A recent article in Mashable quotes sources for the best times to interact with you social media audiences. I can tell you from experience, this is not (all) true.
Their first point, I can’t fault: Be Timely. In fact, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and to some extent, LinkedIn are becoming real-time information platforms. In fact, the longer you go past the 4 hour mark of an event, your audience starts tailing off at a sharp rate. (Yes, even for a 7 PM event).
Be concise, another suggestion is always good in quick, often mobile media.
[Image via Mashable courtesy of BuddyMedia]
First, realize is that your audience is different from others. Your challenge is to identify exactly how. Social media is NOT like throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping some sticks. What doesn’t stick gets closer to sending people away from you and perhaps to a competitor.
Psychographic data breakdowns of attitudes, values and opinions can only get you so far to this mean. Identifying how and when people use the various types of content you place is vital. For example, few people may click on a newspaper article, but something they can use – a case study – can be quite valuable. For event planning, billboard events that people aren’t aware of can drive significant traffic.
Yes, you need to spend money on a marketing analyst for this, but they will make it worth your while many times over. Just keep them deep in the loop so they know what to measure.
I break out the different methods you can use to determine your best time in this week’s MediaBullseye.com column.
