Ever heard the phrase “timing is everything” before? Well, it’s true. Both in life and in marketing. Especially digital marketing. You could have the best promotion in the world, but if the timing’s off, your audience may not even notice it.
Whenever you design any type of marketing promotion, you need to carefully consider the optimal time based on the following factors.
The Promotion. What are you promoting? The nature of the promotion can drastically alter the timing. Let’s compare promoting a flash sale to an event.
- A flash sale is the type of promotion that you’re going to want to promote just before or during the sale itself, because it’s the type of sale that capitalizes on impulse purchases. You want people to purchase now.
- On the other hand, if you’re promoting an event, you’d want to start getting the word out much further in advance so that attendance will be as high as possible. It’s more of a long-term promotion.
Delivery Method. Where is this promotion going? Is it on social media? Facebook or Instagram? How about Email? SMS?
For social media campaigns, you’re almost certainly looking at finding a time to give your posts the maximum reach. With email, you’ll want to keep in mind that emails won’t necessarily be read right away. Sending them earlier can ensure that you still get the morning crowd, and it’ll still be there for the people that check later. SMS is more immediate, so be mindful before you start texting customers in the middle of the night.
Audience. Your audience is another consideration you need to make. The timing of your promotions is going to be pretty different depending on age, career, etc. You may need to do it often if you bring in a wide variety of demographics. Know your audience, and know which part of it you’re targeting for each promotion.
Time Factors
Once you’ve figured the promotion, delivery method, and intended audience, it’s time to start considering the timing itself by looking at the following.
- Time of Day. There’s a fairly significant nuance to selecting an ideal time of day for a promotion. It all depends on the type of promotion. Here’s an article from HubSpot detailing the best times to post on social media.
- Time of Week. The workweek is long, and people’s moods and attitudes tend to change as the weekend approaches. Keep that in mind when selecting the right day.
- Time of Month. Even the time of the month can have an impact. Monthly budgets and holidays are just two examples of how customer spending can be affected throughout the month.
- Time of Year. This is important to figure out when you’re planning specific campaigns in advance. Whether it’s a promotion related to holidays, seasons, back-to-school shopping, or something else entirely, you’ll need to consider outside factors. For example, according to Much Needed, 40% of all Christmas shopping occurs between December 15 and December 24.
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Have any tips on timing to share? Sound off in the comments!
