April 13, 2017

Status Updates or Photos: Learn Which Facebook Posts Get the Most Likes

Ever wonder if Facebook posts published on the weekend get more likes than those posted on weekdays? Are people more likely to share Facebook posts that feature a photo more or ones that are simple status updates?

Using data from a research paper published in the Journal of Business Research, I try to explore what days and types of posts get the most likes, comments, and shares of a Facebook post. The data set used consists of 500 Facebook posts in 2014 from a worldwide cosmetics company with a renowned brand.

Weekdays Get More Facebook Interactions Than Weekends

Surprisingly, weekdays seem to have more post interactions than weekends. Initially I thought that weekends would have more interactions since people have more free time to browse Facebook on Saturdays and Sundays. It looks like Wednesdays are the best days for social media managers to post on Facebook. Maybe people need a little social media pick-me-up to get through the midweek doldrums.

Videos Get the Most Likes, Comments, and Shares

Interestingly photos and status have a similar amount of likes and links trail far behind all other types of post content. I suspected that visuals would perform much better than simple status updates but the data tells us otherwise.

Comments can be positive or negative so it can be used as a measure the amount of engagement a Facebook user has with a specific post. Simple status updates could signify that a brand is trying to communicate with a user on a more personal level and can help start conversations.

Shares allows the network of the user to also see the original Facebook post. This creates more visibility for the post. Again, status updates and photos perform similarly with links trailing far behind.

Overall, videos create the most amount of interactions with a post. Links perform the worst when it comes to generating interactions. Many businesses use their Facebook as a way to build their brand. These businesses also use Facebook as a way to create a link between social media and their website. The data shows this is not the best way to create brand awareness. Businesses should actively seek to engage with people in a personable and fun way. Videos, status updates, and photos seem to do this best. If you need an example of the power of social media, look at Oreo’s marketing strategy.

Source: Visual News