How often do you post on Facebook? Do you only post maybe once a week or a month? Are you obsessed like me and post every 10 minutes? Okay, perhaps that’s a little much. But with all the things going on today you feel like you need to post a lot to keep in contact with your fan base and your readers. But how much is too much and when is the best time to post to get the best exposure?
In this post, we will take a look at some of the best times to make a post on the Facebook platform to do the most good. After all, advertising specialists and marketing experts alike will tell you it’s not how much you do but when you do it sometimes that makes a difference.
What is your goal for your posts?
First of all, you should ask yourself what you wish to accomplish with your post. Facebook is still one of the most popular used social media platforms in the world today. Over 2 billion users per day surf, shop, browse and talk to friends using this platform. They also often use the sharing feature to share interesting things with friends and co-workers.
This makes it a prime opportunity for small business owners to grab a bigger part of your target market on this prominent social media platform.
Facebook offers the potential to reach a huge market but when should you post? There’s an infographic available online that emphasizes when the optimal posting days and times are.
What do the statistics show?
Research on Facebook and social media behavior shows that the best posting days are Thursday and Friday in general. During this time, 71% of all internet users are on Facebook. The time of day is also important with 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. being the target range for general social media members.
More specifically, 1 to 3 p.m. weekdays is optimal for most users. 66% of men use the platform when using the internet on Facebook and 77% of women. Some other statistics indicated that most women who were on Facebook are over the age of 50 and live alone.
The age ranges vary, though given the different times of day and the days of the week. For example, you’ll find ages 18 to 29 of both genders being online about 87% of the time during the peak. While only 73% of persons age 30 to 49 online during that time. So this tells you that the younger people are probably online more on Thursday and Friday.
What does this mean to you? If you are trying to sell a product to younger people should you be on during this time? Perhaps, but chances are you will not get as many people who have more money to spend such as the older group of 32-49-year-olds. Sure some younger people have money from college or parents, but if you want to reach the age range that has more money to purchase with, you will want to target the slightly older shopper too.
All of these numbers can be confusing, and it takes more than a one-time look at the numbers to decide on when you should post. If you study the individual stats, though, you’ll start to see a pattern emerge of when you are most likely to be speaking to your target audience. The key to success with this is in carefully defining your target audience before you post and seeing them in your mind.
This also helps you shape the content of your post when you are thinking of your target audience in your mind as you create content. Likewise, the people reading the post will know it was intended for them because you are addressing their needs in a way that your competition is not doing.
Regarding the numbers, Mark Twain once said there are only two things in life: lies and “damned lies and statistics.” That’s not to say that the statistics can’t be trusted but let’s try to buckle down and look at the specifics of when you should probably post the most.
Getting More Specific
Some of the best general research shows that the best time to post is:
- between 12 noon and 3 p.m. every Monday Wednesday Thursday and Friday
- Between 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday’s
- From 12 noon to 1 p.m. during Saturday and Sunday (best for increasing engagements)
- Between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during weekdays are the safest times to post
What are the worst times?
Before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sundays are considered the worst times to post since people are usually out and about doing other things during this time.
But what helps you make your our ROI and maximize posting time on Facebook? The answer: spending time with your target market. You need to get your information in front of the people who are most likely to purchase from you, not just anyone. So while we can speak in generalities and it might give you a framework of when you should generally post, you really should focus on the times that are most likely to bring you sales and engagements for your target audience.
When determining the best times to post you should consider the following factors:
- Who is your target market
- When are they usually online on Facebook and looking to connect with others
- Picture of your target audience and think about what their interests are and what Lifestyles they lead
- Think about their age range and gender
- What type of products or Services could you offer that they would buy
- What types of products and services would they want to share with others
Selling Internationally
You also need to consider the time zone differences if you have an international audience or people from other countries visit your site. You don’t want to miss out on a sale or inquiry by forgetting to keep the time zone differences in mind.
There is never a one-size-fits-all formula and no universal solution that fits everyone, so it is up to you to do your research and decide when the best time is to put up ads and when you will have them run.
It also should help you lay some guidelines on when you will make your posts and who you will be speaking to in those post. When writing original content, it is always important to picture your audience in your mind, so you know who you’re talking to.
Best Practice
The best idea to take the general statistics that we told you earlier from the infographic statistics and then combine that with your knowledge of your particular target market. Additionally, you may want to conduct experiments via Google Analytics or some of Facebook’s pixel tools so that you can get a true picture of who your audience is, when they are on Facebook, and when they are most likely to react to your ads and posts.
Ads vs. Posts
Finally, it’s also important to consider the difference between Facebook ads and posts. Ads are to advertise a particular service or product that you offer with your company or business, while posts could be just PR for your brand, and getting to know your posts. You may be wanting to invite newcomers to your site and any other kinds of things.
Importance of Media
Be sure to include media such as podcasts and videos as well as infographics or photos as this tends to bring a higher level of engagement no matter what time you post.
If you go back and reread this post, you should be able to get a general idea of when to start posting. Then gage your results by the interactions and engagements you get based on a Facebook ad campaign. Facebook does the statistical analysis for you, so this takes out the guesswork.
Have fun and remember, you are speaking to a specific audience. Don’t lose sight of the goal.