It goes without saying that your content needs to rock, be informative and engaging if your social media Sydney campaign is going to be a success. But if no one’s seeing your posts, re-tweeting, sharing or likeing your content, then your message is getting lost in cyber space.
When it comes to posting on large platforms like Twitter and Facebook it’s vital that your messages are sent to your target audience when they are likely to be receptive to them.
According to the latest research by award winning social media scientist, Dan Zarrella there is a science behind social media timing. After spending two years analysing the best times to blog, email, post on Facebook and tweet, one of the most interesting patterns Mr Zarrella found is what he terms, “contra- competitive timing”.
Mr. Zarrella likens this phenomenon to being at a party.
“It’s like when you’re at a noisy party and it’s hard to hear the person talking to you two feet away, but suddenly you say something awkward and the room quiets down. Now everyone can hear you. The same is true with the internet. When there is less other noise to compete with (ie fewer Tweets, emails, blog posts, etc) your content can gain attention more easily.”
This doesn’t mean that you should just publish at weekends, but it’s worth investigating if your content has more traction during off-peak times. Here is a summary of Mr. Zarrella’s findings:
The best time of day to get Retweeted: Between 3pm-6pm
The best day of the week to get ReTweeted: Friday
The best time of day to get shared on Facebook: 9am
The best day of the week to get shared on Facebook: Saturday
The best time to get your blog read: Morning
It’s worth noting that the findings for Twitter and Facebook are different, which indicates that your timing strategies should be different for both platforms.
Of course this method may not work for every in industry or brand, so it’s worth doing your research and also consider the usage behaviour of your target audience. When are they most likely to be online? If you target office workers, they will most likely be checking their accounts during their lunch break, or if your audience own smart phones they may be online on their way to work.
Social media never sleeps, so experiment and break the rules – you won’t know if your fans respond better to a different timing strategy until you try it.
For further information on how to build your social media campaign contact Blue By Red PR in Sydney.
