With 236 million monthly active users (MAU), Twitter is a valuable platform within many businesses social media strategies.
Over time, engagement on Twitter should contribute towards top and bottom line growth metrics.
All social media is time sensitive, especially Twitter, with its linear timeline. Every time you publish content, you are competing against a million other distractions for a small window of someone's attention. For some brands, this means the weekend are a valuable timeframe in which they can engage their audience.
Working on the assumption your business is concerned with measuring click-through rates (CTR), conversions, engagement, let's review the ROI of weekend Tweeting.
How often?
Social media expert, Dan Zarrella, found that between 1 and 4 Tweets per hour increases CTR 350%, with a sharp drop off after 6 Tweets.
The folks behind Buffer, the popular social media sharing tool, suggest 14 Tweets per day on weekdays; with 7 per day on Saturday and Sunday. This is based on a study by Track Social, which found that 21 - 30 Tweets per day generates the highest returns.
That would mean creating thousands of Tweets every year, which is a big task, without Twitter generating outsize returns as a result.
The Data Behind Weekend Tweeting?
Several studies have demonstrated the value of weekend Tweeting since audiences have more time to consume and share content.
Buddy Media, acquired by Salesforce in 2012, found 17% higher engagement rates on weekends.
Dan Zarrella studied 200,000 Tweets, also uncovering a 17% higher engagement rate on weekends. With the best time for Re-tweets and clicks between 5-6pm (EST), which you can adjust for local time zones.
An Argyle Social study compared the difference between B2B and B2C brands. They found that B2B brands enjoy a 14% higher engagement on weekdays. The results for B2C brands weren't conclusive enough to differentiate between weekdays and weekends.
Is A New, More Comprehensive Study Needed?
According to the data, some businesses will receive higher returns from weekend Tweeting, but not all. Twitter, digital marketing and the role of social media professionals have evolved since those studies were done. The findings are still useful, but it might be worth taking a closer look at the value of Tweeting on weekends.