Having a successful social media presence means many different things for many different people and brands. Some industries prioritize growth, some actually mean reach when they say growth, some only care about the likes and follower count, while others focus strictly on conversions and sales. But to bring home the W in the social media category, each individual brand must first determine which goals they intend to reach through their strategic use of social media and then figure out the best methods in which to achieve those goals.
Instagram Best Practices Based on Data
Through the use of Instagram analytics, known as ‘insights’, you can narrow down best practices for your specific business page based on what types of content users are engaging with and the times/days they choose to do so. There are four main strategies I recommend considering, depending on your audience of course, that raise the likelihood of follower engagement and page visibility:
1. Create more content similar to what is performing best.
2. Tag other connected pages and people in posts and engage with the pages/people you follow.
3. Thoughtfully and authentically respond to people who take the time to comment on your content.
4. Post at the right days and times of the week.
A brand must be curious, open, and patient while curating the perfect social media strategy by analyzing data after a specific and predetermined amount of time.
At first, you may think you know who you want to target, but without some dirt under your nails you won’t know when or who is actually responding to certain types of content that you’re sharing. A brand must be curiously patient while curating the perfect social media strategy by analyzing data after a logical amount of time has passed (A.K.A., enough time to recognize follower patterns in relation to your content). Once a brand has a concrete idea of what content their followers are into, they should immediately create more of this type of content and create new social strategies centered around this data.
Tagging other pages, people, and brands in posts and engaging in posts made by other people and pages you follow are great ways to build relationships and trust on your chosen platform and to encourage people to interact with you on your social media page.
According to an article on boosting engagement on Instagram, Melyssa Griffin writes “If you ignore comments or only respond to a couple here or there, it shows that you’re not interested in building a community. Be sure to respond to each person who comments to show how much you value them and to build friendships with your followers. This will lead to an even stronger connection and more engagement.” (Griffin, 2021)
Finally, posting at ideal times based on your audience allows you to meet your audience right where they are when they’re ready to engage.
Why It’s Important to Understand Ideal Posting Times for Your Audience
Looking at overall stats of when people are most active on certain social media platforms, is the typical starting point of figuring out ideal social posting times. This type of data is available on a lot of different websites, blogs, and articles and often goes into demographic detail which explains who is using what and when they are using it. But reaching your brand, company, or organization’s actual audience requires a more in-depth analysis that targets exactly which days and times your followers (and likely, your follower’s followers) are actively engaging on social media platforms, like Instagram for example. Understanding and utilizing the behavior of your followers is the key here, because only then can you be sure your social media strategy is being seen- whether it’s working or not is a conversation for another time.
In addition to amplifying visibility, posting to social media at the ideal time for your specific audience, increases opportunities for your audience to engage with not only your brand but also with each other, and to see what that engagement looks like. This also gives brands the opportunity to be live behind the keyboard if and when customers or clients will most likely post about an issue or question regarding a product or service. Also known as active, or social, listening, brands can better manage and control their digital reputation and image this way; this is an important element to have control of.
Social media success really all comes down to critical audience targeting and then fully understanding the audiences wants, needs, behaviors, views, and more. The more detailed the audience data collected is, and the smaller you’re able to narrow your audience sphere, the more likely your brand is to boost visibility, create community, strengthen engagement, and build loyalty.
Resources:
Aquino, A. A. (2021). The Best Times to Post on Social Media 2021. Retrieved from https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media
Buffer. (2021). Buffer.com. Retrieved from https://buffer.com/
Griffin, M. G. (2021). 6 Ways To Create a More Engaged Instagram Audience. Retrieved from https://www.melyssagriffin.com/engaged-instagram-audience/
HubSpot. (2021). The Best Time to Post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Pinterest. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-times-post-pin-tweet-social-media-infographic?toc-variant-b=
Lua, A. L. (2021). How to Find Your Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2021. Retrieved from https://buffer.com/library/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/
Lua, A. L. (2021b). Introducing Best Time to Post: Personalized Recommendations to Increase Your Reach on Instagram. Retrieved from https://buffer.com/resources/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/
VAYNERCHUK, G. V. (2008). THE RISE OF VIDEO MARKETING ON SOCIAL AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR BUSINESS. Retrieved from https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/the-rise-of-video-marketing-on-social-and-how-it-affects-your-business/
