I put together a social media posting schedule for maximum exposure based on peak traffic times on all the different channels.
We blog, therefore we are.
Too much? Ok. Maybe.
But most us who blog do so because we have something to say, and we want someone to read it. (Narcissistic much? You bet.)
Here’s the thing, no one will read your blog if they don’t know about it. And unless you’re Will Wheaton, news about your little corner of the blog-o-sphere won’t just spread by word of mouth. So the best way to get your blog out there in front of people is with a healthy dose of Shameless Self-Promotion.
But Shameless Self-Promotion is hard. If the thought of it doesn’t make you cringe a little and feel icky, well, maybe you’re a Kardashian. If you’re not a mindless reality star with a family member named North West, I have good news for you. Society has created a place where Shameless Self-Promotion is acceptable. It’s called Social Media.
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But as with most things, there’s an art & science even to using social media to hawk your online musings. One of the main elements is making sure your social media posts are hitting the interwebs at optimal times of day when a majority of potential readers are online. There’s quite a bit of research out there on the subject, and they pretty much agree on the best times to make your posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.
The problem I have is remembering when I’m supposed to post where. So I made up a cheat sheet to help me. All the times and days are based on what the experts say are optimal to make sure your message reaches the maximum number of people.
I made the cheat sheet available for you to download as a PDF. Here’s a tip: if you print it out and laminate it, you can use it as a check list and with a dry erase marker mark off each update as you go.
These are recommended times of day, and for most networks there is more than one time listed. If you post more than once a day, just make sure you aren’t constantly re-posting a link to your latest blog post. Mix it up a little by asking a question, posting a photo or sharing links from other sites. Otherwise your followers will get tired of just seeing links to your blog.
I hope this helps you get the most out of your social media shares.
Have you noticed a specific time or day when you see more traffic on your social media sites? Share with us in the comments.
Looking for a good book about using social media for marketing? I recommend this one: Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks)
I love it! I’ve been trying to figure out how to best compress this information, this is it. Thanks!
Awesome! I use Hootsuite to schedule most of mine. Unfortunately it doesn’t do Pinterest lol
This checklist is EXTREMEMLY helpful! Like the previous poster, I use Hootsuite to do a lot of my posting at peak times, however, this list is a great resource to help me keep track! Stopping in from SITS!
This is a really helpful tool. Thank you. I also use Hootsuite to do a lot of posting, but this is definitely a helpful resource.
Colleen,
WOW – you are some organized girl! I’m LOVING this! Stopping by from the Mom it Forward Facebook Group and am now following you on Google+ and a few other places… I’ll be pinning this to my blogging tips board, too!
Happy Monday!
Ang, Juggling Act Mama
Great information, thank you! I need to be a lot better at doing this.
Love it! I am going to repin it
wow! This is really useful, though I doubt I will be able to do this as frequently! Still, every bit helps, I’m sure! Thanks so much for sharing it!!
This is so freaking cool, you are amazing thank you!
Awesome. It’s always great to know when’s the best time to post on these social media networks. Thanks for the freebie. 🙂
Wow, very interesting, thanks!
Thank you for the help. What is the time zone for these optimum times? I’m in the UK so will have to make the adjustment, which I don’t mind, I just want to make sure I do it right.
Have a great week!
This is for EST in the U.S.
Thanks so much, I’ve written it down for reference!
Social Media is such a big challenge and having organized help helps!
Thanks so much…this is awesome! I’m a new blogger and I’ve been trying to figure all of this out. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Thank you so much for this Colleen! This is exactly what I need. I knew there were best times for posting to the different places but didn’t have them all in one place and certainly didn’t remember them all lol. So, this is great! Thanks again!
Thank you. The blog self-promotion is the hardest part of all this for me and maybe having a schedule to follow will help me to actually do it.
Totally laughed at the Will Wheaton line!
But in all seriousness, this is a great post. I am going to try it on Friday!
Okay, here is another great question: what is the best time of day to post in EST?
Any of the times listed are considered good times. 3 pm on Wednesday is the when traffic spikes at an all time high for the week on Facebook, and for Pinterest traffic is at a weekly all time high on Saturday morning. The times on the chart are EST.
I thought so. I am doing an experiment. I scheduled my regular post for 11 am tomorrow, and then used Hootsuite to schedule posts for Twitter and Google+. I will do Pinterest pins after work. I also scheduled posts on my FB page. I really want to get my pageviews up, but at the same time, I can’t spend hours on the computer.
I needed something like this! Especially for Pinterest….I keep forgetting if I pinned a post or not. This is perfect and it will give me that much needed reminder! Thank you!
What a great idea! Thanks for the printable!
Nicely done!! And the beauty is that if you can schedule a lot of that so it’s not overly daunting of a task!
What a good idea. I feel tethered to my computer some days. Might as well schedule things to make the most of my time. Thanks! Following you on Bloglovin’ and FB now. 🙂
This is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. I guess in the social media world, shameless self promotion isn’t bad at all. lol
I just found this on Pintrest and it’s so very helpful! Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Thanks for this it’s great, I usually get over excited and just share it all in one go so this will be helpful. Out of interest which time zone are you in? Should I use this based around your timezone or mine (GMT)?
Thanks. Zoe
http://tadpegs.blogspot.co.uk
Yes, this based on the EST time zone. I would adjust it to the time zone where most of your traffic comes from.
You’re awesome! Thanks for this, I’m going to try it.
Thank you so much for making this and sharing. I was going to try and do something like this for myself, but it is time consuming!
This is a great timtable. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi. New here. New to blogging. Thanks very much. I’m printing and putting in my organizer!
wow. Thats really detailed and intricate social media posting timeline. Thanks for posting this… time to get busy!
Thank you so much for posting all this info. I have been asking myself when is the best time to post. Thanks for answering my questions. Now following for more great posts.
I noticed that this resource is over a year old, have the optimal times changed since then? How did this work out for you?
Thank you! My goal over the next few months is to beef up my social media and start being more active to grow my blog. I am on and off social media all throughout the day so I never really had a schedule of posting…I’m terrified of hootsuite because I have no clue what I would schedule to post! This is helpful!
Love it! Thanks 🙂
hi,
I’ve just seen this on Pintrest and also it’s so very useful! Thank you for sharing that post.
Thank you so much for this! I have read countless pinned articles on this subject and just ended up confused. I downloaded the chart and intend to follow it and your wise advice!
Hi! This is lovely! Do you have an updated schedule that includes Instagram?
I LOVE ❤ social media, and in my marketing studies for my degree, I am focusing some time on social media. This tool is fantastic. Thank you so much for creating it!
Also, I am very visual, and the color coding is extremely helpful. From many like me, thank you for taking that extra step!