There are plenty of social media platforms that enable companies to promote their brand by engaging with fans and potential audiences. However, traffic for these sites change significantly at both different times of the day and certain days of the week. This affects how many people notice posts, therefore finding the right time to post is essential.
There are many reports that state the ideal times to post, however many of the statistics often contradict each other as they recommend different hours and different days. Furthermore, the majority of studies focus on Eastern Standard Time, which makes it difficult to identify exactly when to post for different time zones.
Listed below is a brief overview of some of the statistics, all in EST. Whilst they can be informative, it is a good idea to approach them with caution. (To find an ideal time that is reliable for your specific page, have a look further down this article at the recommended social monitoring tools).
Facebook: Dan Zarrella has gathered statistics that suggest that Saturday is the best day to share content on Facebook, and proposes posting at noon and after 7pm. However, Buddy Media found that in comparison to other days, there is an 18% increase of engagement on posts that fall on a Thursday and Friday. Additionally, the report found that there is a 20% increase of engagement on posts outside of working hours.
Twitter: Fannit found that engagement on Twitter increased by 30% on weekends compared to weekdays, and they recommend posting around 1-3pm. However Argyle Social suggest that posting on weekdays is actually more effective.
Blogs: Fannit found that Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are the best days to post on blogs, and suggests posting at 11am. Dan Zarrella found that most people read blogs on Mondays, and that 11am is the peak time for views. But he also found that Saturdays, and 9am are the best times to receive comments on blogs.
Google+: Both Social Caffeine and Fannit found that 9-11am is a good time to post on Google+. Social Caffeine additionally mentions that the peak time to post is during work hours, whilst the evening hours should be avoided.
Tumblr: Union Metrics found that Saturdays and Sundays are the most active days on Tumblr, and recommends posting in the evening. Bitly advises to post from late afternoon to the evening, but reports that Friday is the best day for traffic.
Instagram: Track Maven found that there is not an ideal time to post pictures to Instagram, because interactions remain quite consistent throughout the week.
Pinterest: Fannit reported that the best time to post on Pinterest is on Saturday morning around 2-4pm, and 8-11pm. Social Caffeine reported similar information, stating that 2-4pm and 8-1am were the best times to post, with a peak time at Saturday morning.
The general points to consider from these statistics is that early morning, lunch, and the evening work commute seem to usually be the best times to post. Posting late at night seems like it should be avoided, apart from the exceptions of Tumblr and Pinterest. Whilst weekdays and weekends can differ greatly.
The important bit: enlist the help of social media monitoring tools
As statistics do not always provide consistent times to post, it is important to research your specific audience. This includes considering what schedules your audience are most likely to have, and where they are located. However, the most effective method is to utilise a social media monitoring tool. There are a large amount of these available, many of which produce an array of useful statistics and helpful information. The specific ones that are listed below are able to gather information on a page and determine the best times to post:
Facebook Insights: This useful monitoring tool for Facebook provides information on when fans are usually online. Furthermore, it also allows you to assess what style of posts are most popular and how people are responding to them.
Tweriod: This is an easy to use tool for Twitter that calculates what time followers are online the most, and then provides statistics showing the best times to post.
Social Bro: Also used for Twitter, this analyses the timelines of followers, therefore showing the period in which people are most likely to view posts and interact with them. It has many other useful features, such as tracking activity of mentions and re-tweets, and lots of data to help you target your audience.
Timing+: This is used with Google+, and helps to determine when the ideal time to post is through analysing past post activity.
Hootsuite: This is a very popular monitoring tool, which is useful for covering a large range of social media sites. It includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and WordPress. Among many other features, there is the interesting option to allow the program to auto-schedule posts based on its calculations of the ideal time.
It is always important to remember that although timing plays an important role, posts can get buried in other traffic when social media sites are very busy. Therefore, it is best to ensure that you are posting engaging and inspiring content whilst also posting at the ideal time.
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http://www.socialtalent.co/blog/timing-is-everything-when-is-the-best-time-to-post-on-x-y-and-z
http://blog.bufferapp.com/best-time-to-tweet-post-to-facebook-send-emails-publish-blogposts
blog.kissmetrics.com
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/science-of-social-timing-3
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/science-of-social-timing-1
http://www.slideshare.net/buddymedia?utm_campaign=profiletracking&utm_medium=sssite&utm_source=ssslideview
http://www.fannit.com/social-media-infographic-when-are-the-best-times-to-post/
http://argylesocial.com/infographics/social-timing-insights-infographic
http://lorirtaylor.com/the-best-and-worst-times-to-post-on-social-networks-infographic/
http://unionmetrics.tumblr.com/post/55614818502/whens-the-best-time-to-post-to-tumblr-weve
http://blog.bitly.com/post/22663850994/time-is-on-your-side
http://trackmaven.com/resources/the-fortune-500-instagram-report/
Image by Odan Jaeger via sxc.hu
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