The best times to post on social media in 2022

As brands and consumers settled into a new routine that was caused by the disruption from the pandemic, there’s been a shift in how we all interact and use social media today. And what seemed like the best time to post on social media last year has become more concentrated and focused in 2022.

With nearly 4 billion social media users across all platforms and the average person using several social platforms per month, there’s no doubt that social media presents opportunities for many businesses. In fact, 71% of consumers found themselves using social more than they have in years past, which means brands and marketers need to meet their audiences where they are. And when marketers meet consumers’ expectations on social media, the benefits extend to every area of the business.

We worked closely with our data science team to review findings and trends in social media usage over the past year from Sprout Social’s more than 30,000 customers and understand when their content was most and least frequently engaged with, broken out by platform and industry.

Use this data to help inform scheduling for your publishing calendar, or read on for ideas about how to integrate these findings into your own analysis of your specific account’s peak times for engagement.

Finally, if you’re interested in learning how to identify your best times to post globally across each network, start a free trial of Sprout Social and test our ViralPost® feature with your profiles.

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Disclaimer: Data from Sprout Social include users from various plan types, industries and locations. All time frames are recorded in Central Time (CST). Number of engagements represents total engagements a brand received on the specific channel during that hour time frame. Industry-specific data includes mid- to high-level engagement times.

• What are the best times to post on social media overall?
• What are the best times to post on Facebook?
• What are the best times to post on Instagram?
• What are the best times to post on TikTok?
• What are the best times to post on Twitter?
• What are the best times to post on LinkedIn?
• How to find your own best times to post on social media
• How we gathered the data

Best Times to Post on Social Media Overall

Each social platform has its own benefits depending on your goals, content type and audience. If you’re noticing your engagement isn’t where you want it to be, consider revisiting your social media goals and overall KPIs. Of course, knowing which days you get the most engagement helps you reach those goals as well.

While interpreting the data for each social network individually, we consistently noticed that the highest times of engagement were Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 or 10 a.m. Midweek mornings proved to be a successful time across most social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Best times to post on social media overall: Tuesdays through Thursdays at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.
• Best days to post on social media: Tuesdays through Thursdays
• Worst days to post on social media: Sundays

There’s more to posting on social media than this quick stat though. Each network saw varying ranges of engagement throughout the week and at remarkably different times. And once industries are factored in, engagement varies even more. So while Tuesdays through Thursdays at 9 or 10 a.m. are generally the best times to post on social, there are a few more factors to consider before you schedule any posts.

Read on for our findings by network.

Best Times to Post on Facebook

• Best times to post on Facebook: Mondays through Fridays at 3 a.m., Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and noon
• Best days to post on Facebook: Tuesdays through Fridays
• Worst days to post on Facebook: Saturdays

Facebook continues to be the most used platform by marketers worldwide but we’ve seen an interesting shift in when there’s the most engagement in 2022. While mid-mornings used to dominate more strongly in years past, it now appears early morning hours have taken the lead.

Compared to last year, there are a few more “off” times for Facebook when reviewing the data. Weekday very early mornings and mid-mornings still show more consistent engagement and have become much more opportune times for brands to get eyes on their content.

Keep in mind that the top times shown are recorded in US Central Time, so the high engagement shown in the early mornings in addition to the traditional US workday reflects Facebook’s significant global audience. What does this mean, exactly? Facebook continues to show opportunities in conducting a multi-location or international social media strategy.

Best Times to Post on Instagram

• Best times to post on Instagram: Mondays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• Best days to post on Instagram: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• Worst days to post on Instagram: Sundays

We’ve seen Instagram boom throughout 2020 and 2021 and watched it reach 2 billion monthly users as of early 2022. While the competition for short-form video content from TikTok is heating up, there’s no denying the staying power of Instagram, especially as it rolls out new features and enhances existing ones. Instagram Video has taken new life and expanded to 60 minute videos, and Reels have made it easier to create and discover videos on the app.

Similar to Facebook’s other popular app, Instagram’s top times to post expanded in 2021 compared to previous years. Midday engagement during weekdays became denser with top times ranging between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., while evenings and weekends still showed increased opportunities for engagement.

Instagram is still a platform for product discovery of brands, products or services. And new or expanding ecommerce features are shaping the way consumers use the app. In fact, 44% of users shop for products on the app weekly. Because the platform is built on sharing high-quality photos, it makes sense to expand the app to include ecommerce capabilities.

Brands shouldn’t sleep on Instagram though, if that’s where their target audience is. Use the platform to highlight products or showcase your brand’s unique design through infographics. There are endless opportunities to engage followers when posting various content on Instagram.

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If you’re looking to amplify your Instagram strategy, use these best times to post, plus check out our guide on getting the most out of your Instagram presence.

Best Times to Post on TikTok

• Best times to post on TikTok: Tuesdays 2–3 p.m., and Wednesdays and Thursdays 1–3 p.m.
• Best days to post on TikTok: Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Worst days to post on TikTok: Sundays

TikTok has caused some disruption in the social app and marketing world over the last few years, and there’s no slowing it down. With the app now amassing over 1 billion users and the rise of TikTok influencers, we can say for certain that there is much more to come from the app. If you’re still trying to figure out what TikTok is, it’s a short-form video app where users can join the latest trends, discover new products and follow their favorite brands and content creators.

Best times to post on TikTok are new for Sprout to include this year. The highest engagement times on TikTok are Tuesdays 2–3 p.m., and Wednesdays and Thursdays 1–3 p.m. However, generally, mid-morning through the afternoon (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) on Tuesdays through Fridays see high engagement on the app.

If you’re still learning how to make a TikTok, don’t fret. There’s still time to join the app and start engaging your target audience. So whether you’re B2B, B2C or a digital creator, your opportunities on TikTok are endless.

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#socialmediamarketing #socialmediatips #contentcreator #Brandtok footage ft: Duolingo, Washington Post, PF Candle Co., DigiFairy

♬ Lo-fi hip hop – NAO-K

Best Times to Post on Twitter

• Best times to post on Twitter: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 a.m.
• Best days to post on Twitter: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• Worst days to post on Twitter: Sundays

Twitter has been the go-to platform for up-to-the-minute conversations and breaking news. And 2021 didn’t slow down with the COVID-19 pandemic going into its second year. Brands looking to participate in trending topics need to be timely but conscious of the brand’s values in the process.

Twitter peak times for engagement shifted significantly compared to last year, becoming much more concentrated during mid mornings and middays throughout the week. This could reflect greater attention to developing news and updates, as well as a desire for entertainment via viral Tweets and memes.

Remember that Twitter’s use extends beyond breaking news and viral content. Many brands use Twitter as part of their customer care strategy, as an alternative to calling customer support. This is particularly important for the platform as brands continue to build trust between their customers and proactively improve customer experience through social listening as well.

All of these focus areas means brands can have multiple, and sometimes competing, priorities on Twitter. The top times to post on Twitter we found above may help you determine when you should focus on prioritizing publishing new content versus devoting resources to customer support or consider a multiple Twitter account strategy.

Best Times to Post on LinkedIn

• Best times to post on LinkedIn: Tuesdays 10 a.m. to noon
• Best days to post on LinkedIn: Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Worst days to post on LinkedIn: Saturdays and Sundays

Unsurprising for this professional-focused social platform, LinkedIn engagement times continue to be consistent to the US workweek. High engagement hours are more concentrated midday and don’t extend too far out past the US workday hours, as it had in years past. You’re less likely to get eyes on your LinkedIn content on the weekend, where engagement drops significantly.

Considering how much LinkedIn content is centered around professional thought leadership and career growth, it makes sense that a majority of audiences are getting the most out of this content during their working day.

While LinkedIn continues to be more specialized than other social platforms, it’s also increasingly branching out in what types of audiences it attracts. With over 810 million members in 200 countries, LinkedIn is becoming equally important for a wide range of content creation. Businesses on LinkedIn are finding new ways to generate leads, find co-marketing partners, highlight company culture and attract talent, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. LinkedIn is also an ideal fit for employee advocacy and empowering employees to advance their personal brand or professional development as they publish content to their own profiles.

How to find your own best times to post on social media

Social marketers can plan content more effectively when they’re armed with data on the top times to post across social networks. Still, as platforms evolve with how brands and consumers are using social, there are new ways to innovate interactions all the time. New content formats and trends might help you reach your audience in unexpected ways, or even find new segments and personas you weren’t focusing on before.

More tips for content scheduling and social strategies

• Building your social media marketing strategy for 2022
• How to craft an effective social media content strategy
• 20 social media ideas to keep your brand’s feed fresh
• Creating a 30-day social media plan

While posting at peak engagement times is a go-to strategy, a detailed analysis of your audience might reveal less busy times when your specific audience is active, but competitors are not. A tool like Sprout Social can help you dig into your own analytics and develop tailored findings for your accounts to complement the wide range of data across industries we’ve surveyed here.

With Sprout’s tools like post tagging and cross-channel reporting, you can separate different factors like network or types of media and drill down into how your posting time influenced your social success.

Sprout’s very own ViralPost® algorithm uses the same types of data we’ve looked at across all our customer accounts to determine the best time to post for your individual account. ViralPost® algorithmically determines the results for our Optimal Send Times feature, a publishing option on our Professional and Advanced plans.

With Optimal Send Times, the specific times that your own audience engages the most are identified based on your publishing history. ViralPost® also continually updates and refines to save you time from doing repeated analyses yourself.
Want to see it in action? Sign up for a free 30-day trial of Sprout Social.

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If you’re looking for more of our findings from this year’s study of our customer data, see what we learned about the best times to post across ten industries on these networks:

• Best times to post on Instagram 2022
• Best times to post on Facebook 2022
• Best times to post on Twitter 2022

How we gathered the data

We understand that these reports can raise questions about just where the data is coming from. That’s why we want to be clear about the data we pulled and how we got here.

First off, we were lucky enough to work with Sprout Social’s very own data science team to gather this information from our customers. Joel Booth, a Senior Data Scientist at Sprout, explained how it all works.

“Sprout integrates with the different social media platforms via their API, which allows the application to receive messages on behalf of our customers,” Booth said. “Essentially, this is how we power features such as Sprout’s Smart Inbox and Reports.”

Now’s the time to test your content calendar. Are you posting when your followers are most active? Start your free trial of Sprout Social and discover your best times to post on social media today.

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Get more engagement when you set email campaigns to arrive by time zone

Effective email marketing is all about sending the right email to the right person at the right time. Now, you can send your emails at the right time for each of your subscribers with AWeber, no matter what timezone they’re in.

That timing is important. Getting the content, subject lines, and branding of your emails is important, too. But if your emails arrive at a time when your subscribers are likely to be offline (or asleep), they’ll just get pushed down in the inbox by other emails.

So set your campaigns to go out by time zone and start seeing better results from the exact same emails you’re sending! It’s a no-brainer.

How to set up campaigns to go out according to subscribers’ time zones

Click “Automations” -> “Campaigns” to start a new campaign or open an existing one.

Add a wait time before the email you want to send. This will determine when your email goes out after a subscriber is added to the campaign.

When editing the “Wait Time,” click “+ Add New Send Window” under “Set Custom Time.”

When you do this, it means your email will send on a specific day and time, like Wednesdays at 9am. Without a custom time, your email will send according to whenever the trigger happened (like a new subscriber signing up for your account).

Once you’ve set your custom time, click the box next to “Use the subscriber’s time zone.”

That’s it! Your emails will be sent out in the appropriate time zone, at the time you’ve established.

Note: This feature is not available on free AWeber plans, or (yet!) for Broadcast emails. Upgrade now to access it if you’re on a free plan.

5 types of campaigns to optimize for time zone

Looking for some inspiration for how to use this new feature? Here are five ideas to get you started.

1. Weekly YouTube or blog post notifications

Set up a weekly automated email to announce your new content. If you blog regularly or create content on YouTube, you can let your audience know what’s new with surprisingly little work. Just ask people to sign up for your emails and then create an Auto Newsletter to automatically notify them about anything you’ve recently published.

Now here’s how to use the time zone feature to make this even more powerful: Figure out when you tend to get the most YouTube views. For example, maybe people like to watch your videos on Friday afternoons or Sunday mornings. So set up your weekly emails to go out at that time — for every subscriber.

2. Welcome emails

After someone has subscribed to your list, send them a lead magnet or welcome email immediately. Then, set a wait time to send the rest of your emails at times that are better for them.

For example, if you sell to businesses, you’ll want to send your emails during working hours. Set up your welcome series emails to go out Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, in each person’s time zone. That way, your subscribers in London and your subscribers in New York will all get emails at 9am their time.

3. Abandoned cart emails

Sometimes when someone signs up to buy something but they don’t complete the purchase, it means they need some time to think about it. Or maybe they didn’t have their credit card nearby. Either way, an abandoned cart email is the best way to make that sale happen.

You can send an abandoned cart email one hour after the person has put the item in their cart. But you may want to avoid certain hours of the night that you never make sales. So set that email’s custom time to between 8am and 12am every day and then set it to send in each subscriber’s time zone so you can remind them the next morning to make the purchase.

4. Etsy product inventory updates

Do you have an Etsy store? You can send automatic inventory updates to your subscribers when you add more products to your store.

Make this an immediate or weekly email — but set it to go out when people are most likely to buy from your store. Just check your sales reporting so you know when your target audience is likely to buy. Then send the new product email notifications at that time, but optimized to arrive in everyone’s specific time zone.

5. Surveys

Surveys are useful for you and your customers, but even short ones can be time consuming. Your customers may want to help you out, but they have more available time at the beginning or end of the work day when they’re not focused on tasks.

Set up your survey emails to send at 4pm in your subscribers’ time zones. They’ll get the email at a time when they’re likely winding down from the day, so they’ll have a little extra time to give you feedback. 

Get started with AWeber

Ready to start sending emails at the perfect time for your international customers? Sign up for an AWeber account today. Upgrade to a pro plan to get the time zone feature.

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TikTok Stories explained: How to make the most out of 24 hours

Sprout on Sprout: How to create your own social media video template

3 simple ways to embed a Twitter Feed on your website

Since its inception, Twitter has revolutionized the way we communicate. It’s fast, concise and a great way to connect with your customers, prospects and clients. With nearly 230 million daily active users, Twitter is a powerful way to amplify your message and showcase your brand.

Customers sometimes discover your business on Twitter, but often they end up on your website from a search engine or other source rather than a Tweet. One key to maximizing discoverability on Twitter? Embed a Twitter feed on your website and show your Tweet activity to your website visitors.

Adding a Twitter embed widget to your website helps create a cohesive online identity and makes it easy for people to follow your online conversations in one place. It can increase engagement from website visitors and Twitter followers, plus it’s a great way to keep your website fresh and relevant.

5 types of Twitter feeds you can embed on a website

You can embed a Twitter timeline feed or button on your website using the Twitter widget embed tool (listed below). Or, there are a few different ways you can display Twitter posts on your site including:

• Twitter’s embedding tool (free)
• Plug-ins and integrations with your website hosting company (not always free)
• Third-party tools or widgets like Taggbox (usually not free)

We’ll expand on each of these in a minute.

First, we’ll present an overview of the different types of Twitter feeds and buttons that you can embed by pulling embed code from Twitter. They include:

1. Embedded Tweet feeds

A Tweet embed allows you to display a single Tweet to your website.

2. Embedded profile timeline feeds

A profile timeline embed displays Tweets from a single Twitter account on your website. You also have the option of embedding Follow and Mention buttons for a Twitter profile.

3. Embedded list feeds

You can embed a Twitter list feed directly onto your website which shows all posts associated with a curated list. Twitter Lists allow Twitter users to organize a group of accounts by topic. For example, you could create a Twitter List of industry thought leaders and embed it on your website’s resources page.

4. Embedded @handle feeds

With handle feeds, you have the option to embed a Twitter user’s profile (your own or someone else’s) onto your website. This is one way to embed your profile feed without needing the exact profile URL (you only need the handle). The handle embed also allows you to add Follow, Mention or Hashtag buttons.

5. Embedded #hashtag button

This is a button rather than a feed. It has one function: to enable your website visitors to Tweet about a given hashtag from your website. Users simply click on the Hashtag button, and a draft Tweet opens with the hashtag included.

3 quick ways to embed a Twitter feed to your website

Now for the fun stuff—three easy ways to display a Twitter feed on your site! You can:

1. Use Twitter’s free tool to manually embed your feed

Grab the embed code from Twitter’s embed tool by navigating to the Twitter embed page and inputting the following in the form field:

• A Twitter link URL (for a list, profile or Tweet)
• Your Twitter business handle (e.g., @SproutSocial)
• A hashtag (e.g., #SproutSocial)

Once you’ve filled out the embed form, Twitter provides you with an embed code that you can copy and paste into your website. The code for a Twitter handle (e.g., @SproutSocial) looks like this:

<a class=”twitter-timeline” href=”https://twitter.com/Sprout Social?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>Tweets by Sprout Social</a> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

How to embed Twitter feeds in 2 easy steps

Step 1. Add the URL of the Tweet you want to embed to the form field.

Step 2. Choose your embed display type—either a Twitter timeline or button display. The timeline displays the Tweet (or list of Tweets) on your website the way Twitter content displays in its own feed. The Twitter button allows your visitors to interact with you on Twitter without leaving your website. Available button types are:

• Follow (allows users to follow your Twitter account)
• @Mention (allows users to send a Tweet to your Twitter handle)
• #Hashtag (allows users to Tweet about a hashtag)

Not all options are available with all feeds. Some feed types don’t have button options (or have fewer than three) and some allow only one button. Here’s a breakdown of what’s available by feed type:

Tweet

• Syntax: https://twitter.com/Sprout Social/status/1544347965061570560
• Options: Feed of a single Tweet

Profile

• Syntax: https://twitter.com/SproutSocial
• Options: Feed of embedded timeline + 2 buttons (Follow & Mention)

Profile feed embed example:

Twitter follow button embed example:

Twitter mention button embed example:

List

• Syntax: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1305508946556456962
• Options: Timeline feed of the list (no buttons available)

List feed embed example:

Handle

• Syntax: @SproutSocial
• Options: Timeline feed + 3 buttons (Follow, Mention & Hashtag)
• See above for Follow/Mention button examples

Twitter hashtag button embed example:

Hashtag

• Syntax: #SproutSummit
• Options: Hashtag button embed only (see above example)

A note about embedded buttons: When a user clicks on an embedded button, it opens a new browser window on Twitter where they can complete the related action (e.g., send a Tweet using your hashtag, follow your account or mention your account in their Tweet).

2. Use a WordPress plug-in to embed Twitter feeds

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world and offers many plug-ins that make it easy for webmasters to display Twitter feeds and other content from social media channels. And once you install a plug-in, you don’t need to worry about embedding any HTML codes.

Smash Balloon is a good WordPress plug-in for Twitter if you want lots of options for customization. It offers feed integrations with most top social media platforms. The plug-in also allows site owners to embed a feed into a WordPress page, post or widget.

The Twitter feed automatically adopts your website style and lets you customize feed layouts, filter unwanted terms, and create carousels. There’s a free version available with limited features. The paid version starts at $49/year.

Feed Them Social is a solid alternative to Smash Balloon. It has free and premium options, with the premium version starting at $50/year for a single domain. The plug-in integrates with four social networks (including Twitter) and can embed multiple feeds on the same page. Add multiple feeds, embed buttons, incorporate recent Tweets within a feed and customize feed appearance.

Pro tip: When considering a plug-in, make sure it’s up to date and compatible with the latest WordPress version and has a large number of active installs and positive ratings.

3. Use a third-party Twitter feed tool

Third-party tools like TagBoxx and Flockler focus on bringing user-generated content (UGC) from social platforms into owned environments such as your website. They tend to provide more robust customization and integration options than free tools, and they’re great for showcasing visual content.

Tagboxx offers a social embed widget that lets users curate and publish social feeds from a wide selection of social platforms, (Twitter included). Users can embed and customize Twitter feeds using hashtags, account profiles and handles. There’s a free version with minimal features so you can give it a test drive. The basic plan starts at $39/month.

Flockler’s embed tool makes it easy to pull Twitter feeds into your website. Users can create grids, scrollable carousels and content “walls” from Twitter posts, which can be customized using hashtags, accounts and pages from social media platforms. Pricing starts at $47/month. While there’s no free version, you can test the tool with a 14-day free trial.

5 Benefits of embedding your Twitter feed

Adding a Twitter feed to your website is an effective show-versus-tell approach when communicating brand identity and authenticity. There are many other benefits to displaying Twitter posts and other social media content on your website including:

• Turning website visitors into Twitter followers: Send website visitors to Twitter, where they can follow you from your profile, Tweets and mentions.
• Increasing Twitter reach and engagement: More visitors can share, like, or Retweet content on Twitter from your site.
• Building trust and credibility: Build social proof and increase confidence in your brand, particularly when you share positive reviews, customer feedback and current news.
• Increasing brand loyalty: Create a more interactive and personal experience for site visitors to engage them with your brand.
• Converting more website visitors: Show off customer testimonials, product reviews, awards and company news, all of which can help motivate visitors to convert.

Manage Twitter engagement with Sprout Social

Embedding Twitter feeds is a great way to capture new audiences and show you’re active in digital conversations. Whether you’re using Twitter as a customer care channel or to promote your brand, having a Twitter feed embedded on your site is valuable visibility.

But do you know how well your Twitter followers and impressions are growing?

With a powerful Twitter management tool such as Sprout Social, you can schedule and publish Tweets, track key performance metrics, monitor Twitter activity and easily engage with followers.

Learn more on how you can use Twitter effectively to build and grow your brand’s presence.

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Content creators: Who they are, what they do and how they partner with brands

Finding the right content creator for your brand is kind of like dating. You have to keep testing out partnerships until you find the ones that work.

Despite this, there’s still groundwork you can do to set yourself up for success. A little research can help you spot the difference between a match made in heaven and something that’s ultimately not going to work out. You just have to know what you’re looking for.

That’s where we come in. This guide answers all the burning questions on the biggest shift in social media since the algorithmic feed. Use this information to vet content creators and build lasting relationships with people that enhance and expand your brand.

Let’s get into it.

• What is a content creator?
• What does a content creator do?
• Content creator of the year winners to inspire your strategy
• Content creators making an impact across industries
• How to become a content creator
• Where to find the right content creators for your brand
• What content creators want from brand partnerships

What is a content creator?

Content creators produce entertaining, educational or captivating content for digital distribution. These individuals typically offer a distinct perspective or voice. Fans latch on to their unique points of view, creating deep connections over time.

Creators develop content for various channels. Popular formats include:

• Videos (like TikToks, YouTube videos or livestreams)
• Images (like graphics, memes or photography)
• Audio content (like podcasts)
• Written works (like blogs and ad copy)

This list is long, but not exhaustive. Content is forever evolving alongside the landscape of the internet. When a new format rises to popularity, the list grows again—creating new opportunities for budding content creators.

It’s no wonder the creator economy is in a near-perpetual state of growth. In 2022, an estimated 50 million people across the world identify as content creators. We’ll keep seeing this number grow as the space matures.

What’s the difference between a content creator and an influencer?

I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t content creator just a new term for influencers?”

Jayde Powell, an Atlanta-based social media manager turned content creator, runs into this misconception fairly often.

“A lot of people in marketing and advertising use ‘content creator’ and ‘influencer’ interchangeably,” says Powell “The two aren’t mutually exclusive but when it comes down to defining the difference, it’s a matter of intention and skillset.”

While many of the creators you know and love do have a degree of influence, they’re not always posting with the express intent of influencing a purchase decision.

For example, a creator with a focus on vegan living might only post original recipes and substitution ideas. An influencer who lives a vegan lifestyle, on the other hand, might be more inclined to share content sponsored by vegan brands.

More often than not, digital creators will partake in both types of content production, with a lean in one direction. However, while digital content creators and influencers share similarities, they aren’t one and the same.

What does a content creator do?

On the surface, a day in the life of a content creator can seem fun and relatively simple. However, making something look effortless usually takes quite a bit of work.

Creators don’t just create.

They manage a business.
They market themselves.
They usually represent themselves.
They do their own styling.

They’re not expensive, they’re worth it.

— Social Allie🤘 (@social_allie) August 3, 2021

The truth is, content creators do a lot to maintain a consistent and engaging posting schedule. If you were to think of content as TV, then every content creator is operating as their own writer, actor, editor, producer, contract negotiator, programming manager—the list goes on.

To get a better understanding of the day in the life of a content creator, we asked Jayde Powell and Latinx content creator Violeta Venegas for a glimpse at their weekly schedules.

A day in the life of a full-time creator

“There are so many layers to social media management,” says Powell. “Aside from content creation, I was also handling community management, customer service and analytics. I decided to move to full time content creation because that’s where I had the most fun in my work.”

Some businesses have started hiring in-house content creators for specific channels, but Powell prefers the flexibility of freelance work. She offers a variety of creative services, so flexibility is crucial to keeping an optimized schedule.

“I base my weekly schedule on the content projects I’m working on,” says Powell. “It all depends on the form. If I’m writing, I work in two- to three-hour flow states. If it’s a video project, I have to shoot during the day for optimal lighting. I can usually knock out filming in a few hours or so.”

Powell brings that flexibility to her administrative tasks as well. She’ll often adapt her work to suit a brand’s processes, including adopting their project management tools and check-in schedule for the duration of the project.

“My administrative work depends on the project,” explains Powell. “If it’s a one-off project, then most of the communication takes place as feedback. Long-term projects usually require check-ins through a weekly meeting or email.”

Life as a full-time content creator guarantees one thing: No day is ever the same.

A day in the life of a part-time content creator

Not all creators leave the working world behind once they hit it big on social.

Many are like Violeta Venegas who balances both a full-time job and an audience of over one million across TikTok and Instagram.

@viohletta

Thank you @tiktok @tiktokcreators ♥️ #latinxcreated #denadaamerica #latinxcreators

♬ Pineapple – KAROL G

“My priority is my full-time job,” says Venegas “A lot of creators quit their jobs to do it full time, but I worked hard to get into my industry so I don’t want to give that up just yet.”

Managing both takes some clever scheduling and diligent prioritization. “I work my full-time job Monday through Friday and I try to use the weekends to create content in batches,” says Venegas. “I do full days of filming and I also schedule livestreams to create a stronger connection with my audience.”

Those days consist of everything from creating sponsored TikToks to going on Instagram Live. Venegas is present on a few other platforms as well, so she tries to be as efficient as possible when it comes to production.

“I think about my content based on what I think will perform best on each social media network,” says Venegas. “Then I plan my weekend agenda around what can be created together. That way, I get the most out of my time.”

Content creator of the year winners to inspire your strategy

Now that you know who content creators are and what they do, let’s look at some real life examples.

While the majority of creators nurture small, highly engaged audiences, some have become superstars online and IRL. This is a new type of celebrity characterized by the always-on nature of social media.

Even if your company can’t partner with creators at this level, there are still plenty of takeaways from their rise to fame. Here’s what your brand can learn from three different Streamy Award winners.

1. Emma Chamberlain

Who is she? Emma Chamberlain is a Los Angeles-based content creator who began her Youtube channel in 2018. Her casual approach to content creation stood out in a sea of highly-produced vlog material, which was a standard for the platform at the time.

Chamberlain is credited with bringing more authenticity to the creator economy by sharing the more exciting parts of her life alongside everyday struggles like acne and anxiety.

Today, she maintains her YouTube presence but is most active on Instagram. She also hosts an award-winning podcast, Anything Goes.

What can brands learn from her content? It can be difficult to resist perfectionism as a social media manager.

Still, Chamberlain’s success on social shows that audiences are hungry for content that feels real and above all, human. Encouraging your team to bring their authentic selves can add a more personal touch to any content you create while fostering a healthier work environment.

2. Mark Rober

Who is he? Mark Rober is a Streamy Award-winning creator with a focus on science and engineering content.

Rober doesn’t share average science lessons. Instead, he creates videos that research wackier thoughts like “Can you swim in Jello?” or “Can sharks really smell a single drop of blood”.

By creating content around questions audiences didn’t even realize they had, he creates something that’s impossible to resist.

What can brands learn from his content? Answer frequently asked questions with your content. Addressing questions before they come up is even better.

Come up with fresh content ideas by thinking about what your audience might not know to ask. What wow-worthy information can you provide them? Whether it’s industry or product-related, it’s bound to get a reaction.

3. Tabitha Brown

@iamtabithabrown

Throw it in the pan scramble for the win!! #vegan #foodie #tabithabrown

♬ original sound – Tabitha Brown

Who is she? Tabitha Brown is a vegan content creator and actress. Her wholesome approach to cooking and nutrition has earned her more than eight million followers across Instagram and TikTok.

After winning her first Streamy in 2020, Brown’s career exploded with new opportunities both online and off. Recently, she even took a step away from her recipe book to create a limited edition clothing line in collaboration with Target.

What can brands learn from her content? We all know the internet isn’t always the most uplifting place to be. Brands can take a page from Brown’s book by creating wholesome, supportive spaces for their fans.

Whether it’s a Facebook Group dedicated to celebrating career wins or a Discord chat for product and lifestyle advice, creating connections through kindness can build strong brand affinity with fans of all ages.

Content creators making an impact across industries

If you’re not seeing any major content creators that align with your brand, don’t panic. Social media is home to an infinite number of communities. Content creators—of all sizes—sit at the heart of them.

Content creators give communities something to discuss. They drive conversation, encourage engagement and bring new ideas to the table. This behavior isn’t limited to any single industry or topic. It can be done with anything, from reading to fashion to higher education.

To see what that looks like in real life, let’s look at some rising content creators making waves across four different industries.

Sports: James “Jimmy” O’Brien (@JomBoyMedia)

Present on: YouTube, Twitter, Instagram

James O’Brien started JomBoy Media in 2017. He was working as a wedding videographer when he started sharing post-game recaps for the New York Yankees on Twitter. His unique perspective and team devotion quickly attracted an audience, motivating a friend to lend some start-up money so he could go full-time.

Today, JomBoy Media is the #1 independent baseball content creator on the internet.

O’Brien has set himself apart as a trusted name in the world of sports commentary, achieving a status once reserved for ESPN analysts and former pro athletes. When he’s talkin’ baseball (or any other sport now, for that matter), people listen.

Finance and Banking: Tori Dunlap (@HerFirst100K)

Present on: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

Tori Dunlap is helping women build wealth. Her content focuses on financial feminism, a movement dedicated to closing the financial literacy gap between men and women.

Since posting her first video back in 2020, Dunlap has expanded the HerFirst100K brand into a thriving community. She’s attracted over 2.8 million followers across TikTok and Instagram and the HerFirst100K Facebook Group has reached over 91,000 members.

@herfirst100k

Link in bio for my recommendation! #debtfree #budgetingtips #savemoneytips

♬ Sweet Disposition FeelingBlew – Kaysie

Dunlap’s content works because it speaks to a clearly defined audience. Her advice is for women looking to fight the patriarchy by taking control of their finances. By embedding her teachings into a belief system, she makes a minute-long video feel like it could change your life. 

Food and Recipes: Nzinga Young (@veganzinga)

Present on: Instagram, Substack

Nzinga Young is a vegan content creator focused on teaching new and aspiring vegans how to eat well without breaking the bank. By combining day-in-the-life style content with more straightforward recipes, Young is able to incorporate more personality into food content creation.

Young started creating content because she knew how hard it was to make the switch to veganism, even after years of living as a vegetarian. Her non-judgemental approach to living a plant-based lifestyle has fostered an active community on Instagram, where she has over 103,000 followers.

Gaming and Esport: Café Ela

Present on: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram

Café Ela wants her audience to feel right at home.

As an active member of the growing “cozy game” community, Ela specializes in relaxing game play. These aren’t the competitive, action-oriented titles you may be familiar with. Instead, these games focus on completing simple tasks within meditative scenery. It’s less “Halo”, more “Animal Crossing”.

It’s not what you’d associate with standard Twitch content and that’s on purpose. Ela and other cozy gamers are changing how audiences perceive the gaming and esports industry.

How to become a content creator

Content creators and social media professionals have very similar skill sets. Both roles require strong writing skills, creative direction and a sharp editing eye.

Even so, creators and social media managers will likely experience different paths to success. What works in one lane isn’t guaranteed to work in the other. If you’re a budding creator or a marketer looking to bring the content creation process in-house, here’s what you need to know to get started.

1. Give yourself time

I mentioned this earlier but it’s worth repeating: making something effortless takes time.

A simple 60-second video can take hours to edit. A podcast episode might take a few days. It can take months to find the unique voice that will resonate with your target audience.

If you’re considering taking on content creation for your brand, understand the time commitment upfront to prevent burnout later on.

2. Tailor your approach

Certain subjects, formats and approaches are better suited for particular networks. You’ve probably noticed this in your brand’s social performance, but it’s a whole new ball game when it comes to content creation.

Content creators can infuse more personality in their posts. That means they can participate in a wider variety of social media trends than brands can. This is both an opportunity and challenge.

As you try your hand at content creation, pay attention to what’s performing best by channel. That will give you a better idea of what to keep doing and where to pivot.

3. Find your niche

Picture a venn diagram. On one side sits the content you want to create. On the other is what your audience wants to consume. As a content creator, your niche is right in the center.

Finding your niche takes time and experimentation. One way to do it is by approaching the same social trend in a few different ways. Take note of what your audience responds to.

In-house creators can also find their niche by using their brand mission and vision to develop a unique perspective on their industry.

Where to find content creators for your brand

In a thriving creator economy, finding creators isn’t an issue. It’s finding the right creator that can be tricky.

If you’re looking for content creators to supplement your social media marketing strategy, here’s where you can start your search.

Your followers lists

The ideal creator partnership might be closer than you think.

Scan your follower lists for established and growing creators. These are people you’ve already established credibility with, which can make the outreach process much easier.

If you spot any contenders, let them know you appreciate their follow and gauge their interest in potential partnership opportunities.

Industry-specific hashtags

Searching through top posts in industry-specific hashtags can help you spot creators making relevant, meaningful content.

Pro tip: If you’re working in an industry with a heavy creator presence, don’t limit your focus on the largest accounts in your niche. Smaller accounts with strong engagement can be just as impactful marketing opportunities.

Social listening data

Social listening is great for observing overarching conversation trends within a topic. You can also use it to find out who’s driving those conversations, too.

The Profile Overview table available in Sprout’s listening tool pulls metrics for popular accounts within a topic. Sort this list by engagement or follower count and you’re well on your way to finding a match made in heaven.

What do content creators want from brand partnerships?

Time for the question that’s on everyone’s minds: What can brands do to build better creator partnerships?

To find out, we pulled data from our most recent report on the creator economy. We also asked Jayde Powell and Violeta Venegas for their takes on green and red flags that come up when working with brands. Here’s what they said.

Green flag: Knowing their content

Finding the right creators for your brand can take hours of independent research. Don’t waste the time you spent combing through your feed and follower lists by sending a generic outreach email.

When it comes to creator partnerships, brands who research who they’re reaching out to come out on top.

“I love working with brands that are seeking me out for a specific reason,” says Venegas. “Usually, it’s because they see something in my audience or in my content that aligns with their products. Also, brands that value creators aren’t sending out mass emails in hopes of making a connection. When outreach is personalized, it shows that they value my work.”

Red flag: Generic requests

Partnering with creators is different from partnering with influencers. You can’t just share the number of posts you need, your budget and be done. They need more context.

“I need to know the ‘why’ behind your request,” says Powell. “What purpose will it serve? Who is your target audience? Those are things I like to know because it helps me make an asset that makes sense for the brand.”

Green flag: Value-based partnerships

It’s one thing to be familiar with a creator’s content. It’s even better when your brand’s mission or values align with a potential partner.

For example, Venegas loves receiving partnership opportunities from brands that align with her content. “I love working with Latina-owned brands. I get a lot of joy out of promoting them and often reach back out to them. My very first brand partnership was with Vive Cosmetics and I still adore them to this day.”

Red flag: Unclear ownership rights

There’s a reason only 26% of partnership content is posted to brand accounts.

“Oftentimes, when you make content for brands, they want to own the content,” explains Powell. “That makes sense but I like to see what that means spelled out clearly in a contract.”

“If not, they can request full ownership of the content and suddenly it’s on a billboard or in print advertising. Instead of getting paid for the full mileage of the content, you only get paid for the creation. If brands want full ownership, they need to pay a fair rate for it.”

Green flag: A detailed creative brief

Providing a full campaign brief with details on project scope, deliverables, timelines and payment terms is how brands put their best foot forward with content creators.

“A detailed creative brief tells me a brand has taken time to create a vision and that they’re partnering with me to bring that vision to life,” says Powell. “It tells me that the request is well thought out.”

Red flag: Lengthy payment terms

The most common challenge marketers face when working with creators is budget. Pushing out payment terms can be a tempting way to secure content while waiting for cash flow. However, it can cost you future partnerships in the long run.

“This is my biggest red flag,” says Powell. “I’ve seen agreements where the payment terms are 60 days out. That’s unfair to the person doing the work for you. Industry standard is net 30 days, but I always ask for net 15.”

Transparency platforms like Influent and Clara for Creators are giving creators space to share experiences with brands. To make sure your company is discussed in a positive light, be sure to pay creators on time.

Create value with content creators

Breathe new life into your social media management strategy with creator collaborations. Use this guide to build out a program that brings your brand to its newest group of fans.

For more information on the creator economy—including stats that can guide your partnership and compensation plans—check out our latest data report. We surveyed more than 500 US marketers to get you the details you need to know.

Check out the Report

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Facebook Creator Studio: The digital marketer’s guide

Looking for a more efficient way to manage your Facebook presence?

Despite not boasting the buzz of Instagram or TikTok right now, recent stats highlight how Facebook is still a staple for marketers.

Thing is, Facebook is a challenging platform to wrangle due to all of its dashboards and ad options. Keeping up with Meta’s ever-changing business features can be overwhelming.

But what if you had a place to oversee your analytics, content and monetization at the same time?

Well, Facebook Creator Studio is that tool!

New to Creator Studio? In this post, we’ll highlight how to use the platform to save time and streamline your marketing tasks.

What is Facebook Creator Studio?

Think of Facebook Creator Studio as the ultimate control center for your business page.

Nobody wants to bounce between a million different tools, right? Creator Studio consolidates your performance data, messages and content in one place. According to Meta:

“Creator Studio brings together all the tools you need to effectively post, manage, monetize and measure content across all your Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts.”

Launched backed in 2018, Facebook Creator Studio’s goal was to give business owners a better idea of how their presence is performing. After all, Facebook’s in-app analytics feed can feel a bit clunky and fragmented. On the flip side, Creator Studio provides a comprehensive overview of the following:

• Your most recent Facebook posts and their performance: engagements and interactions
• Your overall performance of your Page: followers, reach and growth
• New notifications and activity from followers: direct messages and mentions

Beyond analytics, Creator Studio has a ton of helpful publishing features. This includes:

• The ability to schedule Facebook posts (and see live previews of future content)
• Creating and publishing posts directly from the platform
• Management of all of your Facebook content assets including posts, images and videos

And of course, you can analyze the performance of all of your Facebook assets as well.

Another notable aspect of Facebook Creator Studio is access to all of the above for your Instagram presence, too. This compatibility is useful if you’re cross-posting Instagram content or running ads on both networks.

How to get started with Facebook Creator Studio

Creator Studio is a seriously underrated tool for marketers.

It’s no surprise that it gets slept on, though. That’s because Meta is constantly revamping and replacing its slew of Facebook business tools.

If you’re new to the platform, below is a quick breakdown of how to start using Creator Studio.

Where to access Facebook Creator Studio

Good news: if you have access to a business Page then you can access Creator Studio by default.

“Okay, but where is Creator Studio on Facebook?”

Good question! Getting into the platform for the first time might feel a bit roundabout. For starters, log into your Facebook Business Page and click on your profile picture (see below).

From there, select “Meta Business Suite” and click through. You’ll be presented with a dropdown menu. Select “All tools” to proceed.

Finally, you’ll be prompted to select “Creator Studio.” Doing so will open the platform in a new window.

Understanding roles and permissions in Facebook Creator Studio

There are five levels of access within Facebook Creator Studio: Admin, Editor, Moderator, Advertiser and Analyst.

As noted earlier, access to a Facebook Page automatically grants you access to Creator Studio.

But you only have full permissions if you’re an Admin. Different roles and permissions can be assigned to collaborators to limit access to certain features. This includes messaging, content management and analytics.

Here’s a quick explanation from Meta:

“Regardless of what role you have on a Page, you can access it from Creator Studio . . . However, your Page role does determine the specific information you see and the actions you can take on that Page and any Instagram account linked to it.”

And here’s Meta’s breakdown of the roles’ permissions:

These various roles and permissions are helpful for agencies, brand partners and Pages run by multiple people. This can help you set up a smarter approval process so stakeholders can sign off on actions from collaborators.

Managing multiple Pages in Facebook Creator Studio

Speaking of multiples!

You can seamlessly bounce from different Pages in Creator Studio if you’re running a bunch at once. Again, these features are helpful for agencies and brands managing multiple communities.

To see which Pages you have access to, go to the home screen of Facebook Creator Studio. Then, click the top lefthand icon of the Page you initially logged on through. You’ll then see a dropdown of Pages.

Navigating the Facebook Creator Studio interface

Once you finally get into the platform, its interface is pretty self-explanatory.

Here’s a basic rundown of navigation options as you figure out how to use Facebook Creator Studio:

• Home – a general overview of your Facebook Page and recent activity.
• Notifications – alerts, recommended updates and recent interactions on your Page (comments/messages).
• Insights– an overview of content performances including Facebook video and Stories insights.
• Pre-published– an overview of your scheduled Facebook posts.
• Published – see the status and performance of live posts organized by most recent publish date.
• Assets – an overview of content you’ve uploaded to Facebook and Creator Studio.
• Tools – a place to test and preview Facebook posts.
• Content Library – aggregates your posts and anything your page has published or cross-posted.

Below are the secondary features of Facebook Creator Studio you can find at the bottom of the navigation bar:

• Inbox+ – shows all of your recent Facebook messages, acting as a sort of CRM.
• Monetization – allows you to boost content and transform posts into paid ads.
• Creative Tools – live stream features and access to the Facebook Sound Collection.
• Settings – here you can edit Page permissions and settings.
• Resources – takes you to external publishing and shopping tools for Facebook Pages

What are the key features of Facebook Creator Studio?

To wrap things up, here’s a general overview of how to use Facebook Creator Studio and the basics of what you can do within the platform.

Create and schedule Facebook posts

Rather than post directly from your Page, Creator Studio lets you plan out your posts in greater depth. For example, the ability to schedule posts directly makes it easier to stick to an actual content calendar versus posting at random.

Here you can also optimize your posts to increase engagement by fine-tuning your captions, images and timing. Detailed content previews ensure that your posts “look the part” and never feel rushed.

Manage relationships with fans and followers

From customer service to product questions, mastering Facebook Messenger is a must-do for brands.

Facebook Creator Studio can act as a psuedo-CRM to help keep track of your past conversations with customers, fans and followers.

That said, Studio’s messaging features aren’t quite as powerful as Sprout’s Smart Inbox. For example, Sprout manages relationships between your customers across all social platforms. Beyond that, Sprout centralizes your @mentions and crucial conversations. You’ll never miss out on an opportunity to make an impression on your audience.

Oversee interactions on your Page

Speeding up your social media response time should be a top priority for any brand.

The faster you respond to customers, the more likely you are to delight them and swiftly resolve any issues they might have.

By having all of your Facebook notifications including comments and messages in one place, you can manage concerns in a single inbox.

Boost your Facebook posts

If you’re totally new to Facebook ads, boosting a post via Creator Studio can help you get your feet wet.

In short, you can take a top-performing piece of organic content and transform it into an ad. Creator Studio walks you through the process step-by-step. The platform is generally straightforward versus more complicated ad options and targeting.

Dig into your Facebook analytics and performance

Pop quiz: what are your best Facebook posts? Which type of content earns the most engagement? Are you happy with your Page’s growth rate?

You should be able to answer all of the above with confidence. Thankfully, the analytics baked into Facebook Creator Studio can you find the answers you need. Specifically, Facebook metrics such as engagement rate, reach and interactions should be on your radar.

That said, we still have to give it to Sprout Social when it comes to Facebook analytics. Our platform allows you to get super granular when finding opportunities to grow and optimize your presence.

How can Facebook Creator Studio help you manage your presence?

Creator Studio is a solid starting point if you need a free, all-in-one native tool for growing your Facebook Page.

Because it’s more important than ever for businesses to have a comprehensive understanding of their analytics and activity.

From questions and concerns to content engagement and beyond, anything you can do to get greater insights into your Facebook audience is a plus. Creator Studio can definitely make that happen.

Need more help growing your presence? If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our guide to Facebook best practices to figure out how!

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