Engage-More-Users-on-Your-Practice-Facebook-PageIf your practice has a Facebook presence, you need to make sure your updates are reaching your target market and audience at just the right time.

Even though many people check their Facebook News Feed  several times per day, only some are actively engaging with posts — posting comments, sharing links or pushing the “Like” button — during certain times of the day.

According to a study conducted by Vitrue, a social media marketing agency based in Atlanta, Facebook posts made before noon get about 65% more responses and engagement than those posted afternoon.

Researchers of the study theorize that most Facebook users check their pages earlier the workday. Results of the study also show that posts on weekdays get more attention, on average, than those posted on the weekends.

How can your practice stand out from all the “noise” on this popular social media channel?

Use these tips to increase engagement on your practice’s Facebook page:

1. Schedule your updates to go up between 10 a.m. and noon. Make sure you catch the wave of Facebook users who are likely to engage in a discussion or update by posting at least one update each day, before noon.

2. Post your most important news around 3 p.m. on weekdays. The Vitrue study points out that the biggest spike in Facebook engagement occurs at 3 p.m. EST on weekdays. This has consistently been the busiest time of day for Facebook. Time your posts to go up right before or right after 3 p.m. to catch another wave of users and a captive audience.

3. Avoid posting important information on weekends. Most of your Facebook fans won’t be online much on weekends, according to the Vitrue study, so you could be wasting your time by posting updates on weekends.

4. Include an image. More Facebook users are attracted to pictures than text-only posts, so take some time to add an image to your post whenever possible.

5. Be active on Facebook as well. Facebook’s recent Pages upgrade means you can now respond to posts and leave comments as your practice or Page name, rather than as an individual. This can help to increase brand awareness and make you more “approachable” in the eyes of your current and future Facebook fans.

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