Anyone with a social media account understands the importance of how many views, likes and comments a post gets.
No one wants to feel like what they have to say does not matter, or their documented moments of life are going unnoticed. Those colorful sunsets and beautifully decorated plates of food are once-in-a-lifetime visuals and are not going to admire themselves.
If you are trying to increase your audience’s interaction with your feed, then you must post strategically. A social media organizing app called Hootsuite allows users to plan and schedule posts whenever they would like them to be made public — even on multiple social media platforms.
Hootsuite’s social media marketing specialist Amanda Wood states there are specific times for different platforms that are proven to induce more interaction from an audience in comparison with other times. Here are some platforms she mentions:
Based on Hootsuite’s analysis of over 40,000 tweets, the best time to post on Twitter is 3 p.m. on weekdays Monday through Friday. “The highest amount of clicks and Retweets [occur] at [this time],” says Wood.
Facebook’s news feed is no longer organized chronologically, so finding a time to post can be difficult. Wood says the best time to post on Facebook is between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. And for the weekend, the number of clicks increases between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Instagram posts appear in an order based on an algorithm that is based on how many likes and comments the post receives. This is so the audience will be more likely to enjoy their feed and be engaged with the content. Hootsuite states that based on their Instagram analysis, the best time to post is between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Noticing a trend? For the apps with an organization of posts based on an algorithm other than chronological, the best time to post is around noon. If one were to guess, this is most likely due to the population taking a collective break to eat lunch. This window of time gives people the opportunity to check-out and focus on things other than daily responsibilities.
Time is not the only factor determining the success of posts on the vast spectrum of social media platforms. Social media users must take their location and their audience into consideration before posting as well. Time zones and age groups can greatly affect the success of your post if your content is specific towards a certain group of like-minded people.
Next time you find yourself tapping on that “Compose” button, ask yourself these questions: What time is it? Where is most of your audience located? How old are they? Is my content appropriate for my audience’s age group? Each answer will affect how well your post will perform and how much attention it will receive.