The One About Having A Social Media Schedule

Everything in life requires structure to some extent. A schedule...a pattern...a plan essentially. Some strategy that leaves nothing to happenstance.  And we aren't talking about a wedding or a family vacation..though yours truly is in dire need of one. (Reading this honey?) 

Social media marketing is not exempt from this either. But why?

By the numbers

Social media was an after thought at one point.  People often regarded it as mere entertainment -something that the kids were into.  It was more of a fringe player...or at so we thought. 

Now we realize that the strength of social media lies in quality of content, accessibility and posting frequency. So you know you want to use Facebook and Instagram but have you thought about when?

How?

What is the specific plan of attack? Relative to some of the heavy hitters on this list these are more guidelines based on your market.   At least as far as posting.  

How often to post:

Twitter 328 million users. 3-5 times per day.

• Monday Through Thursday are the strongest days to post

• Thursday is the most recommended day to post in the week

• Noon on Thursday is the most active time in the week

• Safe to post any weekday between noon and 3 p.m.

• Early mornings and late nights are the least optimal posting times

Facebook-1.94 billion followers.  Most brands should post once per day.

• Thursday to be the most recommended day to post

• 1 p.m. on Thursday to be the most active time

• Relatively safe to post any day between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Early mornings and late nights are the least optimal posting times

• Wednesday through Sunday are the strongest days to post

Instagram 700 million users. Most post 1.5 times per day, but there’s no loss in engagement when posting more frequently.

• Monday through Friday are the strongest days to post

• Monday tends to drive the most engagement out of the week

• 3 p.m. each day is least optimal time to post

• Safe to post nearly any time (excluding 3 p.m.) on Monday through Thursday

• Most recommended posting times include 2 a.m., 8.a.m. and 5 p.m.

Pinterest 175 million. Pin~3 times per day for optimal traffic.

• Saturday is the highest recommended day to post

• Friday through Sunday are the strongest days to post

• Late nights until 3 a.m. (excluding midnight to 1 a.m.) are safe times to post

• 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday are the most optimal posting times

• Least optimal posting times include Sunday through Friday 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Linked In Post-once per day during the workweek (~20 posts per month)

• Tuesday through Thursday are the most recommended days to post

• Noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday are the most optimal times to post

• Least optimal posting times include every day from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

• Least optimal posting days include Saturday and Sunday

• Safe to post 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays

That's enough to make your head spin.  Now that you know when to post the next step is figuring out what makes your target tick (see Content). 

We will tackle that subject in the very short future.