It’s easy to figure out how many people have Facebook pages (over 400 million active users worldwide
1), or how many Tweeple are on Twitter (over 100 million users
2). But what about the statistics that help you determine the best times to get information to your followers?
So What Are The Best Possible Posting Times?
In general, Monday through Wednesday have been found to be best days to post content to maximize visibility. According to estimates from Vitrue
3 (a startup that helps marketers manage their social-media presences), Tuesday has the highest traffic and click-through rates on Facebook. Vitrue also estimates that in terms of the rest of the week, Sunday and Thursday are better days to post than Friday and Saturday. This could potentially be attributed to the fact that, in general, less people check social media sites on the weekend.
In addition, according to research Sysomos
4 (a social media analytics company), Tuesday is also the most active day on Twitter, accounting for 15.7% of total activity in a week. This is followed by Wednesday (15.6%) and Friday (14.5%).
Both independent bloggers
5 and Sysomos
4 have conducted research about why these times of day are best:
9:00-10:00 a.m: People are arriving to work and going through their morning routine of catching up on emails.
12:00-2:00 p.m: Lunch break! With some time to kill, many people check Facebook and Twitter and quickly read through what’s been posted so far that day. However, there are less re-tweets and comments during this period due to the limited time people have for lunch. Sysomos4 found that Twitter activity peaks daily from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., with the majority of activity occurring between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
3:00-5:00 p.m: End of the day - things start to get a little sluggish, people take more breaks during this time, and they kill time as the clock slowly ticks toward 5:00 p.m.
Can’t Actually Post at 9am on Tuesdays? Use These tools to Schedule Your Posts.
Not sure how you can post regularly at “high traffic” times? There are some amazing tools out there that allow you to manage your social media posts in more effectively. These tools are no secret- in fact, more than half of Twitter users (55%) use something other than Twitter.com to post
4. Free dashboards such as
HootSuite and
Sendible let you schedule your posts in advance, on multiple social media platforms, at one time. Just type your post, pick which platforms to send it to, then pick your day and time from an easy to use calendar. This allows you to minimize time spent posting, and reach your followers at the best possible times, on many sites, without having to constantly be online.
Despite the boost that posting at a “high traffic” time can give your social media efforts, it is important to remember that content is first and foremost the most important thing. Combine high-quality posts that facilitate conversation with excellent timing, and you’ll see an increase in the value of your social media strategy in no time!
Don't Forget to Check Out TREND's Social Media Sites, ANY DAY!
1 http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
2 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63D46P20100415
3 http://vitrue.com
4 http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/
5 http://franchisemarketingdaily.com/2009/12/09/the-best-time-to-post-on-social-sites/