April 30, 2014

Struggling to Figure Out the Best Time To Post on Social? New Study Shows the Light

You wake up on Sunday morning with the idea for an amazing blog post. So you race to the computer, create a masterpiece and link to it on Facebook.

Three hours later you are left scratching your head, wondering where all of the “likes” are. Could the fact that it’s Sunday morning have anything to do with it? According to new research from SurePayroll and Ghergich & Co, it has everything to do with it. The new study provides actual metrics indicating the best and worst times to post content over social channels, so you don’t have to guess anymore.

Facebook

Best Time: Perhaps there is something to the midway point of hump day after all, as the highest volume of users take to Facebook after lunch to catch up on the week’s news and look ahead to the weekend. This study indicates that the highest average for click-throughs falls between 1 and 4 p.m., while the peak comes at 3 p.m. 

Worst Time: Posting content on the weekends is fine, as long as you keep it between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Just think about it: The majority of people are sleeping or going out during this time—not reading articles.

Helpful hint: Keep in mind that photos on Facebook generate 104 percent more user comments and 53 percent more likes. They’re also a great way to enhance short posts and can be a game changer when steering customers to your blog or website.

Twitter

Best Time: Forrester recently indicated that only 55 percent of companies that market on Twitter claim they are satisfied with the business value they achieve. Timing could have everything to do with this. Contrary to the popular belief that you should post on Twitter around dinnertime, statistics indicate the best time to reach the most amount of people is Monday-Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Remember, Twitter is a channel designed to spread real-time information. If you want to reach the business crowd and get actual results, try posting when they’re at work.

Worst time: Stay away from Twitter after 8 p.m. Also, keep in mind that data shows Twitter is ineffective on Fridays after 3 p.m.

Helpful hint: Photos can help stretch your presence on Twitter, too. In fact, tweets with images result in a 36 percent increase in clicks, and a 31 percent increase in site visits. Including an image with your tweet will also dramatically boost your number of retweets, favorites, visitor-to-lead conversion rates and leads.

LinkedIn

Best time: While you might prefer browsing on LinkedIn first thing on Monday, or last thing on Friday, keep in mind that statistics show the highest average for click-throughs actually come in the middle of the week, Tuesday-Thursday. Peak times on LinkedIn fall daily around noon, and also between 5 and 6 p.m.

Worst Time: You should avoid posting on LinkedIn Monday and Friday between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Post regularly during the middle of the week and consider these hours “bonus” time where you can count on users to stumble on your material without counting on them for the majority of interactions.

Helpful hint: Don’t forget about your mobile content, as 41 percent of visitors will come from a mobile device. This is an increase of three percent from last October. Make sure your content is optimized for mobile use and easy to navigate on a smaller screen. Keep posts short and sweet.

It’s interesting to note that other social media sites tend to thrive after business hours and on weekends. The study indicates that users on Pinterest, Tumblr and Google+ blossom on Saturday mornings, Friday evenings at 7 p.m. and during the hours of 9 and 10 a.m., respectively. And remember: peak times merely indicate the time to display your best content. It’s great to supplement your most impressive material with content between these hours, to keep people interested and coming back for more. 

 



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