This is a question we get asked regularly, unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
If you google this question you will see lots of features from people who have researched the best times telling you that Wednesday lunchtimes and Thursday at 8.00 am will be the optimum time to get engagement. The truth is that the best time for you to post to social media is going to be the best time for your specific audience.
Content
Before thinking about what time you post, think about your content. Are your posts interesting, are they valuable and relevant to your audience and are you posting regularly? This is going to be the key factor in gaining engagement and a wider audience.
Audience
Once you know you have some great content, spend some time thinking about your audience. For example are you trying to reach young professionals, or are you trying to reach parents with young children. They are likely to be most active at different times, it can be useful to write quick customer personas to help you define who your audience are and what they do. LINK
Social Listening
It is worth spending some time doing some social listening. Listen to your existing audience, what posts do they like best and when do you get the most reactions, the chances are you will see a pattern. What are your competitors doing, and what works for them? Take some time to listen in – it might give you some useful insight.
There are lots of tools for social listening – I use Hootsuite, which allows me to search by keywords and location to see what is happening. Hootsuite also offer some great free training via their online lessons here
Get posting!
Once you’ve worked out what your audience like and when they are active and engaged get posting!
Want any advice or help? Get in touch with us!
Nicky Hobbs – South London Social
hello@southlondonsocial.com
southlondonsocial.com 