Social Media Posting Tips
So you've got your marketing strategy in place, you've setup all your social network pages and accounts, you're ready to post and then it hits you... When should I actually post?
Unfortunately that is a question way to many marketing managers run into when developing their marketing strategies. Fortunately, there is plenty of data to help you decide when and how you should post to social media.
1. Time It Based On Your Customers
Your social media strategy should be based on your customers. Do you own a restaurant? Post pictures of your delicious dishes when people would be making decisions on where to eat. Are you a realtor? Post photos of beautiful homes right at the beginning of the month when your potential clients just signed a mortgage check for a house they no longer want.
2. Avoid posting at inopportune times
Again, timing is based on your customers, but sometimes we see companies posting when most of their customers will never see their post and that is something you should try to avoid. If you're a nightclub, posting at 10pm to let everyone know that your place is "the" place to be is one thing, but if you're a breakfast diner, posting at that time might be very ineffective.
3. Do not over post mundane content!
Everyone has that one know-it-all friend who chimes it at every opportunity to tell you something, correct you, or inform you of something you weren't particularly interested in right? Don't be that person on social media! You want to be respectful to your readers, and blowing up their feed is the quickest way to find yourself unfollowed.
Suggestions
- If you have a lot of information to post, combine it into one post and provide a link to your content
- If posting multiple times in a small period of time, make sure that each post is fresh with a new topic and new content
- Organize your posts with hashtags
4. Use trending topics wisely (No Trend Jacking!)
Don't Trend Jack!
Trend Jacking is a term used for people who attach themselves to a trending topic, such as #Emmys, and fill it with irrelevant information in an attempt to gain free publicity. This is very frowned upon and will likely garner you some lost followers.
On the other hand, trending topics and hashtags can be very useful if used correctly. If you attach yourself to a topic and get a free retweets, likes, or reblogs in return, that topic just got you some free publicity. A great example of a trending topic that you can attach yourself to is #FirstDayOfFall which landed on Wednesday, September 23. Several clothing retailers honed in on it trying to advertise their new line of fall clothing. This is great marketing and these companies took advantage of the trending topic and got some free publicity