Are you posting content to your social media channels but not receiving any engagement?  It may be that you are simply not posting your content at the appropriate times. When it comes to posting content on social media, strategic timing is important for receiving engagement from your fans.  The best time of day to publish social media content will vary based on your industry and your audience.  Determining the most ideal times for posting content requires you to first build an audience and then research when they are most active socially.

Build Your Audience

Before you can research the posting habits of your fan base, you must first establish a solid following.  Please keep in mind that you should never purchase your fan base as they will not engage socially and will provide you with no return on your investment.

Your social media followers must be made up of actual customers and people who are genuinely interested in your product.  Having an established and true fan base will enable your business to receive the awareness that it deserves.

First you will need to create your business page on Facebook and any other social media channels you may wish to use. Next, begin building your audience by making customers aware of your online presence.  It is important that you begin sharing relevant content on a consistent basis. Initially, you should share this content at the times of day that you feel are best.

Research Your Audience

Keep an eye on how your followers engage with your content. Engagement may be anything from “liking” your post to sharing it with others or, best of all, commenting on the posts. Keep track of your findings for approximately 60-90 days prior to beginning your research. You can do this by:

1. Create a spreadsheet where you can record between 60 and 90 days of data.
2. Take an in-depth look at your fans and try to establish the times of day that they are posting on their personal page.
3. On your spreadsheet, record the times of day that your fans are most active on their Facebook (or other media) account.
4. Analyze your data to determine the overall times of day that your fans are most active

You may find the best time to publish content is in the morning, afternoon, or evening.  Then again, you may find that it’s best to publish once in the morning and once in the evening.  In the medical industry, based on our research, it was determined the best times to publish were at 7:00 am and 10:30 pm.

Ultimately, the results are going to vary based on your industry and your core audience.  If you want to increase the engagement of your fans and bring awareness to your company research is key!

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