Getting the most out of your Social Media efforts

Everyone knows how much of an effect social media can have on how your customers view your brand, company, employees, etc. We all know how important it is to have a Facebook and LinkedIn page, a Twitter account, a blog, etc. and keep it updated. But, what’s the best way to craft these social media messages? In the article Secrets to a Perfectly Crafted Social Media Post on Inc.com, Jeff Haden gives some tips and tricks for getting the most out of the content you post on social media.

How To Say It

According to Jeff, there are ideal lengths for the messages you post depending on whether you are posting B2C or B2B. On Twitter, one to five words is the ideal length for B2C (business to consumer) and 11-15 words works best for B2B (business to business).  For LinkedIn, 21-25 words is best for B2C and 16-25 is best for B2B.

Question marks do not spark conversation on either LinkedIn or Twitter. People use these mediums to find answers, not provide them. On Twitter, messages receive 52% fewer clicks if a question mark is included for B2C, 39% fewer for B2B. On LinkedIn B2C messages receive 45% fewer clicks, B2B 25% fewer.

Hashtags seem to be all the rage, but do they work? For B2C companies, messages on Twitter receive 82% fewer clicks if they include a hashtag, but hashtagged messages are 193% more effective for B2B. B2B followers appreciate relevant hashtags; B2C followers do not.

When to Say It

It is important to post content regularly, but it makes more sense to save it for when people are more likely to read it. So which days are best? For Twitter, Mondays and Wednesdays yield more clicks for B2C, Wednesdays for B2B. For LinkedIn sharing content on Mondays generates more B2C clicks than any other day of the week; for B2B, the best day is Sunday.

What hours of the day are best?

• For Twitter, between 10 a.m. and noon. After about 2 p.m. there is a significant drop, probably because many people check their Twitter stream after they settle in and are less likely to check near the end of the day.
• For LinkedIn, from 9 a.m. through lunchtime.
• For Facebook, lunchtime and later afternoon. Schedule Facebook content for the last half of the workday. That is especially true for B2C, which typically shows heavy activity towards the end of the workday.

Use these tips to get the most out of the content you post on your various social media feeds. If you are still unsure about what to post, search the internet for helpful articles or search the resource navigator for an organization that can provide you assistance.

Content contributed by Aaron Harris, Arkansas SourceLink.  Arkansas SourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S. SourceLink, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs.