How to Schedule Social Media Posts

It is Monday morning. You are drinking your favorite coffee or for me, Monster Energy drink. You realize you need to make a post for today but have no idea what or when to post. 

What and when to post can seem like a daunting task but it doesn't need to be.

The first step to a consistent social media schedule is to plan, plan, plan. 

Are you going to post every day? How many times will you post per day? Do you leave out the weekend? 

These questions stressed me out when I first started The Bearded Marketer. I am going to tell you how I ended up nailing down my scheduled posts.

Step 1: Find Scheduling Software

There are quite a few good #socialmediascheduling companies out there but I settled on Hootsuite. I may end up using another platform, but for now, I am using theirs. 

Hootsuite, like the other platforms, has training for their software. You don't need to utilize the training right away. It is super easy to create posts.

Here is a list of other options you can use.

1. #CreatorStudio - Facebook/Instagram platform

2. #Hootsuite

3. #Buffer

4. #SproutSocial

5. #Planoly

6. #Loomly

There are a ton. These are just off the top of my head. 

I recommend you do your research and use the free trials these companies offer.

Step 2: Choose Times for Your Posts

Initially, I tried the Buffer trial for my posts while I was trying the Hootsuite trial. I ended up using Hootsuite, but there was an awesome feature Buffer provided. Buffer had recommended times to post your social media. I ended up using these times to post my social media. Up until 2 days ago, I was still using those times. 

I was getting pretty good interaction with my posts but I am trying something new now. I got on Facebook and Instagram to look up my Insights on my followers. So far, I can't find where to extract the data from the platforms, so I extracted them manually. 

It was a pain, but I managed to create a bad to the bone spreadsheet. I used the tables I made to create the below graphs.

The #Facebook numbers are based off my current following on my business page. There were 182 followers at the time of this research. Make sure you read the data properly when you extract these numbers. The times were based on Pacific Time, so I was 2 hours ahead on Central Time in Louisiana.

As you can see, Facebook users are mainly on during working hours. Peak hours fluctuate but overall, each day of the week is similar. I was posting at 10:15 am every day. Based off these numbers, I will be posting at different times most days of the week. Here is what I came up with.

Monday - Between 1-5pm - 1pm is the peak

Tuesday - Between 2-4pm - 2pm is the peak

Wednesday - 9am & between 3-4pm - 9am is the peak

Thursday - 8am & 2pm & 4pm - 2pm is the peak

Friday - 5am & 10am-1pm & 3-5pm - 4pm is the peak

Saturday - 1pm & 2-5pm - 1pm is the peak

Sunday - 10am-5pm - 2pm is the peak

If I am posting only 1 time per day, I will most likely post about 10-15 minutes before the peak on that particular day. Eventually, your posts get lost in the news feed, so you want to make sure you are posting when they are scrolling.

The #Instagram numbers are very different from Facebook. These numbers were based off 1024 followers at the time of this research. The data is based off Pacific Time, just like the Facebook data. 

As you can see, the times average out after 12pm and keep going strong until 12am most days. I was posting to Instagram every day at 10:20am. There are a good amount of people on at that time but not as many as later in the day. Here is what I came up with for future posts.

Monday - 12-2pm & 6-8pm & 10-11pm - 2pm & 8pm are peak

Tuesday - 2-4pm & 6-7pm & 10pm-12am - 7pm & 10pm are peak

Wednesday - 2-5pm & 11pm-12am - 4pm is peak

Thursday - 12-1pm & 8pm & 11pm - 12pm & 11pm are peak

Friday - 2-4pm & 11pm - 2pm is peak

Saturday - 1-4pm - 2pm is peak

Sunday - 12pm & 5pm & 10pm-12am - 10pm is peak

Based off of these numbers, it gets pretty tough to decide when to post. Some of the peak times are after the working day. I have to decide if I post late or if I post during the working day. In my opinion, the times I choose will most likely depend on the content I am posting.

Step 3: Choose Your Content

Step 1 and 2 are easy compared to choosing your #socialmediacontent. Your #content is where it is at. If you are posting poor content, your following will stall or be lost.

I will be completely honest. My content has lacked since I have started my company. I am consciously trying to figure out what I need to be posting on social media. My followings have stalled so I know I am not providing the content my followers are looking for.

You need to know who you are posting for. What are they wanting to see? What are they searching for? How can you provide the answers?

One of the best methods, which I need to use more, is AnswerThePublic.com. You search 1-2 words and poof, there are many variations of what people are searching for. This tool is used a lot for making YouTube videos. Why use a tool primarily used by YouTubers? The answer is easy. 

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, second to Google. Oh and Google owns YouTube. Your social media content will be found in search engines if you use good keywords in your posts. 

I used AnswerThePublic.com for this article. Here is the screenshot from the website.

I highly recommend you use this tool when brainstorming your #contentcreation. You will know you are posting about topics your followers are search for answers to. 

Now you need to decide what content you post on certain days, certain times, etc. I think this should be an ongoing trial and error. You won't get it right the first time. If you do, you should play the lottery too. 

Let's keep the conversation going. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Did you learn something new? Did you know you could search keywords on AnswerThePublic.com? 

If you would like to discuss this topic further, drop a comment below, or email me to set up a 10 minute call. Email me at [email protected]. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you want to read more content by The Bearded Marketer, subscribe to the blog here: https://thebeardedmarketer.net/blog.

Sincerely,

Gregory Guarisco

CEO of The Bearded Marketer