The Weekly Authority #47
By: Digital Authority Co
Tags: Tips, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social

How Long Social Media Posts Last & How to Maximize their Lifespan (Part 1)

Social media posts can live online indefinitely — but that does NOT mean that the posts will be relevant, let alone click- or share-worthy, forever. In fact, for most social posts, about half of the clicks, views and shares they will ever receive come within hours of the post being published.

This is known as the half-life of social posts, and it varies from platform to platform.

Knowing how the half-life of posts differs across different social platforms can be essential to developing effective social media marketing strategies — and to getting the best possible results from each of your posts (and campaigns).

Taking a closer look at this aspect of social media, this week, I’m sharing some of the latest findings on the half-lives of social posts. This information can uncover powerful insights and tactics for improving and refining your social media marketing strategies.

How Long Social Media Posts Last: A Look at the Average Half-Life of a Social Post

According to some of the latest industry research, here’s an overview of the average half-lives of posts for some of the leading social media platforms:

Twitter: 2.8 hours

Facebook: 3.2 hours

YouTube: 7 hours

Pinterest: 3 months

Some key takeaways from these findings are that:

Twitter posts generally have the shortest half-lives (and lifespans), and Facebook posts are not that far behind.

If your Twitter and Facebook posts aren’t going up at the right times (or within the ideal timeframe, based on when your target audience is on these platforms), your posts are getting minimal (to no) views, shares or engagement.

Time zones matter! Given that a few hours is enough to bury a post on Twitter and Facebook, it’s critical to factor this into the timing of these posts if you’re serious about maximizing their reach and making sure as much of your target audience as possible is seeing them.

The timing of your posts can be just as important as the topics when it comes to engagement.

Posting on YouTube and/or Pinterest can be an effective way to breathe more life into your social posts that are going up on Facebook and Twitter. In other words, social media marketing that incorporates different types of platforms (i.e., those offer both shorter and longer half-lives for posts) is not just smart — it’s also the best way to make sure each that you’re getting the most mileage and engagement from each post you create and publish.

What do you think about the average half-lives of social posts? Do these findings resonate with your social media posts? Or have you had different experiences? Have you discovered any useful tactics for extending the life of your social posts?

Tell me about your social media experiences, challenges and successes on Facebook and LinkedIn. And stay posted for the second part of this series, coming next week, when I’ll share tips on how to maximize the lifespan of your social posts (so you’re get the most out of every post)!

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to get a hold of me on social media to ask any digital marketing question or just to say ‘hi.’ I look forward to hearing from you!