Blake Dowling: How (and when) to do social in 2017

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Social media accounts are rocking and rolling; you have lots of followers.

But do you have a strategy for your messaging?

Or are you barreling down the Twitter Highway, Eastbound and Down, Smokey and the Bandit-style or do you have a plan? As with all things, taking a strategic approach couldn’t hurt.

For today’s purposes, I speak to professional posting.

However, for some of us, it is a blurry line, where personal and professional seem to blend together; am I right?

Writers, Bloggers, Business owners, Politicos, Hackers, Bowlers, etc.

Sometimes our craft and personal interests are closely linked.

So … A) This means we have chosen our career path very well and are yin-and-yang-ing through the cosmos all balanced and what not. Or … B) We are pathologically obsessed with our work and concurrently are mild egomaniacs that need to get a grasp on human existence.

Or a balance of the two, perhaps?

Pam Bondi and most politicians have it down, with personal and professional accounts for all things tweeting, but methinks that separation requires a team of staffers and assistants. Anyway, let’s look at some cool examples from a couple of guys named Steve.

Steve Israel is a former congressman from New York (just retired) who manages to balance facts, humility, and randomness in perfect harmony. You should follow this down-to-earth chap.

Steve Martin made “The Jerk.” He helped set up “Saturday Night Live.”

It should come as no surprise that the 71-year-old Martin is a master at Twitter. Have you seen him play live with his bluegrass band? They rock.

Back to the chart on Facebook posting. You want to maximize those SLCs (share, likes, comments) — take a look at windows of opportunity and get to branding, or sharing pictures of your cat (Mr. Snickers) going to war with a couch.

Whatever floats your boat.

It appears Thursday and Friday (afternoons) are the money days for post effectiveness; on the other hand, Mondays and Tuesdays are the no-go zones.

Back to Twitter, the below chart is wise.

I can’t tell you how many times during basketball season when I “DVR-ed” (now a word) a game only to glance at Twitter and have my self-imposed media blackout destroyed in a nanosecond.

I follow way too many sports “experts.”

Studies show that noon-1 p.m. are the most popular times to tweet; those same studies show that during those times, 3 out of 4 people are more likely to glance at Twitter.

So, you may have a tougher chance of your message getting through the masses around lunch.

That said, utilize the 3-4 p.m. window for your messaging.

That’s about it, as you run amok through the social media world, don’t forget to think strategically, keep it lively, use hashtags, keep content fresh, don’t be a cyberbully and — most importantly — have fun.

See you out there in Insta-Face-Twitter land.

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Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies and he loves gladiator movies. He can be reached at dowlingb@aegisbiztech.com.