If you have a small business or you're just starting to branch out and build your brand online, consider using social media platforms to promote your company. Users want to be on social media, so it's a great avenue for your business to reach them where they already are. Managing your social media at all times of the day can be demanding though, so consider connecting your new social media platforms to a social media management application/tool to help with scheduling and organization.

scheduling plan book on laptop next to notebook and small plant

Tools for Social Media Posts

There are many tools available, and each has its own set of features. Some tools are site-specific and will simply schedule your social media posts. On the other hand, other tools act as a central hub for all your social media platforms. For example, Hootsuite allows users to schedule posts and gather data on social media platforms and performance. Additionally, advanced tools like If This Then That (IFTTT) or Zapier can self-execute tasks from your schedules based off different triggers, keeping everything automated.

Optimize Social Media Post Timing

Surprisingly, one of the best tools isn't an actual tool at all: it's knowing when to schedule your recurring or queued social media posts. Traffic varies by platform and by industry. For example, a fitness gym may do well posting early in the morning closer to 7am than at 11pm at nighttime. 

Facebook tends to have high traffic on the weekends. You may find your Facebook posts perform well if scheduled at noon on the weekends or after lunch breaks on the weekdays. Pinterest, on the other hand, can be more popular on just the weekends. Tweets on Twitter do well on Wednesdays. If your business would thrive well on Instagram (e.g. if you can showcase a variety of products), consider posting Mondays and Thursdays, and publish videos to Instagram in the evening.

Knowing the general trends of how most people behave, how your industry reacts, and when they are most engaging is one of the best ways to leverage your social media content. Once you've tested these general patterns for a while with a social media management tool, start to rearrange your posting schedule and find what your specific market reacts to best. After a while, you may even incorporate Google Analytics as a web tool to see how successful your posts are at driving website traffic.

Managing your social media platforms and scheduling your posts takes a little time and learning to best reach your most engaging audience, but once you reach them, they'll work wonders in extending your network and helping you promote your brand. For more information on managing your social media platforms, contact us today!