Happy Friday! It’s that time of the week again; everybody is thinking about their weekend plans and counting down the seconds until they can go home from work. Believe it or not these kinds of thoughts tie heavily in to social media and the reception certain posts receive. Today we take a look at two things. We discuss when to post, and we discuss a little bit of what to post.
Despite what you might read on the internet or hear from an “expert” in Social Media, there is no perfect day or time to post. There is no secret formula, and no scientific algorithm that says if you post on Tuesday’s at 3:46pm your post will go viral. When so much of virality depends on people and their emotions and feelings at any given point, nothing can ever be perfect. However, there are better times than others to post. I know that this kind of information is all over the web, but I want to explain it a little more so that you understand why certain times are better than others.
From my research with hands on data here is in order from best to worst the days of the week to post: Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, and Saturday. Knowing this was simply not enough for me. I wanted to create a theory as to why certain posts go more activity than others. Tuesday in the afternoon is the single best time to post on a Social Media site if you want something to be seen and engaged with by lots of people. Here’s the scoop on why. Tuesday afternoon is when you get the most attention because it’s the first time people who are at work really get to twiddle their thumbs if you will. When people get back to work on Monday, they have work to catch up on so they easily stay busy all day, yet when they come in on Tuesday they finish what they need to in the morning and in the afternoon they sit and wait to be told what needs to get done the rest of the week. They get bored at work around 3:00 and start looking to Facebook and Twitter to stay preoccupied.
Thursday afternoon is the same way for a different reason. Thursday afternoon starts the wind down. People are finishing up the really challenging stuff they needed to finish by Friday. They have been stressed so they take a break, and where do they turn for a source of quick entertainment? Your garden center’s Facebook page to see what kind of deals you are having this weekend.
The next best time to post is tricky. I know I said that Wednesday is better than Friday, but that is only when you compare the data on a daily basis, but if you split the data into morning and afternoon, you find something shocking. I found that after Tuesday afternoon, Friday morning is the second best time to post, but why? Look at it this way. When people wake up on Friday what do they say? “Ahh it’s Friday!” Right? Well when they go to work with the same mentality. They think it’s Friday, and that they are almost done for the week. They float off into a kind of daydream and start surfing the web for anything that might interest them like gardening or how to plant mixed containers. This quickly changes at about noon however, when everyone begins realizing there is much more to be done before they can leave their work for the week.
As far as what to post that ultimately depends on your Social Media strategy, but I will give you my advice. We in the horticultural industry have something very unique to offer the public. Horticulture can often be a creative art-form. That is how the general public likes to think of flower industry (what we call Horticulture). They see plants as a way to express themselves and be creative and ecofriendly all at the same time. So when people go on your Facebook and all of your posts are merely links to some article about growing habits, some might be interested but you are losing a great deal of interested viewers.
Above and beyond pictures generate the largest amount of buzz on Facebook. The internet is becoming a culture of visuals. So my suggestion would be if you have an idea or link that you really want people to see; simply post it in the caption part of a picture and then post it to Facebook. I will tell you this for every link you post to Facebook you should post at least three picture posts in ratio.
Content also matters. When thinking about what kind of content to post remember people like creative content. For example you could post a picture of an innovative way to do something or a cool display, or a beautiful mixed container. Those are the things that generate the most attention on Facebook. As far as Twitter goes, links are great. It’s a popularity contest of coolness. Some of my older posts discus this.
Well folks that’s it for this week. I’ll be around all weekend if you have any questions so you can reach me by email at mday55@gmail.com or comment or follow me on Twitter @mday55. Put me in your circles on Google +!
I am always looking to hear your thoughts and questions!
I leave you with a question: For those of you who went to OFA what was the coolest new plant variety you saw?
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