My social feeds—especially LinkedIn—are constantly filled with updates on the best time to post content to social media. As I read all these updates, I find myself wondering if they are truly applicable to today’s users.
My belief is that the ultimate best time to post on your social media accounts is NOW. Why?
Don’t build your entire strategy on too many (or too few) users.
Most of the information on the best times to post to social media are reporting on data from the platforms users as a whole. This data set is so large that it draws generalities and paints a picture that is unreliable. It’s like saying “the best time to buy milk is before a storm.” Just because lots of people do it doesn’t mean it’s the right time for you.
A common best practice is to monitor your social analytics on each platform. Being able to see when your audience is most engaged with your content can lead to valuable insights. This is a great PART of your strategy, but shouldn’t be the final answer. If you want to engage new followers, who’s to say that they are on at the same times as your current followers?
Algorithms are changing constantly.
The number of updates to the LinkedIn algorithms is directly proportionate to the number of posts on how to beat them. With every change that comes out, experts are putting out new guidelines on how best to be seen. In practical use, however, you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to maintain all these tips and tricks. I interact on my LinkedIn account daily, and even with so many factors for what is shown in my feed I still end up viewing the same content more than once.
The best tip for being seen is to foster engagement. Every time someone reacts to a post or comments on it, others will be seeing it also. Find ways to delight and entertain your audience with your posts and you’ll reach a wider audience organically.
If you wait for the perfect time, you’ll miss your audience completely.
It can be tempting to craft a strategy that plans on reaching people at the “perfect” time. The problem with this is that while you’re spending so much time on your strategy, you’re missing opportunities to reach your audience! It’s inefficient and doesn’t allow for flexibility.
But what about scheduling your social posts, you say? This is a beneficial way to save time, so if you’re scheduling posts in advance, by all means follow your platform metrics as a guide. But if breaking news hits, you’re better off posting it right away than waiting for a magic window.
What do you think? Am I way off base? I’d love to hear feedback on these thoughts.