Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools in today’s day and age. It has the potential to reach millions of people across the many large platforms that dominate the internet. As such, social media marketing is an essential tool for any person or entity that’s trying to reach an audience. But this can also be a double-edged sword. There are a countless number of posts being made battling for attention on social media. For as many posts that succeed in reaching their audience, dozens more fall under the radar. This is down to a long list of variables that can depend on the audience and what you’re marketing. You need to consider them all, but one detail that is vital is the day and time of the post. If you’re engaging in social media marketing and are struggling with your posts, this article is for you. Marketing Choices knows social media marketing well, and we’re here to offer our advice on what to do.
Social Media Engagement
The goal of this question, and knowing what time and day to post on social media, is engagement. Social media engagement is how much users are interacting and engaging with your content. It could be in the form of likes, replies, or even just views that your posts obtain online. Higher engagement leads to more eyes on your product or service, which can then lead to more success. Naturally, advertisers on social media want to maximize their engagement as much as possible. The day and time a post is sent out can change how many people see and engage with it. Below are some of the ways you can crack the code and find out how to reach your audience.
Know Your Target Audience
When it comes to reaching your audience and learning the best time and day to reach them, know them first. Every demographic has its own qualities, which may mean you need a different day to get their attention online. Factors like their age, locations, and interests can then determine when they’re most present on social media. For example, if school-age children or teenagers are your audience, you know they’re in school for most of the day. You most likely wouldn’t reach many of them if your post launched in the middle of a school day. Even today, when they have their phones with them at school, they can’t always check them. When it comes to the day, the weekend would be a great time since students are off school. But during the week, what day is best may require some experimentation to find out.
With this example, you may want to try posting either earlier or later in the day to reach more people. Of course, this is a very simple example. If you were a local small business trying to reach students, you’d need to research the local school’s schedules. A brand with a national reach would need to research a potential national average time schools begin and end.
One truth is that even with the most specific or general of audiences, you won’t reach literally everyone in it. But by performing research, you can find the best time and day to reach them.
Know Your Target Platform
Just like how important it is to know who is in your marketing plan, knowing where is just as key. The time and day that are best to post on can depend on which platform that post goes live on. While each platform out there can house many different audiences, some groups will lean towards certain sites. A platform like Instagram will have a different audience compared to a site like LinkedIn. They each have different cultures, which means different potential times are best to reach them. LinkedIn is a platform for individuals in the workspace, so a potential good time is the middle of the day. The average worker would likely be at lunch and available to reach. Furthermore, if you’re advertising on LinkedIn, you’d most likely want to avoid posting on traditional work holidays. But that’s just one audience on one platform. Trying to then create posts for college students on Instagram would be a different equation. Just like above, it’s important to research the platform to know the time and day needed.
Experiment With Your Posts
Like any marketing strategy, some of this process can ultimately come down to trial and error. Even if you feel you’ve found the best time and day, your post may still fall through the cracks. Because of this, it’s worth testing many different times and days and taking note of different trends. You may just find that a day you didn’t think would work ends up giving higher engagement than you thought. Some posts will inevitably not reach far, but you’ll then learn what times do and don’t work. Just like life, learning from successes and failures is key. Continue to research, but don’t be afraid to try and experiment to find what works best for your account.
Social Media Marketing With Marketing Choices
We hope this article was useful in showing you how to find more social media engagement. But if you feel you need more help, don’t hesitate to contact us. Marketing Choices offers social media management services where we can bring your account to the next level. We develop creative marketing plans and campaigns for your online marketing needs. We’re ready to help you reach your marketing objectives.
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