Knowing when and where to publish your B2B content is every bit as important as producing it in the first place. Inbound marketers are experts at developing a deep understanding of buyer personas, with the aim of forecasting likely behaviour, and this can be used to levy impressive results when it comes to video marketing campaigns.
Information regarding the online activity of your potential customers can be used strategically to improve the delivery of your business message across social media.
This is an oft-overlooked factor in corporate video distribution.
A prominent business presence on social media will increase brand awareness, build trust and generate leads. But, this cannot be achieved if you are inactive on your buyer personas' favourite social networks during peak hours.
Posting video content at optimal times can increase your viewership and following, boost interactions and garner a much better ROI (return on investment).
So, when is the best time to post social media video on the leading networks?
While is it still widely debated, Thursdays and Fridays between 1-3pm tends to take the lead as the optimum time for sharing video on Facebook.
Conversation on Facebook is driven by an easy-going sense of community. On this platform you’re most likely to find emotive, entertaining or educational material.
For businesses, it is a great place to connect with your target audience and collect recommendations or feedback. It’s not uncommon for people to browse the site during their lunch break, or as the day begins winding down.
The highest click-through rates are seen during weekday afternoons. Late in the week is best.
Up-to-date research suggests that early afternoon is generally the best time to get views on Facebook. Engagement rates peak at midday on most weekdays.
Evenings and early mornings present the least engagement no matter the day.
On the surface, Saturday posts appear to be the least successful. However, although it’s true that less people frequent the site over the weekend, those that do tend to pay more attention to the content shared. There is an increased level of comments and shares, especially on Sundays. This means that if your video is a little on the long-side, or takes extra brain power to process, Sunday might be the right day for you to share it.
For video content on Instagram, I would recommend testing Thursday at 5pm.
Aside from a dead zone lasting from 3 - 4pm, posting outside of work hours is the secret to reaching your future customers. Instagram is notably popular with night owls. The best time to post video on any day is between 9pm - 8am.
On Instagram, posting a video at 9pm will get 34 percent more viewer interaction than other times of the day.
Instagram has very low engagement on Sundays; the best days to post video are Mondays and Thursdays.
It's best to Tweet your video content over the weekend, during the hours of 2 - 6pm.
B2B content normally performs better during business hours on Twitter. In the professional context, peak moments naturally coincide with lunch breaks and commutes (5 - 6pm). However, video content is unique as it requires an increased level of participation. It takes more time and effort to choose and watch video than skim a feed for interesting tweets.
12 - 3pm is generally seen as the most popular timeframe for content shares.
Twitter is favoured by people in search of updates, world news, social commentary and witty remarks. Although many users surreptitiously browse Twitter at work, they are less inclined to click through or engage with your content than they would be on a Saturday or Sunday.
This is one reason why the weekend seems to be the most promising time to share B2B video content. You can use Twitter analytics to monitor your followers and confirm this.
Whatever time you decide to post, you should pin your best video content to the top of your Twitter feed, so that it is permanently showcased on your profile. This will broaden your reach and extend the lifespan of your piece.
LinkedIn is primarily used for professional purposes, and it is accessed most often during the middle of the working week.
Tuesday is said to be the best day to schedule a video post on LinkedIn.
Early morning (7 - 8am) or evening (5 - 6pm) are the most highly recommended times to garner high click through rates for B2B content. Unusually, on Tuesdays specifically, posting at 10 - 11am is recommended instead.
Just over half of LinkedIn users visit the site less than once a week. This makes it evermore important to provide compelling content in a timely manner. Posting on a Tuesday makes strategic sense. Traffic is at its highest on this day of the week, and it also ensures that fresh content is readily prepared for other visitors to view later in the week.
Weekends seem to be the worst time to post on LinkedIn, both in terms of engagement and visibility.
Google +
Google + performs best during business hours. Weekdays between 9 - 11am are the most effective post times for video content.
Video marketing results are negligible over the weekend.
It is so important to check your video marketing metrics regularly and be responsive to subtle changes in user activity. A good grasp on the behaviour of your audience - as well as the core motivation behind it - will help you to decide where and when to share your latest video marketing content.
