It’s 6am on the Best Coast and your alarm rouses you for another day managing your business. But as you silence your phone, you notice a news alert about a mass shooting that’s taken place earlier today. You need to pause your company’s scheduled Twitter posts – and fast!
Do not fear! There is, literally, an app for that.
If you’re using Buffer, go to settings and then pause queue. This will pause all outgoing messages, including ones pinned to specific times. If you have timed messages you still need to post (for example, logistical info) but you want to pause your other messages, you can remove your schedule instead. NOTE: Both processes are unique to accounts, so you’ll have to pause each of your handles individually.
On Hootsuite, you have only the option to remove posts from the feed, though at least you can do it in bulk. Awkward, for sure, as users have pointed out going back, oh, four and an half years or so.
One more thing is to check the appropriateness of any social media ads you’re running. At the very least, consider removing the extended reach options, which are more likely to show up on news sites, lest your well-meaning ad appear like this:
Featured image from CNN’s reporting of a mistaken tweet posted the day after a mass shooting.