Are you truly leveraging your position on social media?

It’s no secret that social media has taken businesses by storm. From digital marketing to customer interaction to a behind-the-scenes look, social platforms have increased overall visibility. But how do you stand out among other crowd-chasing accounts?

Who’s on social media?

According to a 2019 study by the Pew Research Center, seven in 10 Americans use social media to entertain themselves, connect, engage in news and share information. The same study states that since February 2019, Instagram is the third most-surfed platform, Facebook is the second and YouTube is the first. Of active social media users, 37% use Instagram more, 69% favor Facebook and 73% prefer YouTube. Of those consumers, however, each day, 63% use Instagram, 74% use Facebook and 51% use YouTube.

The psychology behind posting

Your business may not use YouTube, so let’s focus on Facebook and Instagram.

According to Sprout Social, a social media management platform, Facebook receives the most consistent engagement weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Instagram receives it Tuesday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. For both platforms, Wednesday is the best day and Sunday is the worst day to post.

Why does time frame matter?

According to a smartphone usage study, 80% of smartphone users check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up — hence the reason for early morning posting. As for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., lunch breaks leave room for social media usage, while the 3 p.m. crowd usually hops on to pass time before work concludes. However, to pinpoint high engagement times specific to your business, you can utilize the Insights tab on Facebook’s business page and measure your daily audience level with Instagram’s business account.

Do quality images matter?

Along with timing, photos are essential to engagement. Because the brain responds quickly to images, the visual stimulation that a well-thought-out photo will trigger can increase reactions. According to marketingbitz.com, 93% of human communication is visual. Two-thirds of all stimuli reach the brain through the visual system and is processed 60,000 times faster than text. Think about it. How often do you remember something because of a photo you saw? Words are powerful, but images are too.

The takeaway

While social media shouldn’t be your only form of marketing, in today’s world, it’s an important channel of communication. Before visiting your shop, consumers are likely to check your website and social media to confirm the value of their visit. With social media, you can show your customers that you have what they want and will answer any question they may have. A well-timed, eye-catching image can lead to more likes, shares, comments and click-throughs that may convert to sales.