A lot has changed in the digital space since last year, especially on social media platforms. For businesses trying to adapt to the ever-changing landscape, it can be difficult to keep up. And with all of the businesses and brands now competing more than ever digitally, it's important for continual learning and adaptation to happen.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I started a (timely and temporary) blog that was designed to help businesses stay updated on the changes happening on social media platforms and I focused on the changes that were especially relevant for businesses (versus social media users). I never expected to be updating it for as long as I did.
It's now obvious that these constant changes are not a temporary thing. Social media platforms will continue to make updates at this rapid speed for the foreseeable future. With the changes prompted by the Pandemic and recent social justice reform, plus the upcoming changes expected due to greater accountability for social media platforms and the rise of Gen Z- it looks like we have a long, eventful road ahead for social media marketing.
So, in the spirit of learning and growing and adapting, we will now be sharing a monthly Social Media Snapshot. The purpose of this snapshot is to help businesses, entrepreneurs, marketers, etc., stay in the loop and draw attention to the changes that directly impact their businesses.
To ensure you don't miss a beat, sign up for our weekly Tuesday Tips, as we'll be including these snapshots in those emails as they are posted.
Ideal Times to Post on Social Media
There have always been ideal times to post on each social media platform, and those times have changed always changed as consumer trends change. In the last year alone, they have changed three times! Here's what you need to know about posting times for some of the top social media platforms used by businesses.
- Best times to post: 1 pm - 4 pm and 6 pm - 10 pm
- Best days to post: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Best time to post B2B content: Thursday and Friday, 1 pm - 4 pm
- Best time to post B2C content: Weekends, 1 pm - 4 pm
- Ideal posting frequency: Twice a day
- Best times to post: 11 am - 1 pm and 7 pm - 9 pm
- Best days to post: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
- Worst times to post: Weekends (especially Sundays)
- Ideal posting frequency: Once or twice a day
- Best times to post: 8 am - 1 pm and 5 pm - 6 pm
- Best days to post: Monday through Friday
- Worst times to post: Evenings and weekends
- Ideal posting frequency: Three times a day
- Best times to post: 8 am - 10 am and 5 pm - 6 pm
- Best days to post: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
- Worst times to post: Evenings and weekends (this doesn't apply if your target audience is job searchers)
- Ideal posting frequency: Once a day
- Best times to post: 12 pm - 2 pm and 7 pm - 10 pm
- Best days to post: Saturday and Sunday
- Worst times to post: Working days before 5 pm
- Ideal posting frequency: Five times a day
Google My Business
- Best times to post: 9 am - 11 am and 7 pm - 9 pm
- Best days to post: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
- Ideal posting frequency: Once a week
Social Media as a Primary News Source
According to Pew Research Center in an article they released this month, Facebook stands out as a regular source of news for about a third of Americans (36% to be precise). Next is YouTube, with 23% of Americans saying they utilize it as a regular source for news, and Twitter comes in third place at 15% utilization as a news source.
Why is this important to businesses? It reflects the reality that approximately the same amount of people are trusting what they see shared on these social media platforms. As a business, you have an ethical responsibility to share information that is factual, not speculative or convenient because it supports the purchase of your products or services. Whether you've acknowledged it or not, there is currently a fact-revolution occurring, and more and more Americans (especially Gen Z) are prepared to fact-check you. This could either harm or help your business, depending on the reliability of the information you are sharing. So, a word to the wise- be careful, cautious, and mindful of the things you share, because it could blow back on you if you aren't!
New Features of Note
Three notable features were launched and/or are being tested this month:
- Pinterest launched a new "Try-on" tool for eye shadow. They previously released a similar tool for lipstick, and they will likely continue to produce similar tools going forward.
- Pinterest is also testing a new Stories panel in their platform for some users, similar to the stories feature we see on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
- YouTube has launched a new hashtag search option to enable users to find similar videos of interest.
Improved Creator and Business Tools
Social media platforms continue to focus on improving their user experience not just for consumers, but also for creators and businesses. Some of the improvements released this month include:
- Instagram launched a new "Professional Dashboard" for businesses to quickly access all the information they need in one place.
- TikTok launched a new "Creator Portal" that is designed to help educate creators on how to create better content.
- Facebook has updated their "Account Quality" dashboard that has historically been difficult for businesses to locate. This dashboard provides information for businesses regarding any policies or community standards that have been violated.
Advertising Tool Improvements
Pinterest recently announced a new "Dynamic Creative" ad process that generates hundreds of variations of your pins that you're paying to advertise. While this could be beneficial for advertisers, marketers fear it's success could be hindered by Apple's recent iOS information sharing updates.
LinkedIn has also launched a new education platform this month to help marketers create more effective LinkedIn ads that generate better results. It provides you with learning tracks catered to your role as an advertiser and looks very promising, especially for anyone who may be new to LinkedIn advertising.
A Win for Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Finally, Facebook has launched an incredible resource to help businesses increase their focus on diversity and representation. It provides low-level and high-level information that is helpful for businesses of all sizes. Why is it so important for businesses to have such a focus?
- 70% of American adults surveyed say they want to see more diversity and inclusion in digital ads
- 77% of Gen Zers say they feel more positive toward a brand when it promotes gender equality on social media
- 75%+ of men and women feel more positive when brands promote gender equality
Check out Facebook's "Business Equality" resource.
Written by Sarah Wai
Former Content, Email, and Social Media Marketing Specialist of Tribute Media. Bachelor of Science in Digital Communication Arts and Master in Business Administration.
