Good content ideas have a habit of popping up at the worst times. Ideas is Buffer’s built-in recording tool, available via the mobile app, browser extension, or directly in the dashboard, so nothing gets lost in a half-forgotten voice memo.
From there the AI assistant can help develop a rough idea into a full draft, reuse something that worked well in another format, or write platform-specific variations of the same post. And if you ever open the composer and draw a completely blank, the Template library has writing prompts organized by message type to help you get out of trouble.
Even more fun things worth knowing
Bulk scheduling via CSV — you can now import up to 100 messages at a time from a spreadsheet. Bundling your content into Google Sheets will save you a lot of clicks.
Channel groups — save sets of channels and publish them all at once. Less repetitive, same result.
Instagram grid example — now on all plans, so you can see what a new post will look like in your grid before it goes live. Never post something again and immediately regret where it ends up.
Feeds — pulls content from RSS sources, blogs, and YouTube channels directly into Buffer. Great for curation, or just keeping an eye on what others are putting out in your space.
Labels – organize posts by campaign, content type, or whatever system works for the way you plan. Useful for tracking performance within a theme or checking whether a particular content set is meeting expectations.
Dark mode — Enable it in Settings or let your system preferences handle it.
From your first message to your entire team
Buffer is built to work for you wherever you are, whether you’re just starting out, growing an audience on your own, or managing content for an entire team. Most of what’s in this post is available from day one with the free plan.
The idea is that you don’t have to start over with a new tool every time your situation changes. Buffer grows with you.
If you haven’t tried these features yet, Community is a great place to start. Connect your channels, collect your responses in one place and go from there!
#buffering #features