These are a Few of My Favorite Things: My Top 3 Reasons to Love Social Media

 

1. Versatility

There are so many things people can do with social media! This one is obvious but there’s a reason it’s my all-time favorite. Because social media is so integrated into our daily lives and we all get stuck in our own routines it’s easy to forget how different our lives would be without it. You can use Facebook, Twitter, etc. to keep in touch with family members, to receive news, to make a living (which this blogger one day hopes to achieve), or any other number of cool and innovative purposes. The best part—the ways social media is used JUST KEEPS GROWING!

 2. Interactivity

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that with new media people can easily and actively participate in conversations with news organizations. For example, you can Tweet events happening in your community and share them with news sources or respond to stories from you favorite news channel. Yes, it may cause some problems but ideally everyone can voice their opinions and participate in our increasingly post-broadcast world.

3. The Guilty Pleasure Factor

I admit, I have a weird affinity for all of Disney’s teen stars. Social media let’s me follow all the drama that if was in my non-virtual life would drive me crazy. We’ve all heard about some sort of celebrity Twitter fight or something equally ridiculous (check out these stunners…http://bit.ly/124GUdX ). Basically it’s like being part of a tabloid or a Real Housewives Reunion without having to personally deal with all the emotional baggage. Shallow? Perhaps, but hey, it’s my Twitter account and I’ll follow whoever I want.  The best part of the virtual cat-fights is that if I get sick of them I can ignore them!

There are literally HUNDREDS more reasons to love social media, share yours!

When to Post on Social Media

If you’re new to the social media game, or haven’t been receiving as many clickthroughs as you want you might be asking yourself  “WHEN SHOULD I POST?”

Have no fear, expert researchers, as well as the personal experience of yours truly can lead you in the right direction!

TWITTER: 1PM-3PM

The best time to tweet is between 1PM and 3PM. Let’s face it, unless you’re Superman, everyone starts to drag in the early afternoon which makes it the perfect time for a little distraction. Cue Twitter! What better way to stave off boredom than by seeing what other people are doing?

FACEBOOK: 1PM-4PM

Likewise Facebook also serves as a respite for the after-lunch slump. Another similarity between Twitter and Facebook clickthrough rates is their worst times to post. Anytime after 8PM until around 8AM or 9AM the next morning is sending your tweet or post into the Bermuda Triangle, it may get some positive reception but you’re definitely taking a risk. My suggestion if you choose to post between these hours is to re-post during times with higher traffic. Unless, of course, you cater your social media to chronic insomniacs or vampires in which, case rock on with late night tweets.

PINTEREST: 2PM-4PM or 8PM-1AM

The best time to post on Pinterest is ALL THE TIME. Just kidding, I am just slightly addicted to Pinterest, as evidenced by the 12 weddings I have planned down to the flower arrangements although they are currently useless (wedding plans:12, romantic relationships:0).  The actual best times to post to Pinterest is Saturday mornings and any other days between 2PM-4PM or 8PM-1AM. Because Pinterest is not a news source the same way Facebook or Twitter are the timing is slightly different. Pinterest, being less timely than the other two social media covered so far, will also receive relative success to posts later in the night too. For example, when people are eating ice cream and watching trashy TV shows at 11:30 at night instead of hanging out with actual people…just saying.

LINKEDIN:  7AM-9AM or 5PM- 6PM

LinkedIn is a little different. Because LinkedIn is a mostly professional site people who are viewing your page or your company’s page are going to be mostly looking from 9AM to 5PM. Therefore, try to post at the very beginning of the business day or the very end, between 7AM-9AM and 5PM-6PM. These time windows ensure that your content is read by either the office early birds or everyone that stays late to catch up.

GOOGLE+: 9AM-11AM

Like LinkedIn, Google+ is mostly a business or industrial site. Consequently, successful posting times are from 9AM-11AM, so professionals just starting their day have something to ease them into the daily grind.

BLOGS: 8AM-11AM

New blog articles are best posted during the early to late morning. That way the posts are right there when people wake up, or as they’re scrolling through their e-mail or other social media online, your new post pops up and grabs their attention. If you post much later that 11AM chances are your post is going to be piled on by other posts so that the next time when they look at their blog sites you new post is all the way at the bottom and less likely to be read.

*I realize as I’m posting this article I’m breaking my own rule, as it’s 3:40PM, but I am spending the week in a non-wifi residence so I am currently trying to optimize my wifi time by drinking a coffee at a small café as slowly as I can, all the while getting dirty looks from the wait staff who clearly know I’m using them for their internet connection—EEK!*

That’s all for now! If you have any other sites I didn’t have here or want to share your own experience please do!

Yours truly,

    Your Gal Friday  

(For the visual learners out there!)