Social Media Marketing, Now Might Not Be The Best Time

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As a small business owner, getting ahead of the competition can be a never ending battle. Traditional advertising only goes so far, especially when so many people turn to the internet these days to seek heating and cooling services.

Google Research reports that 1 in 3 customers uses a smart phone or computer to research local stores offering a specific product or service and about 18% of those searches lead to a sell. The numbers continue to grow, so it only makes sense to have an online presence for your HVAC business.

However, the numbers are still not as high as for word-of-mouth and other forms of advertising, so it is also smart to use inexpensive means of reaching customers, such as setting up your own website and using social media to market to current and potential customers.

Navigating the Social Media Marketing Minefield
Why is it that some social media campaigns get a lot of attention while others seem to barely elicit a response? There are many factors that come into play when promoting your business on social media, but one of the most important things you can focus on is when and where you share your posts.

In the 2014 Social Media Marketing Report survey of 2800 marketers, it states that about 64% of businesses on social media use it for six or more hours a week and 37% use social media for 11 hours or more. For the best results, plan to spend about an hour a day on marketing or have one of your staff spend an hour a day on it. No matter who is in charge or how much time you spend on SSM, the most important ingredient is using your time wisely so that you get the most attention possible for the least effort.

Step 1: Understand Your Target Audience
The first thing you must decide is who the target audience is for your current campaign. For example, women are often worried about the safety of their family, so if you plan to offer a discount on furnace checkups and push the idea of safety, you want to target social media sites with a higher percentage of women, such as Facebook and Pinterest.

If you plan to focus on young married couples, then you may want to focus on Twitter, where the younger generation tends to congregate. If your focus is businesses, LinkedIn is your best bet for social media advertising.

Step 2: Understand the Best Day/Time to Push Your Message
Now that you’ve chosen the platforms you’ll promote to with your current campaign, you should consider the available information that states the best times of day and best days to promote on those platforms.

According to Social Marketing Writing, the best days to post include:

• Facebook: Wednesday
• Twitter: Monday through Thursday
• LinkedIn: Tuesday through Thursday
• Pinterest: Saturday

Now, most busy business owners may cringe at the thought of having to set aside an hour to post on social media every Wednesday or Tuesday. Perhaps this is your busiest time of the week and you simply can’t add one more thing. The great news here is that you can utilize the free software on sites like Hoot Suite to schedule your posts ahead. This means you can work on your social media postings at a time that is convenient for you, but schedule them to go live on a specific day and even a specific time.

Taking It to the Next Level
Once you’ve reworked your social media campaign to post on specific days and times, you can take it up another notch and post at specific times when the most people are likely to be online. If you have completed Step # 1 above, then you already know your demographic. Take this information to Social Flow.

Social Flow takes a look at social media activity and uses a unique algorithm to analyze your Facebook and Twitter data. The site reports back on everything from the exact right time to post your data, which audience is better suited for that particular message and even whether the content is relevant to your readers.

Social media marketing can be an effective and inexpensive advertising medium when used correctly. Knowing when to post, what to post and where to post it will put you ahead of your competition and help you reach new customers and grow your business.

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Posted In: Sales & Marketing, Technology