Many marketers are missing out on golden opportunities to engage their audiences. In our research for the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Engagement Benchmark Report, we analyzed metrics from 2+ million Facebook posts to discover the best days and times for maximum customer engagement. Surprisingly, we found that Facebook users are most engaged on the weekends-when marketers are posting the least.
Social Engagement Benchmark Report:
Metrics from 2+ Million Facebook Posts Sent Through Our Platform
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Obviously it can be challenging, and perhaps even inconvenient, to post to social media on the weekends if your team normally works Monday-Friday. But neglecting your company's social presence on Saturdays and Sundays may be costing you more opportunities than you realize. Our research shows a significant increase in likes, comments, shares, and links clicked on weekends. Check it out:
Incorporating weekend posts to your strategy doesn't mean you have to be tethered to your laptop or mobile device instead of enjoying your kid's soccer game. Facebook allows brand-page owners to schedule posts in advance, so you can pre-plan when it's convenient for you. But it's still important to monitor comments and questions from customers that occur over the weekend. If you're going to schedule a post for a Saturday, then proceed to neglect any customer questions until Monday, you would be better off not posting at all. One thing customers definitely don't like is to be ignored.
Consider taking turns within your team to be in charge of responding to customer comments and questions on the weekend, or assign the job to someone willing to work outside traditional work hours. This may also be an opportunity to take advantage of another finding within our research: average shares are highest between 6:00pm and 9:00pm CST.
Imagine the edge you could have over your competitors when you're posting content for customers at the most engaging days and times, while they are waiting until Monday morning. To see all of our Facebook engagement findings and recommendations, download the entire Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Engagement Benchmark Report.