When I run into people just starting out in social media for their organizations I’m frequently asked for magic recipes to success. They don’t call them that but they pepper me with questions like “what’s the best time to send a tweet?” and “how many posts should I add to my Facebook page a day?”. I ask them, what kind of dinner would you like to make my family? They pause and if they answer it’s usually something like “I don’t know. Do they like lasagna?” Exactly. Cooking up a recipe to please my family depends on what my family likes. Social media is the same way. I can’t provide a fail-safe solution for you. You won’t know if your family (audience) will like what you’re serving until you give it to them. Once you know what they like, you can use that to influence your offerings. If you know they like lasagna you might make another pasta dish next time.
Having said that, there is software out there that can help you figure out when your followers are most active (I use Crowdbooster but there are many) and most likely to see your tweets but is that the best time to reach them? Social Media Today says not necesarilly. I’ve found people are most active on their accounts at the stereotypical busiest times of the day. There’s a lot of noise to get through during business hours and their tweet streams (and the rapidity at which tweets are posted) may resemble a stock market ticker. For making connections, I’ve found mid-late evening to be some of my best time. It’s the stalwarts out there at that time. Those of us who can’t put our tablets or phones down even to watch TV but it’s quiet and people have the time and inclination to speak/tweet.
That’s what works for me. What works for you? You don’t know until you try.
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Want to know more about how you can find success in social media? It starts from within your organization. Our recent webinar with Jamie Notter, co-author of Humanize provides more tips on helping your organization become more people-centric.
