Social media users are active at all times of day, which can make it challenging to find the best time to post content. There is no single “best time” to post that applies for all platforms and every account. The best time to post will vary wildly based on the account, the industry, and the potential audience. This situation doesn’t mean that social media marketers should post whenever they feel like it. It just means you need to do a little research first. Twitter has released a new Insights tool that can help marketers find the optimal time to post a video.
The new tool is called Timing is Everything. The on-the-nose name describes the purpose of the tool. It gives Twitter account owners insights on when their audience is active, which indicates the best times to publish Tweets. However, it should be noted that the data is based on video content, not ordinary Tweets with text and images.
As Twitter explained in a post announcing the new tool, “In an effort to provide our publishers with more actionable data to help them improve their performance on Twitter, we’ve been busy working on a new set of Publisher Insights tools that will live within Media Studio. After months of work, we’re excited to announce the launch of our first new Insights tool — Timing is Everything.”
The Timing is Everything tool displays historical data of when Twitter users were watching and engaging with video content. This data is represented in a chart that indicates the best times to publish a Tweet with video content. Posting at the optimal time should “maximize engagement, conversation, and viewership”.
Another critical thing to note is that data shown by the Timing is Everything chart is based on your followers but not your videos. The tool shows when your followers were watching or engaging with any video on Twitter, not just the ones on your account. This decision may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense for marketers who want a clearer picture of how their followers behave.
Rather than rely on data from the relatively small number of videos on business publishes, the Timing is Everything tool includes data from many more videos. These videos were posted at all times of the day. The results from this kind of sampling are more accurate for depicting when your audience chooses to watch videos on Twitter.
Marketers should also remember that these insights are not commandments from the lords of Twitter. There is no guarantee that posting during the most active period will increase viewership for your company’s video content on Twitter. For example, if your business is about a boring topic, it may not be the best idea to compete with more popular videos for viewer attention. In these cases, posting slightly before or after the peak could lead to more viewership. The Timing is Everything tool provides useful data, but it’s up to business owners and marketers to use that data most effectively for their business.
For more recent information about changes to Twitter, read this article on the end of automatic posting to Twitter from YouTube.