Social media for financial advisors continues to evolve. As more and more advisors create social profiles for themselves and their firms they often wonder about posting. Posting on any social media site is much more involved than it was in the early days of social media’s existence.
In the past, simply having a profile and occasionally posting was considered enough. These days, and especially post-COVID, the rules have all changed. There’s no place this is more evident than on Twitter.
Twitter has always been a different kind of social media than the more media-driven sites like Facebook and Instagram. Twitter was meant to be a “micro-blogging” site, and while it originally started with a 140-character limit, it has grown to allow 280 total characters per tweet.
Comparatively speaking, that’s not a whole lot of space to gain attention on a platform with more than 48 million users in the United States alone. But don’t let that scare you away from participating as a financial advisor. There are many ways you can make the most of using Twitter to reach current clients as well as potential prospects. One of the most important things to establish is the best time to post on this social media site.
Read on for tips about Twitter, and how to best take advantage of the tools for timing your posts for maximum exposure.
Why Does Timing Matter?
With so many active users, Twitter feeds can move very fast. In fact, anyone who uses Twitter will see their feed move faster and faster as they follow more Twitter accounts. Basically, every new post at the top replaces one from the bottom. That means in order to get your message in front of your followers, you need to know when those followers are using twitter.
More importantly, you want to post at a time when ideally not everyone is posting, clogging up your followers’ feeds, but also a time when your followers are online. And while that can seem like an impossible task only achievable with a sixth sense, it’s actually possible with the right tracking and analytics tools!
Timing Should Align with Your Engagement Goals
With Twitter more than other platforms, engagement is the ultimate goal. Twitter was created to be a 2-way conversation. There are tools within the platform such as comments, hashtags, retweet options, etc. that encourage this conversation. Twitter (and most social media these days) isn’t meant to be a “set it and forget it” type of process, it requires monitoring comments and engaging in conversation.
However, as a financial advisor, you may have some limitations based on compliance regulations and guidelines. You should always check with your compliance department before beginning this type of financial advisor marketing.
When is the Actual Best Time to Post on Twitter?
While there is no one “magic bullet” to give a straight answer to that question, there are some known times for optimizing your posts on Twitter. This of course varies by industry, and whether you have a B2C or B2B service, but generally speaking here are the prevailing thoughts on posting during different times:
Weekdays – Because mornings are typically busy times for anyone, early and late afternoon are believed to be some of the best times to post on Twitter. The theory behind this is that people are done with lunch, hitting a bit of a “slump” and need something to break up some of the monotony of the day. This also covers the commute time in the later afternoon when people are sitting on trains, buses, or rideshares and checking social accounts to unwind on the ride home.
Weekends – While the lines between weekends and weekdays/ workdays and evenings have been substantially blurred by the pandemic, it’s believed that mid-to-late Saturday and Sunday mornings are good times to post. As you might imagine, the idea behind this is that people aren’t at work and possibly have slept in and then as they wake up and relax - perhaps with a morning coffee or tea – and will scroll leisurely through their news feeds before they go on about their day.
Use Twitter Analytics
With all of the above said, there’s no substitute for tracking your own analytics. Twitter offers a free analytics platform for its users. While not as robust as some paid 3rd-party software, Twitter analytics does offer a snapshot of your highest performing tweets and most engaged followers, as well as some other helpful information on the overall performance of your account.
If you want to track a trend for the timing of the most successful tweets, check this page daily and see if any of the top tweets have any specific timing in common. If not, try to find any other commonalities to at least get an idea of the type of content gaining the most traction.
Once you know both the best type of content as well as the best timing, you can deliver to your prospective clients what they want and when they want it. This can also mean spending less time wasted on posts at the wrong days and times, and more targeted, efficient Twitter posting overall.
Consider 3rd-Party Tools
While Twitter analytics can give you a snapshot of your marketing efforts, that sometimes isn’t enough to know all you need to know to truly optimize your posting times on Twitter. If you get to the point where you’re looking for more granular details on your Twitter data, consider using one of the widely available tools for social media monitoring, scheduling, and analytics.
While these services may come with more features than you think your financial advisor firm needs, you can always utilize the services of a digital marketing agency partner. Agencies that specialize in digital marketing for financial advisors have specialized professionals who can help leverage such 3rd-party tools and analyze the data for you. With this information, you can continue to keep optimizing your social posting for the best days and times, while also doing what you do best which is servicing current clients and talking to prospective clients.
