There is nothing 9-to-5 about social media. You might work office hours that look like that, but the REAL social happens after hours and on the weekend. Sorry to break it to you.

Above is the metrics from a Facebook business page I’m working on. The dates represent the Sundays of Oct – Nov. The purple dots are posts/updates posted on the page. The green line is conversations, comments, or shares of the posts. The blue line represents the "reach," or how many people saw content from your page.

While much of the strategy for this client is written during business hours, a good portion of the work happens in the evening and on the weekends when the real Facebook traffic picks up. See, unlike us social media mavens, most people don’t surf Facebook or Twitter during normal office hours. I mean, why would they? It is going to help you get your work done?

So when planning content for your social channels you have to take into consideration the high growth potential times.

My Aim Is True (Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest)

• In my experience Sunday evening may be the best time for business postings, as people are often preparing their calendars for the week ahead.
• Saturday morning, may have the most eyeballs at around 10 am when people have had their first cup of coffee and the kids are fed and watching cartoons.
• And if you have to go social during the week, I find Tuesday and Thursday nights to be the best bets for some reason.

Steady As She Goes (Email)

Of course, email is a different beast all together. Avoid Mondays and Fridays. And if the sale is on Saturday, email it on Saturday morning about 6am local. That way you show up in their personal accounts as they are planning their shopping trips for the weekend.

What is your experience? Any hard and fast rules that you follow?

So if you’re thinking of getting into social media for a living, you might prepare the significant other for some interruptions. But perhaps the flexibility is just what you need.

And back in the dark ages, before the net began, we used to call it multimedia. I remember a creative director saying to me, "Well, you’ve still got nights and weekends." I had been complaining about my work load. Whining perhaps.

So if you’re gonna get with the program you’ve got to make hay when the horses are in the sunshine posting pictures and updates on their Facebook pages.

Case in point:

@jmacofearth (also seen on Google+: jmacofearth)

permalink: https://uber.la/2012/11/nights-and-weekends/

Some more for your LEARN box of social media:

• The Simplest Path is the Best: Occam’s Site Map Strategy
• What’s the Status of the $300 PC In Today’s Marketplace?
• iPhone 5 Review, Kinda-Sorta-Not Really
• Words vs. Design: What is Content, What Is Information Architecture?
• When a Social Media Blogger Goes Dark. What’s the Problem?
• The Complete Google+ Page
• Metrics & Learnings: Little-Blog Analytics – 2012 Mid-year Reporting
• There is Never Enough Time To Get Everything Done: So… What’s Your Plan?
• You Don’t Have To Start Learning Google+, But You’re Gonna Fall Behind
• Authority and the Speeding Train of Project Leadership
• Positive Forces: Delayed, Deflected, Divorced, Distracted, But Not Deterred
• Plussing or Dividing: How Are You Showing Up in the World?
• Dear Graduate – a Toolkit for Learners and Job Hunters
• Expert Not Found – Social Media is About Being a "Student" not a "Guru"

Most people don’t really enjoy being mean; they do it because they can’t help it. (from Graham’s Hierarchy of Disagreement)