The answer to this question could depend as much on when you send your marketing messages as to what type of marketing you use. Recent research shows the best times of day to market are directly related to the type of marketing your organization uses and in what frequency.
Doremus and the Financial Times polled business decision makers and found that 43 percent use their computer to access content after work and 36 percent do so on the weekends, as reported by eMarketer. But they are using them for very different purposes so it’s important to understand what those are.
A recent survey of B2B executives and buyers showed that content marketing campaigns that leverage a primary marketing message across their broad communications channels do better at all times of the day and night, not just within the typical 9 to 5 office timeline, if they use a broad spectrum of media communications including print, online, email marketing, electronic media and website marketing. This is a fairly active strategic marketing plan that is beyond many marketers’ resources. So let’s take a look at some common marketing methods and best timing for each.
Email Marketing – www.sign-up.to recently reported that 9am – 5pm is the best range of time with 67% of opens peaking at 11am and 21.55% of opens during 6pm – 11pm. The same study showed the best days for email marketing are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with huge drop-offs during the weekend. As a result, for the majority of B2B marketers it’s advisable to plan email-marketing campaigns during the midweek in the 9am to 11am timeframe. By varying the times using 9am, 10am, 11am, you can analyze if there is an optimum time for your specific audience.
Blogs – DanZarello.com surveyed 1,400 blog readers and found that most blogs are read in the early morning either supplementing newspaper and magazine reading or replacing them to a degree.
Social Media – Another study by DanZarrella.com surveyed Facebook Sharing by day of week and found that heavier usage times were at the end of the week, particularly on Friday and Saturday. This is probably due to people’s interest to socialize over the weekend while relaxing as opposed to working in an office during normal hours.
Twitter – Twitter.com reports heavier usage at the end of the week, Wednesday through Saturday, than earlier in the week for both tweets and retweets.
Mobile – The pattern of the heaviest day-time usage among all ages for business takes place during the 9am – 5pm timeframe for eMail/SMS and voice whereas evening hours are used for social-marketing platforms that leverage apps and website browsing.
When taken together you can formulate the best times of day to market among your customers with a thorough understanding of their media consumption. To get your timing right it’s critical to understand there is no ‘one size fits all’ marketing program. Instead, you need to interact with your customers to find out what their preferences are and market accordingly.