When is the Right Time to Post on Social Media?

As new businesses embark on the daunting journey into the world of social media, many will ask, “when is the right time to post on social media?” (because who doesn’t want to get the most bang for their buck?)

The answer: it depends.

Many marketers want the one “secret” formula to making their business an instant money magnet, but I am here to tell you that there is not a “one size fits all” approach to social media. There will be many articles that will claim that they have formulas or golden hours for posting, but my suggestion is: Beware of the “best times to post” articles!

They will be scary for your business!

Why One Solution Won’t Work: Your Clients Aren’t Zombies!

Your potential clients are not online zombies who linger in the same place all day.

With that in mind, it is safe to say that when it comes to timing, it is different for everyone, even if you don’t consider time zones.

Every business approach should be intimately planned with their potential clients in mind. You cannot lump most of your potential client’s into one place, one average, or one time throughout the day or week.

They are alive, active and human!

So, to avoid the scary zombie-like approaches to your social media posting patterns, I want to share with you three practical approaches to “shovel hit” the suggestions you might read online out of your marketing strategy!

Ekk, the Majority Hour: Beware!

Many might argue that there is a “majority hour” you should participate in, claiming “most” people are online at that time.

This suggestion is scary, as it assumes your clients will act like “most” people. You can never assume with online marketing!

If the majority of the U.S. is online during their lunch break at 1:00 pm EST, but your products are specifically targeted for a smaller client pool who are more likely to be online at dinnertime at 6:00PM EST, you would be missing your target audience every time because you decided to trust a one source solution to posting for the “majority.”

Although this is great for general brand awareness it might not give you the results you desire in conversion and overall business.

How can you fix this?

Google, Facebook and other platforms give you generic tracking numbers like clicks, likes and traffic but paying for social and advertising gives you access to even more data! Click-through rates, conversions and other metrics are easier to measure with paid social and advertising, meaning you know exactly what you’re getting out of your investment.

Paid social and advertising also allows you to view responses and engagements, which you can use to continually optimize your campaigns.

Using these insights, analytics and responses allows you to work smarter, not harder. This information helps you tweak future ads to be better. If something isn’t working, you can change it. If something is working, you can figure out how to continue advancing and promoting that idea—with more money and resources. This can help you manage appropriate times and tricks to get in front of your intended audience better!

What a win/win!

Ekk, the Average: Beware!

Basing your actions on a national average would assume that people are the average of data you collect which is also scary.

The average person is a myth and even if the average person checks Facebook on Wednesdays, there are still many other people who check it other days of the week, and their reasons for checking in might apply to your business specifically.

Do not miss out on those potential clients because you assume there is an average “best time to post.”  Know your audience, know their habits, know their specific timing.

Ekk, the Client Reports- Beware!

It’s scary to follow the advice of survey reports because many might not specifically be targeted to your potential clients needs. Many might not account for other factors that might influence your customer’s decisions.

For example, if an infographic on a marketing blog claims that the best day to post or share something would be Thursday, you would easily want to share your ads that day due to studied, calculated numbers.

Lets think above that: What might be the problem with that if there are numbers that show majority and high numbers of traffic?

Taking a step back, would you get more traffic posting on another or second-most popular day? You might have a better chance (less competition) of capturing a greater per capita amount of attention.

This might seem bizarre, but maybe you don’t want to post at the time most people are online if that’s when most other businesses are overwhelming consumers with content. You want to stand out and make the most of your online presence!

By going against the grain you might be able to get a higher impact for your general exposure, get higher number of targeted hits as well as creating your own studies and findings which is always fulfilling!

You Have Avoided the Zombies: A Conclusion

Are you scared yet? Don’t be, because you now have some practical suggestions to consider when you strategize your social media posting plans!

When it comes to strategy, you cant take shortcuts.

You cannot make assumptions and lump your clients in a crowd of comatose consumers who are just lingering around the inter web. You have to care about and know about your audience. You have to do your homework and figure out when they might like to hear from you.

There are tools to help you analyze your current followers like Hootsuite, CrowdFire and Buffer which will help you analyze your current followers patterns. Use this as a starting guide and tweak as you learn more about your potential clients through paid social advertising.

This will take some time and effort, but in the end it will be a success for both your clients and your business.

You do not have to be afraid of the dark abyss of social media, you have practical steps to consider to help your business become a social sensation!

Your “dead-i’cation” to learn and plan for your potential clients will pay off!

If you’re interested in making the most of all your paid social media efforts, Disruptive can help! Click here to find out more about what we can do for you.