When are the Best Times to Engage with People on Social Media?

7 Nov. 2012 - - Total Reads 10,851

Facebook Pixel Advanced Matching

Social media is a powerful tool. When you know how to post properly, you can reach your target audience in a way unheard of only a few years ago. But just as important as the content of your posts, is your timing.

As I explained to Fairfax business reporter David Wilson in his recent article Social Media: Don’t Discount the Timing, these are my top tips on when to use social media to engage with people.

when are the best times to engage with people on social media?

Integrate with the office

More people are in front of computers during office hours than any other time of the day. Therefore, this is the obvious time to post a social media update. Work-related social networking trumps all other opportunities.

Many offices block access to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. But people are innovative and usually manage to find a way around these restrictions, which may partly explain why mobile usage is surging.

The best slots in the average working day are when people arrive at work (8-9am), lunch time (12-2pm), and the period just before staff clock off (5-6pm).

The “Hidden Gem” of Sunday night

While the weekend as a whole fails to win the audience you can gain during the week, Sunday nights are the exception for posting. In particular, 7pm to 8pm is a “Hidden Gem” for social media.

That late Sunday slot can work as well as weekday hot spots, thanks to the “new age” of dual-screen viewers — people watching the television while browsing the mobile or tablet.

Be topical and track trends

Keep track of what’s trending. The engagement of a trend — be it the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, the US presidential race or Gangnam Style Korean dancing — dramatically boosts your social media post’s viral potential.

On-topic and on-brand posts during or soon after these events are always a winner.

Use social media timing tools

There are a number of free online applications you can use to schedule and sync posts between Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and other social media sites. Tweetdeck and Tweriod are two examples. And Facebook recently introduced an in-built option to schedule statuses at 10 minute intervals. So you could write 10 status in one sitting and schedule them to “go live” at specific points throughout the day or night.

Crowdbooster is another valuable service we use to analyse data from social media accounts and determine the best times to post.

Timing tools are also useful for scheduling posts for audiences in specific geographical regions. If you want to reach someone in London, schedule a post to go up during that time zone’s lunch break.

With more and more people having less and less time, and more businesses turning to social media to engage with their market, well-timed posts will help make you stand out from your competitors. Take the time to get your timing right.

Contact us for more information on Social media marketing and strategies.

Michael Simonetti, BSc BE MTE
Posted by:

Post Reads: 10.9K

Share this
Comments
Githa Said :
"Check that off the list of thngis I was confused about."

Trusted by

Uber
MyAccount
Melbourne Central
Mark Alexander Design
Fast.co
Australian Physiotherapy Association
intowork logo
ATT logo
Google
Instant RockStar
National Museum of Australia
Metricon
Positive Poster
Bintani Australia
Eway
itfe logo
Australian Government
Etihad Stadium
One Shift
kestrel logo
NMI Insurance
King Wood Mallesons
Kadac
Switzer Media+Publishing
Madman Entertainment
NGS Super
Florsheim Shoes
ISO CERTIFIED 27001
VISSF
Oakdale Meat Co
Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals
Cleanfit
Sunday Creek
Focus On Furniture
aga logo
Boston Consulting Group
Mecca Brands
McArthur Skincare
Ello
Inferflora
Tomorrow Stars Basketball
Royal Freemasons
BlackMores
Telstra
Ubertas Group
French Tables
Heat Holders
Green St Juice CO
AC/DC
Peter Mac
CCI
mas national logo
Palace Cinemas
CB Richard Ellis
GooglePlay
Shell
Viktoria & Woods
Parker Lane
OpenAI
Xavier
Cell Therapies
Aqium Gel
Wild Rhino Shoes
Launtel
htn logo
skillhire logo
Grays Ecommerce
James Buyer Advocates
Passage Foods
Federation Square
ADP Payroll
Atlantic Group of Companies
Toy World
Coles
Melrose MCT
Celebrate Health
Elucent
Brisbane Times
iPrimus
Ebay
Corrs chambers westgarth
work and training logo
Macmillan Publishing
Ego Pharmaceuticals
National Relay Services
High Street Armadale
nara logo
Mamma Lucia
University of South Australia
Arthur Galan
The Canberra Times
Loan Market
SunSense Digital Agency
POSTER Magazine
Drupal
QV Skincare
Craft CMS
Bank of Cyprus
HGG 
Fit My Car
Kay&Burton
Fresh Cheese Company
findstaff logo
Van Egmond Group
Maxine
ISO Certified
Smart Company
Fairfax Media
Oracle
Grow Your Business
learning partners logo
Engine Swim
News
Appstore
Hairhouse Warehouse
Garmin
Jetstar
ctc logo
Rock Pool Group
The Fortune Institute
Paypal
White Suede
Naturtint
Movember
PranaOn
DeeWhy Market
Bigcommerce
Rackspace
Passage To India
Globird
Grainshaker
Sports Power
Catholic Insurance
The University Of Melbourne
Dinosaur Designs
Tassal
Jalna
liberal
Tek Ocean
The Age
DUSA, Deakin University Student Association
The Burger Cheese
Adobe Professional
GPT Group
Gadens
Max’s
RMIT University
Banki Haddock Fiora
Magento Solution Specialist
TPP
Scrum.org
SwinBurne University of Technology
LBG Australia and New Zealand
Matchbox Homewares
Schiavello
Amino Active
Arc One
Watches of Switzerland
ACTUATE IP
Bulk Nutrients
Hanover
Federation University Australia
ABC
Moov Head Lice
Novvi
interact logo
Melbourne Heart
Gilchrist Connell
Tribe
help logo
Cooper Mills
MAP
Beaumont
OJAY
21st Century Australia Party
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre – MSAC
Engineers Without Borders
Victorian Government
Magento
Windsorsmith
Bolle Safety
Castran Gilbert
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
Australian Anthill
Marshall White
CAN- Common Wealth Bank
Bondi Sands
Think & Grow Rich Inc
Street Kitchen
Melrose Health
Associated Press
Rydges
Taylor Rose
Chia
WTFN
Carlton Football Club
Vendor Advocacy Australia
Vitura Health
131 Pizza
Australian Organic Food CO
Macpherson Kelley
Cronos Australia
Gilbert+Tobin
NextTech
OMS – Order Management System
Unsw Australia
SMH – The Sydney Morning Herald
nextgenskills logo
Toni&Guy
Forbes
Thomson Geer
intojobs logo
Plants
Herbert Smith Freehills
Dial Before You Dig
Acquia Certified Site Builder Drupal
Natralus Australia
Bostik
Crumpler

Testimonials

Thank you for all of your hard work in getting our beautiful Melrose website live today. Woohoo!From the incredible design, to all of the behind the scenes technical aspects, to making it all come together and managing all of our feedback. - Lucinda Hobson, Melrose Project Manager Thank you to each and everyone of you for your dedication and hard work in getting this live and running and for your continuous hard work over the week in ironing out the issues that come with a website launch. Kat Heath, Melrose Group Marketing Manager

More Testimonials
AndMine-Google-Partner-Signature