Want to be successful on social media? Then you have to post regularly.
But what does that mean?
Daily? Hourly? By the minute? Is there a point where you’re posting too much? How do you know if it’s not enough?
Is there such a thing as the perfect social media post timing schedule?
Like most things in online marketing, the answer is: it depends.
In most cases, the best answer we give our clients is:
“Your best social media post schedule is however often you can post with quality content, consistently.”
This has been our stock answer since we first started helping people with their social media posting, and it will never change.
Yet even that answer is kind of vague.
With every great online marketing question, there’s an answer supported by testing. Let’s start at the beginning.
Pick your social media accounts carefully
I once had a conversation with a client that went like this:
“I’m trying to figure out how to use YouTube better.”
“How often do you put up new content?”
“Almost never. I hate video. It’s hard to make. I dread the process. A few times a year is all I can take.”
Ever thought like that? That’s what’s good (and bad) with social media. In reality, there’s a social media platform for everyone. Some people love to take pictures. Some people enjoy creating videos. Some people like to write.
Don’t choose to work with a social media platform if you hate creating the content. It’s hard enough to gain traction on a social media site if you love being there. But if you find the process taxing, you’re less likely to do it. (Even if someone swears it’s the “perfect” platform to be on.)
Marketing only works if you’re committed to the process.
Understand what social media platforms really want
If you’ve been on any social media platform for any length of time, you know they always change their minds.
They build something new and try it out for a bit. Then switch it all up. They tweak. They add. They delete. Their algorithms are constantly changing.
Why is that? It’s because they are committed to giving the end user what makes them (the social media platform) the most money. This has nothing to do with making you happy as a free-using member. It’s an ebb and flow to keep shareholders happy.
Yet overall, it’s pretty easy to figure out what social media platforms want. Whatever their focus, whatever they deliver to their viewers, they want the best. The higher quality content will always win. No matter if it’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, they want content, whatever that means to each platform.
Content comes in six basic formats: images, video, links, text, quotes, and reshares.
By far, images – visual content – is huge in every platform. Why? Because we’re visual creatures. Studies show Twitter does better with images, and will get more retweets. Places like Pinterest and Instagram are custom made around visual. They get your message across in a way that words simply can’t do.
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Let’s talk about social media post timing
How many times a day do you think you should post on your social media accounts per day? One? Ten?
Turns out there’s a lot of research on that. And it’s probably not as much as you think. According to one recent study, every social media platform has it’s “perfect” timing.
The best time to post – between 12 and 4 pm
The best days to post – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
The best time to post – between 11 am and 1 pm, 5 pm
The best days to post – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
The best time to post – 12 pm, between 5 and 6 pm
The best days to post – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
The best time to post – 8 am, 12 pm, between 5 and 6 pm
The best days to post – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
You should take into account time zones as well. If you’re on Pacific time, are your clients on Eastern? That could impact your best time to post. It’s worth studying your statistics, to find out when most people click.
Of course, all of this is a rough estimate. This gives you a starting point. You can use this to build on as you find where your prospects hang out.
Post as often as you find useful information. Post as often as you find things that are entertaining. Be a resource people want to follow.
Remember, consistency is best.
The importance is sticking with a plan
Does “the right answer” exist when trying to come up with the right social media posting frequency? For every case study you find that says to post one way, you can find another case study that would prove it wrong.
It comes down to researching your audience and testing. Then doing it all over again.
For you, you might determine your social media posting schedule looks something like this:
- Twitter – 7 times a day, every hour from 10 am to 4 pm
- Facebook – 2 times a day, seven days a week
- Instagram – 1 time a day every day
- Youtube – 1 new video every week
Does that make it seem more manageable, when you see it written down? For a lot of people, it does. Otherwise, it seems like nothing more than impossibility and a chore.
There aren’t a lot of shortcuts to winning the social media posting game. What it takes is effort. A lot of effort, every day.
You can do it yourself. You can find the right content, schedule time in your busy day to get it all done.
Or you can find someone to help – someone like us who are experts at social media marketing.
If you know you need to post more to reach out to your customer base, why not let us help you out. It makes your life easier, and helps you reach out to your audience in an entirely new way.
