Social Networking Studies in Successful Social Marketing Timing, Posts, Interaction & Reach

Social Networking has been around for years, it transformed from a place to catch up with old friends from college or find a new band to the top online marketing platform in less than 5 years.  There are several recent studies that cover a wide range of statistical data, use and success from all of the social networks.

• Facebook is still King:  As of April 2013 Facebook has had over 120 BILLION Impressions where the longer posts were less read and less interacted with than shorter ones in the 100-119 character range.  Posts with Questions drove interaction up 10-20% as the chart below illustrates (on the left you see the character length and the red is posts with Questions while blue is posts Without Questions).

• Timing is Everything - the KISSMetrics study found that the best time to post on Twitter for ReTweets is 5PM.  The best time to post on Facebook for the most Shares is 1PM.  The best number of times to Tweet on Twitter is 1-2 Tweets per hour while it is best to post an average of once every two days on Facebook.  

• A study by Bit.ly and Raka found the best time to post on Twitter for Clicks is 1-3PM while the best overall time for posts on Facebook to receive the most clicks is 3PM.  Forget about Tweeting anything important after 8PM or posting on Facebook after 3PM Friday

• A third study by Argyle Social found the best time to post on both Facebook and Twitter is 9AM-7PM.  Tweets during the Weekday have 14% more interaction than on Weekends.  The last item is the most unusual since the study found posts on Facebook have 32% more interaction on Weekends than Weekdays.  Most other studies conflict with this finding the best times to post on Facebook are during the week.  

• 70% of Consumers Trust Recommendations on Brands from Friends:
  This is # 1 reason Facebook GraphSearch engine is going to change the way companies market online.  People like to work with, go where, be with and buy from others that they know and trust.  Facebook has more information about people than any other site on the Internet thus when someone searches for a "Pizza Place' or 'Real Estate Agent' and Facebook shows them a list of pizza places friends like or real estate agents friends work with they are highly likely to use what friends did.

• The average 'Shelf Life' of Social Networking Links or Posts is only 3 Hours.  A study by Bit.ly tracked user posts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and direct on Bit.ly showing the most interaction happens within the first 60 minutes of a post.  The chart below shows the density or views/interactions on the left with the time/seconds across the bottom.  

• Women Spend 30% more time on Social Networking websites than men.  This study by ComScore is fairly well known although I would say I am the exception to the rule since I am on Social Networks 12+ hours a day!  Some social networking sites like Pinterest have a significantly higher rate of use by women over men while others like Twitter are closer to equal.  

Statistically Social Networks are THE place to market no matter what age, gender, race or location you are targeting.  Social networks constitute over 20% of the total online time worldwide with more daily users on Facebook alone than ALL search engines combined.  The key is knowing how to setup, optimize, manage and obtain the most interaction.  If you would like an expert consultation on social networking, social media marketing, search engine optimization or simply have a question Contact the Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting  online or Call us at 816-842-7774.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing Solutions

Facebook Graph Search 'Search Engine' now Competing with Google for Top Search Results with Social Networking User Data

Google has dominated the search engines for over 10 years now leaving Yahoo, Bing, AskJeeves, AOL and everyone else far behind.  Internet Builder Consulting has been saying it since 2009 when Facebook began showing 'search results' outside of Facebook using Microsoft Bing that it was only a matter of time before Facebook became it's own 'Search Engine'.  The time has come and past and now the Billions of Facebook Users will never have to leave Facebook to search on Google, Yahoo or Bing again.  The first version of Facebook Graph Search works on the most valuable aspect of Facebook, your friends, what they are doing, where they have been and what they like.

People use Facebook because it instantly connects them with like minded individuals, people 'like ME' which is common in society.  Facebook Graph Search provides levels of detail no other search engine can provide enabling you to search for 'friends' who like Pizza or have visited Spain or even locate someone you may have met at a store that helped you and you wanted to thank.

Interesting enough this works quite well since the latest professional to join the Internet Builder Consulting team, Jennifer was found through Facebook after some exceptional service at the pharmacy.  I used Facebook to narrow down a list of people names Jennifer that worked at a pharmacy in Kansas City and ended friends with our latest hard working team member!

The first version of Facebook Graph Search is focused on primarily searching 'friends' and connections   As the system progresses it will include Business Pages and Fan Pages eventually encompassing all aspects and INFORMATION stored on Facebook.  The image below is the new Facebook Graph Search menu with a few 'suggested' search options although you can search for ANYTHING!

No other search engine database has such a deep level of information to search through since Facebook knows who you are, where you live, who you are friends with, where you went on vacation, to lunch, what kinds of cars or hobbies you enjoy and MUCH more.  Facebook claims that only the information you share with friends is going to be searchable (most everything) although the Facebook Terms of Use everyone agrees to when they create an account clearly states Facebook owns all the data and can do whatever they want with it :)  What Graph Search means is companies are going to have to pickup the pace with Social Marketing.  There are more users on Facebook than Google every day and now that Facebook has Graph Search there is little reason to ever leave...


Google has its first real challenger here while Microsoft is going to see a boost in traffic on Bing.  When Graph Search doesn't find the results you are looking for, you will also get a list of Bing web results within Facebook.  This also dramatically increases the value in Social Marketing Optimization (SMO) as part of any effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program.  It is NOT about the 'likes' a Facebook page has, it is about how it is setup, optimized and connected just like SEO is for a website.

Mark Zuckerberg said the main difference is Graph Search's ability to deliver 'answers' rather than 'links to answers' makes it clear that Facebook and Bing are on the same page: The Bing team has long been working on a search solution that eschews "blue links" in favor of a search engine where people are as important as pages.

Bing Director Stefan Weitz recently stated that the majority of people doing research on the internet, for a new product, or a potential vacation, won't rely on search engine page alone. They will turn to friends and experts to get additional input before making a decision. The more Bing enhances its social sidebarwith increasing amounts of social data, the less you are likely to jump around to other sources.


If you would like to know more about how to setup, optimize, market and manage your business, products or services online contact The Experts at Internet Builder Consulting for a consultation 816-842-7774 - we helped create social marketing with 18 years experience building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing solutions.  Having a Facebook page with effective, optimized social marketing, has never been more important for the success of your business.

It's not about the likes, it's about the leads.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
816-842-7774 Office