ENGAGE YOUR FACEBOOK FANS
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| The Insider - Engage Your Facebook Fans |
A new report from Buddy Media has some key findings for businesses looking to
boost their brand's engagement on Facebook. The social media marketing company
collected data from 200 of its clients’ Pages over a 14-day period and found that time
is an important factor in determining the success of a Facebook post.
The study reveals that more often than not, a Facebook post is ill-timed, and that office
hours could be the worst time to blast content.
The Insider learned about this report from an article on Mashable.com. We've edited it
down a bit, so it won't take as long to read, but we didn't change or modify any of the
findings or numbers in any way. Here's a link to the original article on Mashable.com,
and a link to Buddy Media, if you'd like to learn more about the company.
Here are the findings, along with tips about when and how to make the most of a
Facebook post.
Improve Your Brand's Facebook Page Engagement
Be Timely
The study found that daily Facebook engagement has three peaks: early morning (7 a.
m. EST), after work (5 p.m. EST) and late at night (11 p.m. EST). Therefore, posting all
of your updates during the workday means you’re missing key opportunities to
engage fans at non-work hours. However, not all brands’ engagement peaks at these
three times so you must work on a case-by-case basis.
Still, brands that posted outside of normal business hours had a 20% higher
engagement rate.
Good timing on Facebook depends on the day of the week, too. Thursday and Friday
have 18% more engagement than other days of the week. But, the study found
interesting user patterns and engagement trends throughout the week that are unique
to particular industries.
The findings below are broken down by market so that you can see where entire
industries are missing the mark and where or when there’s room for improvement.
Entertainment: Friday, Saturday and Sunday are huge, as that is when people are
most inclined to go out. But, entertainment brands post twice as much content on
weekdays as on Saturday or Sunday. Tip: Take advantage of the weekend.
Media: Weekends have strong engagement for media brands, but Mondays are
weak. During the study period, most posts went out during the week.
Tip: Avoid Monday.
Automotive: Auto brands see the most engagement on Sundays, but less than 8%
of posts go out on that day. Tip: Capitalize on Sunday.
Business and Finance: Engagement peaks on Wednesday and Thursday, though
this industry tends to spread its posts out evenly from Monday through Friday. Tip:
Post on Wednesday.
Retail: Sunday is a big day for engagement on the shopping and retail front, but only
5% of retail posts go up on Sunday. The industry’s posts lean heavily toward Friday,
which has below-average engagement. Tip: Target shoppers on Sunday.
Fashion: Engagement peaks on Thursday, but dips on the weekend. The industry
pushes the most content on Tuesday, the day with the lowest engagement. Tip:
Optimize engagement on Thursday.
Healthcare and Beauty: Healthcare and beauty brands see the most engagement
on Thursday. But a lot of content is posted on Mondays and Fridays, when
engagement is lower. Tip: Post content on Thursday.
Food and Beverage: More than the other verticals, the food and beverage brands
do a good job of spreading their posts throughout the week and weekend. But in this
case, engagement peaks on Tuesday and Saturday and dips on Monday and
Thursday. Tip: Target Tuesday.
Sports: Not surprisingly, especially during football season, Sunday is king for sports
brands and teams on Facebook. This data is affected by the fact that Super Bowl
Sunday fell during the data collection period, but Sundays remain strong during other
weeks, too. Tip: Increase your post volume on Sunday.
Travel and Hospitality: The highest engagement occurs on Thursday and Friday,
when the week is winding down and people are looking to escape from the office. Tip:
Get these eyeballs at the end of the week.
Be Concise
The data indicates that the length of the post can determine engagement just as much
as the time of the post. The bottom line: Keep it short and sweet. Posts with 80
characters or less — the length of a short tweet — garnered 27% more engagement
than posts that were more than 80 characters. But, only 19% of posts in the study were
shorter than 80 characters.
And while the content should be short, the URL shouldn’t be. Posts with a full-length
URL had three times the engagement of their shortened bit.ly, ow.ly and tinyurl
counterparts. The reason is likely because readers want to know where the link will
take them. A brand-specific URL shortener, like bddy.me or on.mash, keeps a post
short while also providing context.
Ask For Engagement
If you’re looking to get Likes on a post, all you have to do is ask. Simple, outright
instructions... “Like us if…” are much more effective at getting a Like than a post with a
long explanation of why you should “like” something. Remember, “liking” only takes
one click and then the “liked” item is syndicated on a user’s own page, so don’t be
afraid to ask for the thumbs up.
The same goes for comments. Coming right out and saying “post,” “comment” or “tell
us” motivates fans to engage.
If you’re seeking answers, put a simple “where” or “when” or “would” question at the
end of the post — you’ll get 15% more engagement than if the question is buried in
the middle. Shy away from “why” questions, as they seem invasive and ask much
more of a user than a “what” question.
The Bottom LIne Advice For Smaller Businesses
These findings can help brands better target their consumers, but it is important to
note that the brands studied are all large and well-established. While URL shortening
is a good idea for all brands, the day and time findings may not apply to businesses of
all sizes within each industry.
For small businesses, it’s important to balance the data above with what you know
about your own brand, based on Facebook Insights and your own experiences with
your Page.
It’s important to realize the social marketing space is constantly evolving, and these
statistics can change in a matter of months. If every brand begins to post when the
engagement is high, then engagement either will increase because of the
optimization, or it may decrease because there’s so much noise at the high-
engagement times. Only time will tell for the long-term.
Suggested Reading From The Insider:
Social Media is a Two-Way Conversation
boost their brand's engagement on Facebook. The social media marketing company
collected data from 200 of its clients’ Pages over a 14-day period and found that time
is an important factor in determining the success of a Facebook post.
The study reveals that more often than not, a Facebook post is ill-timed, and that office
hours could be the worst time to blast content.
The Insider learned about this report from an article on Mashable.com. We've edited it
down a bit, so it won't take as long to read, but we didn't change or modify any of the
findings or numbers in any way. Here's a link to the original article on Mashable.com,
and a link to Buddy Media, if you'd like to learn more about the company.
Here are the findings, along with tips about when and how to make the most of a
Facebook post.
Improve Your Brand's Facebook Page Engagement
Be Timely
The study found that daily Facebook engagement has three peaks: early morning (7 a.
m. EST), after work (5 p.m. EST) and late at night (11 p.m. EST). Therefore, posting all
of your updates during the workday means you’re missing key opportunities to
engage fans at non-work hours. However, not all brands’ engagement peaks at these
three times so you must work on a case-by-case basis.
Still, brands that posted outside of normal business hours had a 20% higher
engagement rate.
Good timing on Facebook depends on the day of the week, too. Thursday and Friday
have 18% more engagement than other days of the week. But, the study found
interesting user patterns and engagement trends throughout the week that are unique
to particular industries.
The findings below are broken down by market so that you can see where entire
industries are missing the mark and where or when there’s room for improvement.
Entertainment: Friday, Saturday and Sunday are huge, as that is when people are
most inclined to go out. But, entertainment brands post twice as much content on
weekdays as on Saturday or Sunday. Tip: Take advantage of the weekend.
Media: Weekends have strong engagement for media brands, but Mondays are
weak. During the study period, most posts went out during the week.
Tip: Avoid Monday.
Automotive: Auto brands see the most engagement on Sundays, but less than 8%
of posts go out on that day. Tip: Capitalize on Sunday.
Business and Finance: Engagement peaks on Wednesday and Thursday, though
this industry tends to spread its posts out evenly from Monday through Friday. Tip:
Post on Wednesday.
Retail: Sunday is a big day for engagement on the shopping and retail front, but only
5% of retail posts go up on Sunday. The industry’s posts lean heavily toward Friday,
which has below-average engagement. Tip: Target shoppers on Sunday.
Fashion: Engagement peaks on Thursday, but dips on the weekend. The industry
pushes the most content on Tuesday, the day with the lowest engagement. Tip:
Optimize engagement on Thursday.
Healthcare and Beauty: Healthcare and beauty brands see the most engagement
on Thursday. But a lot of content is posted on Mondays and Fridays, when
engagement is lower. Tip: Post content on Thursday.
Food and Beverage: More than the other verticals, the food and beverage brands
do a good job of spreading their posts throughout the week and weekend. But in this
case, engagement peaks on Tuesday and Saturday and dips on Monday and
Thursday. Tip: Target Tuesday.
Sports: Not surprisingly, especially during football season, Sunday is king for sports
brands and teams on Facebook. This data is affected by the fact that Super Bowl
Sunday fell during the data collection period, but Sundays remain strong during other
weeks, too. Tip: Increase your post volume on Sunday.
Travel and Hospitality: The highest engagement occurs on Thursday and Friday,
when the week is winding down and people are looking to escape from the office. Tip:
Get these eyeballs at the end of the week.
Be Concise
The data indicates that the length of the post can determine engagement just as much
as the time of the post. The bottom line: Keep it short and sweet. Posts with 80
characters or less — the length of a short tweet — garnered 27% more engagement
than posts that were more than 80 characters. But, only 19% of posts in the study were
shorter than 80 characters.
And while the content should be short, the URL shouldn’t be. Posts with a full-length
URL had three times the engagement of their shortened bit.ly, ow.ly and tinyurl
counterparts. The reason is likely because readers want to know where the link will
take them. A brand-specific URL shortener, like bddy.me or on.mash, keeps a post
short while also providing context.
Ask For Engagement
If you’re looking to get Likes on a post, all you have to do is ask. Simple, outright
instructions... “Like us if…” are much more effective at getting a Like than a post with a
long explanation of why you should “like” something. Remember, “liking” only takes
one click and then the “liked” item is syndicated on a user’s own page, so don’t be
afraid to ask for the thumbs up.
The same goes for comments. Coming right out and saying “post,” “comment” or “tell
us” motivates fans to engage.
If you’re seeking answers, put a simple “where” or “when” or “would” question at the
end of the post — you’ll get 15% more engagement than if the question is buried in
the middle. Shy away from “why” questions, as they seem invasive and ask much
more of a user than a “what” question.
The Bottom LIne Advice For Smaller Businesses
These findings can help brands better target their consumers, but it is important to
note that the brands studied are all large and well-established. While URL shortening
is a good idea for all brands, the day and time findings may not apply to businesses of
all sizes within each industry.
For small businesses, it’s important to balance the data above with what you know
about your own brand, based on Facebook Insights and your own experiences with
your Page.
It’s important to realize the social marketing space is constantly evolving, and these
statistics can change in a matter of months. If every brand begins to post when the
engagement is high, then engagement either will increase because of the
optimization, or it may decrease because there’s so much noise at the high-
engagement times. Only time will tell for the long-term.
Suggested Reading From The Insider:
Social Media is a Two-Way Conversation
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Guerrilla Marketing, has some
great ideas about press kits.
read more...
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