Dear Social Advisors,
I’ve got a Twitter profile and I use a content scheduling tool to schedule my posts, but I’m a little confused on how often I should post. On Facebook, I post several times a week with good results, but on Twitter, I feel like my content disappears from the news feed much faster. Advice?
Josh W. Orlando, FL
Josh, when it comes to Twitter, the rules are a little different because the environment is different. Posts are short, and the timeline of events is even shorter at times.
Is There a Target Number?
This is the most common question about Twitter activity. Companies and business owners want to know a specific number of tweets that should go out on a daily basis to keep their brand relevant. The simplest answer is that you can never tweet (or retweet) too much. However, using analytics and keeping the time of day in mind are important.
While you can’t tweet too much, at some point you can do more harm than good. Tweeting just for the sake of doing so to hit a target number doesn’t really have much benefit. In fact, if you’re continually tweeting the same information over and again throughout the day, you increase the likelihood that followers find your brand annoying.
There are also good and bad times of day to send out your tweets. Twitter use should be viewed like the proverbial tree in the forest.
If no one is online to read your tweet, does it exist?
The best times to post are between 9 AM and 3 PM from Monday to Thursday. Activity is highest between these times as people check social media feeds when they arrive at work (9:00), take a lunch break (12:00) and start watching the clock to go home (3:00).
Josh, as you’ve noticed, Twitter is a fast-paced environment, unlike Facebook. While the latter allows for longer posts and complex information, Twitter is about quick shares and redirecting followers to your website or blog from social media. Don’t be afraid to promote the same blog multiple times in different ways, just time your posts so they aren’t stacked on top of each other. Variety is the spice of life.
You not only have limited characters to use to capture a follower’s attention, you have limited exposure. The environment of Twitter features feeds that refresh frequently, and can be automatically refreshed by users. This means you need to capture attention. Add images to your posts. Tweets that feature images boost clicks 36%, retweets 43%, and favorites 48%.
Keep an eye on your metrics, analyze what posting approach works best for you and don’t be afraid to change it up and experiment until you get it right!
Happy Tweeting!