Our Finger On The Pulse

Mashable just featured a post called HOW TO: Improve Engagement on Your Brand’s Facebook Page [STATS]

It featured highlights of a new report from Buddy Media who collected data from 200 of its clients’ Pages* over a 14-day period and found some interesting data that can help you with the success of a Facebook post.

It reminded me again that the synergy between social and radio mechanics is so obvious, if you look beyond the surface, but a very few seem to be using this advantage at all!

The study found that daily Facebook engagement has three peaks: early morning (7a ET), after work (5p ET) and late at night (11p ET).

This can be related to and programmed the same way we would look at dayparts on the station. The great Top 40 stations have known for eons that mornings, afternoons and nights were key areas of focus for a successful strategy to win more occasions from its consumers. Many are still active in mornings and afternoons, but for most, we lost the star power during nights, late-nights and weekends when automation became the norm instead of the exception. You see the same approach for most with social media.

You can also build a plan here for cross-promotion. Just as the same folks who listen in mornings may not in afternoons; what engaging content or conversation could trigger someone making an appointment to sample a daypart again, or for the first time?

And how is that integrated across the various platforms in a topical and relevant way so it’s not a “carrot on a stick” approach, but a quality experience that doesn't waste time and offers value for the click, listen or read.

Good timing on Facebook depends on the day of the week. Thursday and Friday have 18% more engagement than other days of the week.

Look at this information the same way as launching a promotion or campaign on a Thursday, because it is the first day of a new diary period ... or a Monday launch for those PPM markets.

Great programming and promotion always builds anticipation around these critical days.

When broken down by market, you'll notice media is strongest on the weekend and weakest on Monday when most shows may be using this content as their topicality for the day.

Entertainment: Friday, Saturday and Sunday are huge, as that is when people are most inclined to see a movie or go to a concert. However, entertainment brands post twice as much content on a weekday than a Saturday or Sunday.

Media: Weekends have strong engagement for media brands, but Mondays are weak. During the study period, most posts went out during the week.

Most stations are not taking advantage of the weekend conversations happening around the content that are so critical to success. You hear the recaps on Monday, but the vibe is very different from being there, and that is what social media can help you accomplish today.

Have you ever monitored Twitter or Facebook during the Grammys, Idol, the Oscars, the Super Bowl and other major events? The screen and social dashboards are lit up with comments, pics, video and so on from a majority of fans and followers who want to discuss what's happening in that moment. Is your voice in that conversation?

It also becomes a great cross-promotion and appointment opportunity.

Think about the buzz that was centered around the “American Idol” results show last week when Pia Toscano was kicked off to the shock of most viewers. This was a great opportunity to have your celeb reporter/or a host live on your Facebook page during and/or after the show, discussing the results. They could also plug the fact that your morning show or another personality would have an interview with her (or another Idol person), tease a bit around it, or simply invite those folks to call-in the next day (or now) at a specific time to have their voice heard.

The data indicates that the length of the post can determine engagement just as much as the time of the post. The bottom line: Keep it short and sweet. Posts with 80 characters or less - the length of a short tweet - garnered 27% more engagement than posts that were more than 80 characters. But brevity is far from a common practice; only 19% of posts in the study were shorter than 80 characters.

There is no one who has ever put on a set of headphones and opened a microphone that wasn't coached on doing more in less time. Same idea here ... just a different context.

The great stations have always won by having a pulse on what's happening now. The topical moments lead to great bits, phoners and parody songs. The engagement was felt because of the original approach a personality brought to a story. The emotion was magnified by programming that captured the moment.

It is the same approach that is winning in social media, and you are already an expert. Now do what you know and the results will turn listeners into friends and followers who are engaged in great conversations and interesting stories that are always on, always live and always connected to now.