With social media, timing is everything.

Posted by Jeannine de Richemond on 13 August 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: social media

When email first arrived on the marketing scene, we questioned the best times of the week to reach out to our audiences. After some savvy marketers performed day-of-the-week tests with versioned email blasts, it was discovered that Tuesdays are the best day to ensure the highest number of opens and click-throughs. (For more helpful email marketing tips, read this.)

Now the hottest topic in the marketing world is social media. And interestingly enough, the same question remains: when’s the best time to tweet, update your blog or post a new question on LinkedIn? One could take an educated guess and assume if emails work best on Tuesdays, social media will, too. But let’s take a closer look. Social media is tricky.

The majority of people (workaholics not included) check their email most while sitting at their desk at work, and seldom on the weekends. But platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have transcended the work/life boundary, and most of us are active on social networks before, during and well past the close of business.

So when is the right time? Or is there more than one? Do I need to hire someone to work nights and weekends to keep my social media efforts in the here and now? The answers can be found in two things: the nature of your business and the nature of your audience. Say, for example, you’re a marketing exec at a company that grows, produces and sells herbal teas and you’re promoting a new Relaxing Raspberry Mint tea. You might want to consider increasing your social media activity around 11:45am on Tuesdays, a time recently discovered to be the most stressful time of week.

But since you (hopefully) already know your business, the trick here is to know your audience. When are they at work? When are they home? What times are they active on social media? How long do they spend there?

This is all vital information worth considering to prevent your social media efforts from falling on deaf ears. Figure out when your target audience is the most active or receptive to social media marketing.

Keep time zones in mind, too. If your business is located in Boston, but the majority of your audience lives in California, it probably wouldn’t make sense to kickoff an online contest first thing in the morning, because 3 hours away, your prospects are still asleep.

To recap:

1. Realize the difference between email marketing and social media. What works for one won't necessarily work for the other.
2. Understand the ubiquity of social media. It's hard to escape, but you can use it to your advantage.
3. Know your business. The nature of product or service you're offering can play a big role in determining when you reach out to your audience.
4. Know your audience. Research their social media behavior and time accordingly.
5. Time zones are not your friend. Simple arithmetic, however, is, when calculating time of day where ever your prospects may be.