One of the best things about today's technology, in my humble opinion, is automatic bill pay. Between working my own business and teaching yoga, on top of managing two children's separate activities and taking care of running the house, it's a wonder I know what day of the week it is, let alone what the date is!
That's what I love about automatic bill payments...Once it's set up, your bill gets paid on time, automatically.
So what does this have to do with Social Media? Having regular content scheduled allows you to focus on engagement and metrics without having to panic about not getting your content out there regularly. That's not to say you can't pop in and spontaneously post content-in fact, that's the best way to measure engagement, through real-time observation and participation.
With all my clients that I write social media content for, I encourage them to post updates when they are inspired. Having the pressure off of having continuous good content helps them to concentrate more on what they do best.
It's just like the automatic bill pay...their content bill is paid and doesn't fall into past due status. So, go ahead and don't be afraid to schedule good content. It's like having insurance coverage for your social media presence.