Post on Social Like Ice Cream Trucks
There's a simple way to choose a perfect posting time. Be like the ice cream trucks.
My real-life story should help you get the picture.
It's spring, it's a weekday and I'm picking my son up. Like clockwork, the neighborhood ice cream truck makes its rounds at 5:00 p.m. Then again, when we get home. My ice cream man knows his audience. As a kid, the same thing happened. And, it worked. I remember running to the ice cream truck after school. It had a strategy. Park at the end of the playground, in the same spot every day. Are you seeing where I'm going?
What Time Should You Post On Social Media?
Show up at the time your audience is most likely to see your posts. Generally, your best bet is to post when they wake up, at their lunch, when they get off of work, before they go to bed and evenings. Think about who your tribe is and figure out the times that best apply. And, if you have no idea, ask them. Twitter and Facebook have polls. And, you can get pretty creative with emoji responses on Instagram.
What are your strategies for discovering the best times to post? Are they different for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Or are you just posting on a whim?
But, what about the algorithm?
Good question! I originally wrote this post back in 2019 and a lot has changed. The short and simple is that this strategy will help you get in front of your engaged audience. This means if they're already clicking on your stories and commenting on your posts. The algorithm is going throw your fresh posts right in front of your engaged audience. Posting times are helpful, but they're not everything.
If you're looking for a method to bring back your unengaged audience, then try these strategies:
- Engage them first. Like, comment, and react to their stories.
- Create stories that require audience engagement. Polls and quizzes are my favorites.
- Take advantage of new features. Remember when reels were new? Instagram's algorithm was giving pages free "boosts". Low follower pages were getting thousands of views. So, make a reel, or even a guide.
This topic is a bag of it's own. But, if you're looking for somewhere simple and low-stress to start, these 3 steps are winners.
