Facebook is a tremendous resource for businesses looking to engage their consumers and increase branding. A recent study from BuddyMedia revealed several interesting findings regarding Facebook posts that businesses cannot afford to ignore. For example, most companies post during office hours, but this may in fact be a less effective time to post. According to the research, engagement rates of posts outside of business hours were 20% greater than those posted during office hours. It seems that in general, the peak time for Facebook interaction is during the early morning, after work, and late night hours.
The days of the week also appear to have an impact on how the effectiveness of a company's post. The highest interaction occurs on Thursday and Friday, with Sunday coming in a close third. Keep in mind, the nature of the business does impact the most effective days and times to post.
Another thought-provoking finding was that posts with 80 characters or less received 27% more success with users than posts over 80 characters. Keep it simple and short is a good rule of thumb.
Of course, every company is different so it's important to keep in mind that peak times, days of the week, and message length will vary according to the industry. This study is most useful, however, because it demonstrates that, even on Facebook, timing is everything.
