This article was updated in February 2018.
Everyone knows those blogs, infographics and videos that declare the best time to post on Facebook or any other social media network. Business people rarely have extra time in their hands. Research is often just touching the surface and pressure to make efficient decisions is high. No wonder that marketers rely on general statements of their industry.
Let’s take a closer look of those industry average statements. The automobile industry is an excellent example to emphasize how vague those statements of the best time to post to social media can be. Everything from Porsche to Mazda is included in the industry average and those two examples brands have very different target audiences. The same customer can consider buying either a used Porsche and a new sports Mazda.
Target audience can vary a lot even within one brand. For example Volkswagen is a brand that produces cars for diversity of needs. We can assume that Volkswagen promotes Jetta (Starting at $18,645 in USA) and Touareg (Starting at $49,495 in USA) to different audiences and uses different patterns on using social media. Realizing the fluctuation of data inside one brand, opens eyes for how essential analyzing Facebook is.
There is also variation in the studies made of those industry averages - is it worldwide, if so are different time zones considered at all, and if yes, different market areas can still give very different results, as the example below shows. To support our arguments, let’s take a look at some data. We analyzed different car brands in the last year between 01.22.2017-01.22.2018.
Let’s start by comparing the interaction rate in per hour Brazil and in the UK in Central European Time.
The graph shows, that UK market has high activity from early in the morning until afternoon, when Brazilians just begin to interact in Facebook. This is a great example how the optimum time to post to Facebook can fluctuate even within one brand. It is obvious that time-zones create differences in the best time to post to Facebook, but it might not cross marketers minds, because the industry averages rarely emphasize this.
We included Ford, Porsche, Renault, Mazda, Volkswagen and Tesla into the analysis, to create the industry average effect on a smaller scale. Even with only six car brands, the best time to post becomes very broad and by that, unclear.
The data from the six car brands implies that interaction occurs almost 24/7, but that the highest peaks are on Sunday and Wednesday afternoon. If we take a closer look, of what the same graph shows for Tesla only, we get rather different solutions.
The interaction rate for Tesla only is far from the highest peak of the average. It is a great example how social media analytics tools like quintly can enhance social media marketing drastically. Industry averages are rarely a useful source. Naturally one expects results when putting effort into Facebook marketing.
In addition to perfect timing, Facebook analytics will take your marketing to the next level. Analysing followers, content, engagement and the timing gives already great insight for stronger Facebook marketing.
For an explicit industry operating in a small market area, the common statements can give the right direction. However, to back up your decisions for efficient social media strategy, you need data. Thankfully, that is where quintly can help you. With our new Discover page, advanced social media analytics is easier and faster than ever. Don’t waste time searching for the best time to post to Facebook, find it out with a few clicks.