Awed, confused, surprised.

Twitter Tuesday: When and how often should I tweet?

Okay, I must confess something: This week's Twitter Tuesday has a tad misleading headline. There's really no one straight answer to the question. No, not really.

But there's some data others have collected. And this data may help you to decide when and how often you'll want to tweet. Yes, in the end it's up to you, no matter what the so called gurus will tell you.

Some say it's best to tweet on around 10 to 12 times a day. This way you'll be noticed, but won't be too noisy. Please notice that in my opinion the @replies aren't usually counted in this.

There's even at least one a study about timing your Tweets. It shows that tweeting 1 to 4 times per hour will result to more people to notice your Tweets. Or at least click on the links in your Tweets.

However a lot may be too much. A friend once told me they rarely follow anyone who tweets more than four times a day.

That's a low threshold, yes, but I know some of Twitter users don't want their feeds choke on Tweets and ReTweets by one or two people. I know I don't.

Many "experts" will tell you the best time to get your Tweets out is around 5 to 6 PM. That's when people are getting or starting to get off from work, but aren't quite yet turned to their "home phase".

Of course now you must remember that when it's 5 PM in where ever you are from, it could be 9 AM in another part of a world. And not everyone works 9 to 5 PM.

Common sense says though that tweeting in the morning can obviously be futile. People are tired, on a bad mood and busy at the beginning of the day. They have work, kids to take to school and so forth.

I myself don't really follow all these rules. I'm rebellious in that way. But if they make sense to you, why not?

So what's my advice? Well, I recommend to give it a try, test it. See what times and how often is best for you and for what you want from Twitter.

Sources:
Getting Your Writing Noticed on Twitter
[Infographic] How to Get More Clicks on Twitter
The Science of Social Timing Part 1: Social Networks (Infographic)

Photo by Kate Ter Haar under Creative Commons license.

Follow @tasselflower

Suomeksi (In Finnish):

Suoraan sanottuna ei ole olemassa yhtä simppeliä vastausta siihen kuinka usein ja mihin aikaan kannattaa twiitata. Jotkut tahot sanovat, että jos haluat tulla huomatuksi, mutta et olla liian äänekäs, on parasta twiitata 10-12 kertaa päivässä. On tehty jopa ainakin yksi tutkimus Twitter-viestien ajoittamisesta. Sen mukaan olisi syytä viestiä 1-4 kertaa tunnissa. Liika voi kuitenkin olla liikaa. Kellonajaksi ovat "asiantuntijat" ehdottaneet noin klo 17-18, kun useat Twitterin käyttäjät ovat juuri lähdössä töistä, mutta eivät vielä ihan "kotiutuneet". Tosin kello viisi täällä saattaa olla kello yhdeksän jossain muualla. Aamut ovat kuitenkin ehkä huonoin aika, ihan järkikin sen sanoo. Itse en tosin seuraa näitä sääntöjä, mutta jos niissä tuntuu olevan järkeä, kokeile toki. Oikeastaan suosittelenkin kokeilemaan, mitkä ajat ja kuinka usein toimii parhaiten sinulle ja asiallesi.

4 replies | May 15, 2012 - 14:59 |

4 replies for "Twitter Tuesday: When and how often should I tweet?"

Pingback from Of happiness and Weekly Wrapup by tasselflower on May 21, 2012 - 16:06

Pingback from Twitter Tuesday: Are you flooding your followers? | the tass on September 25, 2012 - 18:27

Pingback from Twitter Tuesday: Real ways to get ReTweeted | the tasselflow on October 30, 2012 - 17:18

Pingback from Twitter Tuesday: How to get your Tweets noticed | the tassel on November 13, 2012 - 18:34

Hello, my name is Mervi!

I’m a Digital Craftswoman, geek, cat person, dreamer, awesome, always right and quite boring. This is the tasselflower blog about web design, social media, life, marketing and business. Have some tea!

Mervi Emilia