Have you seen the results from recent research that Facebook engagement is higher on weekends or “non-business” hours (i.e. outside of the typical 9-5 day)?
Each business/industry is different, so you should be checking your Facebook Page’s Insights and monitoring your Twitter activity to learn when your business gets the most engagement.
But, in general, it makes sense that “non-business” hours may show higher rates of engagement because your audience members are on social sites in their free time, away from the office.
Weekends and late evening hours may be great times for your audience to see your social media posts, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up your free time or stay plugged in to social media 24/7.
Here are a few tips and action steps for reaching your audience on Facebook and Twitter during “non-business hours”. Test this strategy over the next few weeks and see what it does for your audience engagement.
Facebook Tips
The new Facebook post scheduling feature is great and easy to use! You simply type in your status update (or upload a picture, interesting link, etc) and then click on the scheduling icon (the clock in the lower left corner of the status box) to schedule the post.
You can also use third-party apps like Hootsuite or Buffer, but I prefer to schedule posts within Facebook (there is some debate on whether or not using third-party apps decreases your EdgeRank).
Action Steps – Schedule 4 non-business-hour posts per week:
Weekend: schedule one post for Saturday and one for Sunday.
Weekdays: schedule posts during “non-business” hours (early morning/late night) – pick 2 days and schedule a post for each.
Post Ideas – You may want to create a different theme for your non-business hour posts (keep in mind that photos/videos get a higher rate of engagement):
- Behind-the-scene photos of your business/office
- Employee “about me” posts
- Local events/local area scenes
- Current events (the Olympics is a great example right now)
- An archived blog post (one of the most popular or one that explains more about you)
- Motivational quotes
Twitter Tips
If you are following our recommendation for sending out 10 Tweets per day, then just cut back a little on the weekend: aim for 5 Tweets on Saturday and 5 Tweets on Sunday.
Your weekend Tweets may be more informational and less conversational if you are not on Twitter in real-time over the weekend.
Action Steps – Schedule 5 Tweets for Saturday and 5 Tweets for Sunday
There are a variety of apps/tools to use for scheduling Tweets: Buffer, Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Social Oomph. Spend time during the week scheduling Tweets or take a few minutes early Saturday/Sunday and load 5 Tweets in your Buffer.
Ideas for Weekend Tweets:
- Motivational Quotes
- “Fun” facts or ideas
- Trending topics (like the Olympics or personal interests): just for fun, I try to post a photo of one of my 3 cats every Saturday for #caturday on Google Plus and then send a Tweet at the same time.
- Make sure you’ve linked your Facebook account to Twitter – which will account for at least 1 Tweet each day since you’ve scheduled two weekend Facebook posts already
Monitor your “non-business” hour updates over the next few weeks to determine what type of engagement you get from your audience.
These are tools and steps I follow to maintain a social media presence even when I’m not plugged in. I’d love to hear about any tools or tips that help you too!
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About Terry League