2. Finding the right time and the right frequency
We’ve all heard that posting content on Social Media on a regular basis will increase engagement and traffic. However, locating information on the optimal number of posts and time can be difficult. In this chapter, we’ll look at some studies to help you find your perfect match, as well as a tool that can help you with your Social Media promotion. Keep on reading!
Let’s start with the Social Media study of Buffer, in where they have shared the best practices for Social Media posting frequency:
- Twitter: at least three times per day: After the third tweet, engagement begins to decline slightly.
- Facebook – 2x per day, at most: 2x per day is the level at which likes and comments begin to decline dramatically.
- LinkedIn: 1 post per day: 20 posts per month (1 post per weekday) allows you to reach 60% of your target audience.
- 5 times per day or more on Pinterest: Adopting a multiple-times-per-day posting strategy has resulted in steady growth – and, in some cases, rapid or sensational growth! – for the top brands on Pinterest.
- Instagram: 1.5 times per day or more: Major brands post to Instagram 1.5 times per day on average. There is no drop in engagement when you post more, as long as you keep up the posting rate.
Of course, this type of data varies by company, so we recommend that you continue to analyse your results in order to develop the most effective strategy. We understand that finding the right frequency necessitates extensive testing; therefore, we do believe these averages are a good starting point.
Timing, in addition to frequency, is an important factor. Every Social Media platform has a peak period during which posts receive the most attention. This makes sense given the differences in the types of people who use each Social Media platform.
LinkedIn, for example, is a Social Media platform for job searching and business networking. As a result, the peak hours for LinkedIn will most likely be during business hours. In contrast, Facebook and Instagram are more leisure activity Social Media platforms. You may notice the most activity early in the morning, when people are commuting, and later at night, when people are returning home from work. As a business owner, you must understand when each network reaches its peak time in order to maximise your engagement.
To assist you, we have used a study which highlights the best times to post your content. Again, this is not the case for every business, but we believe these averages can assist you in making an effective start when you haven’t had time to analyse your results yet.
Twitter
Between 11 am and 1 pm EST on Monday or Thursday for B2B.
12 pm or 1 pm from Monday to Wednesday for B2C.
Facebook
For B2B brands, the best time is between 9 am and 2 pm EST on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
B2C brands will have better luck at 12 pm EST on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Instagram
Wednesday at 11 am and Friday at 10–11 am are the best times to post.
The overall best day is Wednesday.
The most consistent engagement happens Tuesday through Thursday from 10 am–3 pm.
LinkedIn
They found the best time to post on LinkedIn for both B2B and B2C business owners to be (Wednesday) at 9 am.
You will also get good results by posting at 12 pm (on Wednesdays).
Pinterest
Between 8 pm and 11 pm – with 9 pm peak.
Fridays and Saturdays may be the best times. This makes sense since people often use Pinterest to plan projects (and weekends are a good time to plan for the coming weeks).