The science of time. It’s everywhere in our daily routines. For decades, researchers have been studying optimal times to eat, sleep, and everything in between. So, that leads us to ask — is there a science behind the best times to post on social media outlets? The social media guru at our digital marketing agency is here to shed some light on the best times to hit that publish button.
As faithful followers, you might have noticed we recently recapped the difference between engagements and impressions on social media. Well, guess what? Those numbers are impacted by what time your social media posts are going out.
If your business has been on social media for a while, then you should know that each post should be tailored to reach the audience a certain way for the platform you are posting on. Check out this blog on social media platforms for your business, one which ones are right for you. The same theory applies to figuring out the best times to post. Practically speaking, the time that double taps soar on Instagram is different from the time where you could see more retweets rolling through your feed.
Speaking of time, let’s get started on breaking down the science behind when you need to schedule posts in your social media content calendar. If you don’t have a content calendar, don’t fret… we have a blog for you!
Oh, Facebook. You’re an ever-changing, always-evolving platform that can be difficult for brands to put their thumb on. A piece of content that slays one day can be irrelevant the next day, all thanks to one of your pesky algorithm updates.
Side note, if you ever read that Facebook updated their algorithm, pat your digital strategist on the back and take them to happy hour. Those are dark days, indeed. Just when we think we’ve figured it out, Mark Zuckerberg goes and changes our lives. Again.
I say all of that to help you understand that we can look into best times to post, but with Facebook’s algorithm updates, sometimes the posting time doesn’t make a monumental difference. However, there are times and days of the week that can help position your social content to spike in engagements — and that’s why you’re putting precious time and budget behind social media. You want to establish your social presence, grow followers, and trigger interactions from the crowd to get people jazzed about your brand.
According to a Hootsuite study, the optimal time to post on Facebook is between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And on the weekends, aim between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. Where are all of you social stalkers on Tuesdays?! (See for yourself)
A digital marketing agency like Nice Branding Agency can stay on top of algorithm changes and track the best times for your brand to post. And we think that’s something to give a Facebook thumbs up to!
Last year, Instagram let us in on a little secret. Users miss, on average, 70 percent of what comes through their feed. Wowza. That’s a lot of content being missed by your customers and influencers.
The Instagram crew tried to find a way around this, and their “solution” to this problem received mixed responses. To sum it up, they reordered your feed to show moments that they “believe you will care about the most.” So you’re going to see more posts from brands and users who you often engage with — basically, you double tap their pics — a lot.
What does this mean for your biz? Well, you need to be posting content that sparks users to respond with comments or those beloved Insta hearts.
So although Instagram feeds no longer strictly appear in chronological order, posting between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. Monday to Friday will sweeten the odds of users seeing your content.
When I’m posting for one of our clients, I put myself in their customers’ shoes. If their target audience is teachers, I should probably avoid posting between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. because teachers won’t be checking their phones during school hours (well, at least we hope). Apply this same question to your clientele. What time is your average consumer checking their Instagram? Then work your magic and try scheduling content for that time.
In the words of our friends at Hootsuite, Twitter has moved to a quasi-chronological timeline. Your Twitter feed leads with tweets that have a lot of engagement — so Twitter thinks you want to see that content first — and then your feed displays the latest tweets in chronological order.
According to Kissmetrics, weekdays at 5 p.m. are most effective, but Hubspot and Hootsuite are rallying behind 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays. With Twitter, you have the ability to post more content on average than the other social platforms. So we’re all about testing the waters to see what time resonates with your followers.
You can analyze your social analytics, but at the end of the day, it’s a must to put yourself in the minds of your customers and determine if there are certain times that they will be more likely to dive into your social content.
If you’re not into the details and are ready for the social media geeks to handle content creation, scheduling, analytics, and all that other jazz, holla at the Nice Branding Agency gals today.
Get Your Nice Swag On.