Facebook Posts Cheat Sheet

I've been writing about the best times to post on Facebook and Twitter here for a few years, and as we get more granular data we continue to determine what works best when it comes to posts from a brand (don't forget, every artist is a brand). Buddy Media just released a study of over 18,000 Facebook pages from the world's biggest brands to determine the following "cheat sheet" for wall posts.

• Posts between 8PM and 7AM get 14% higher interaction because they present fans with content when they're the least busy.

• Posts published on the weekend get a 14% higher interaction rate than during the week.

• Post only once or twice a day. Brands that post more see 19% less interaction.

• Keep it short. Posts of 80 characters or fewer receive 23% more interaction.

• Use photos. Posts with photo attachments receive 39% more interaction than posts without.

• Be careful with video attachments. Video attachments receive fewer likes, views and shares than average.

• Call to actions work. When fans are asked to like a post, they do so at 3 times the rate than when they're not asked. The also comment at a rate more than 3 times times the norm. When asked to share a post, they're 7 times more likely to do so.

• Long URLs work better. Always include a URL including a link to your product, but use a long URL since it receives a 16% higher interaction rate.

• Use questions to drive comments, but be sure to place the questions at the end of the post. Posts with questions have 92% more comments.

• Experiment with emoticons. In some cases, emoticons can provide as much as 52% higher interaction, while in other cases, the interaction can be lower than average. :D and :P have the highest interaction rates.

These are all fascinating data points and worth considering before any post. You can download the full report here.

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