Strong marketers know demographics play a huge role in any campaign. Without an understanding of who your target audience is, marketing content becomes a shot in the dark. Growing trends in social media and an ever-widening device pool create new demographics to consider. When creating content, you not only need to know who your target audience is, but also what social media platform they will be using and when they will view the content.

The bit.ly example

The bitly blog recently conducted an analysis of when and how its readers accessed blog posts. The data showed that PC access was highest in the morning, while tablet and e-reader usage spiked late at night. Mobile access to the site showed spikes consistent with sleep schedules, meals and afternoon breaks.

Creating content for the social media platform

Although the bit.ly numbers are limited in scope, you can use the same concept to strengthen the impact of your content by targeting different social media platform users. It is likely your content is being accessed by a variety of devices. Mobile social networking is on the rise, especially for short, informational content. So if you are launching an update on next week’s gala, a mid-morning publish time and content suitable for smartphones may be the best bet.

However, if you are providing book reviews targeted at Kindle readers, you may want to format your post to be e-reader friendly and publish during weekday evenings.

Finding your own sweet spots

The best way to target social media platforms and times for your readers is to conduct your own analysis. When and how are people accessing your content? Basic analytics should provide you with this information, and you can follow the same method the bit.ly Blog used in drawing conclusions.

By locating your sweet spots, you can increase page hits and exposure to all of your information. You can also use the information in future campaigns and Web product designs to ensure you are meeting the needs of your users.

For information on how Social Strategy1 can help you develop a viable social media campaign, request your free demo today.