Which pages do you have fan overlap with?
The moment you and another page 'share' one or more fans, you are each other's Facebook competitor. After all, you are fighting together for a spot in the same newsfeed(s). And if the content of the other page is seen as more relevant (EdgeRank) by Facebook, you have lost the battle.
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Chad's tip is to figure out which pages you have the biggest overlap with and make sure you post at different times and don't compete with them. For $50 he can tell you which top 5 brands you have a fan overlap with, but I seriously doubt that this data is really valuable. After all, you have to figure out which pages post at fixed times and plan around that, which is actually impossible. Plus, you have an overlap with so many pages that I wonder if this will do anything. Still, the principle of Facebook competition is interesting. I'll come back to that later.
Facebook Insights: When are your fans online?
Earlier this year, Facebook launched a new page statistics environment. Data that was previously only available through time-consuming exports and analysis is now available more quickly. This also includes data about when your fans are online. Below you can see this data for the Facebook page of Frankwatching.
Frankwatching stats
What immediately stands out is that the difference based on days is really minimal. The number of fans that log in to Facebook is actually stable throughout the week. I have not yet come across a page where the differences are really noteworthy.
The average progression of the 24-hour graph also closely matches other pages. The graph increases until around noon (lunchtime) and the second peak is in the evening. We sleep at night, many people look early in the morning (e.g. on public transport or even in bed) and around lunch there is also time to 'socialize'. The focus of our activities on Facebook takes place around the hours that we have for ourselves; after work and after dinner.
My big caveat to this data is that it strongly appears that this data shows the same trends for a lot of pages. And especially for the pages that have a large fan overlap with each other or serve the same target groups. Is it wise to post your content at peak times?
Better calm valleys than steep peaks
With the principle of fan overlap (determining your real Facebook competitors) and the data about when your fans are online, you may be a bit confused. Because when should you share your valuable content?
Well, not at peak times!
Why? We’ve learned that your Facebook Page is competing with other Pages. We’ve also learned that the Pages you’re competing with the most (large fan overlap/same audience) are likely to see similar peak times for when their fans are online. In fact, it seems that the trends in when we’re online on Facebook are consistent across very large audiences.
Chances are that many page admins have chosen to post their content at these times jordan mobile phone number list with the logical thought that this is optimal. This is not the case.
The tips below will help you determine the right moments to post your content.
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Avoid the high peaks
Consider when your fans are online, but if possible, post your content at different times outside of peak times. Find out what works for you.
Put yourself in your fans' shoes
In addition, it is also important to think about the time of day that the message will best reach the target group (read: generate the most interaction). Timing is everything. For example; restaurants can best post their new daily special or weekly menu around 4-5 o'clock when people are hungry again and possibly have no plans for dinner yet. In the morning I don't want to think about steaks and just after lunch I'm not hungry either.
Create experience!