Social Etiquette: How, What and When to Post on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

How to post on Facebook

Facebook is a fantastic place to interact with your target audience, and gives you a chance at really humanizing your brand. Photos and videos, links and status updates can all be shared easily on this platform either immediately or at a scheduled time. So before you post anything, think about what you want to share. Maybe it’s a photo or graphic, perhaps a whole photo album. If you’re working from a computer, be sure to have your files downloaded and stored in an easy-to-find folder. If you’ve got a video, make sure that its format is compatible with Facebook. If you’re posting personal information or your thoughts, think about how you want to word your writing so that its consistent with your brand’s tone.

• Updates: Toward the top of your business page, under your company’s profile photo, is a box with options to post a status, photos or video and more. If you’re sharing a link, a question or just a general update to your fans, type it in here. Then re-read for any spelling errors or mistakes and press post when you’re happy with it! If you’d like the post to go up at a specific time, you can click on the small clock icon to schedule it.

• Photos and video: Similarly, if you’d like to upload a photo or an album, click on the Photo/Video tab. Choose the option you’d like and either select the file you’d like to post or follow the instructions to create an album.

What to post on Facebook

Posting on Facebook is all about engagement – you should be trying to relate with your audience and have them connect with you on a more personal level with every post.

• Be a resource. Post useful content that your regular and potential customers need and want. And you don’t have to provide all the information yourself. Provide links to blog posts and articles that also provide valuable content. Make use of an RSS reader to track news sites and blogs for interesting information to share.

• Get personal. Facebook’s strength is it gives potential customers an opportunity to get to know, trust and like you. Ask questions, respond to comments and offer up information about yourself and your brand without getting salesy.

• Be social. It’s important to remember that just interacting on your page isn’t enough. Social media gives you a chance to have discussions with individuals and other companies you may not otherwise have the ability to converse with face-to-face, so reach out often and start a conversation!

• Promote. The secret to using Facebook to grow your business lies in promoting without selling. Post about new products or special offers. Incentivize your fans to visit your business or website. Post photographs of work you have done for customers (with their permission). Share news about expanding your business, your anniversaries or hiring new staff. Just keep in mind that one in five posts should be transparently promotional.

When to post on Facebook

Is the subject matter time-sensitive? For example, if you’re posting about an upcoming event, consider posting before, during and then after the event to give your followers a heads’ up that it’s coming, to keep them informed while it’s happening and to give them a brief recap after it’s taken place.

If the content of your post isn’t centered around an event or time-sensitive matter, then keep in mind that the most ideal time to post is weekday nights. Studies show that most people are usually active on Facebook Monday-Thursday evenings. People are logging on after work or just as they’re finishing up for the day and don’t have as many plans as they do on weekends. Another good time to post is during weekday lunchtimes between 12-2 p.m. when people are eating at their desks or using their smartphones from a restaurant.

How to post on Twitter

You’ll see tiny box on the upper left under your account details that reads “Compose new Tweet…” Simply type your 140-character message there! You can also add a photo by clicking on the camera icon. A photo will use up about 23 characters. Clicking on the pin symbol will add your location to your tweets, but won’t use up any of your characters. You can also include a hashtag that will allow your tweet to show up in related searches. For more on how to use a hashtag, click here.

What to post on Twitter

• Promotion and news about what you’re doing. Twitter is an excellent platform for broadcasting company news and product information. Just make sure that it isn’t more than about 20 percent of your content.

• Inspiring thoughts, quotes and questions. The rest of your content should in part be made up of original posts or quotes that demonstrate your thought-leadership or questions that encourage your followers to join a discussion.

• Retweets and links to vital resources. You can also use Twitter to retweet or repost valuable content from other resources. If you read a tweet you feel your followers would benefit from, click “Retweet” and it will appear on your feed as well.

• Messages to other users. Since Twitter is a social media platform, it’s also important to discuss and interact with other users by mentioning them in your tweets using the @ symbol and then their Twitter handle. You’ll be building relationships and allowing your followers to see that there is a real person behind the brand.

When to post on Twitter

Unlike Facebook, Twitter engagement goes up to 30 percent on weekends compared to weekdays. Though you have up to 140 characters, shorter tweets are more likely to gain engagement than tweets over 100 characters. The best times are on weekends from 1-3 p.m., and the worst times are 8 p.m.-8 a.m. on any day.

How to post on LinkedIn

You can share an update on LinkedIn by typing into the white box next to your profile picture on the main page of the site above your feed, and you can include links, or files by clicking on the paperclip icon.

You can also post on LinkedIn in a group. For more on how to use LinkedIn groups, click here.

What to post on LinkedIn

Share links to captivating videos, websites or articles that people in your industry will value. Chances are you have some connections who are friends or family in other fields, so don’t worry if all your connections will find your content equally helpful.

LinkedIn is also an excellent platform for seeking out professional help. For instance, you could post a question such as “Does anyone know any good web designers?” and hopefully get responses from people whose recommendations you trust.

You can talk about an event you’re planning to attend or have already attended and ask questions of others who are going or may have been there.
And you can also share your own recommendations or updates about companies or individuals who may help others in your network. For example, “I just met with Jeffrey Washington from XYZ Insurance Company and found out they’re saving companies millions on building services design.”
Don’t forget to interact with other people’s posts by using the “like” or “share” feature and commenting on other user’s status updates.

When to post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is usually used more right before after work hours, and Tuesdays and Thursdays usually receive the most traffic. People don’t normally check LinkedIn during work hours, so the best times are 7-8:30 a.m. and 5-6 p.m.