Social media is a fantastic way to promote your business and the great content you’re creating. However, simply publishing stuff to social sites whenever you feel like it isn’t enough – posting at some times works better than others. Taking a more strategic approach to social media postings may seem counterintuitive.

It’s easy for businesses to feel they can post anything on social media whenever they please, but this is not the case. Knowing when to post on social media impacts who sees your content and how effective it is in generating interaction (likes, comments).

Every successful social media brand has a data-driven timetable for when to post. Even the most amazing social media posts will go nowhere if you don’t put them out at the proper time. Posting during peak traffic increases your chances of catching your audience’s attention by maximizing exposure.

This blog post will give you insider tips on the best time to post on social media for each major network: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Why Posting at the Right Time Matters?

You might be wondering why it’s worth figuring out when the best time to post on social media platforms is. Let’s break it down:

Best time to post

1. Your audience is online at different times

Even if you’re posting great content, you’re not going to reach everyone all at once. Just like you, people have different schedules and might only be active on social media at specific times of the day.

2. The time of day affects how users interact with content

The time of day also dictates how likely users are to engage with your content. Let’s say you’re a B2B company and post an article during work hours on a Tuesday. Most of your target audience is busy at work and not checking social media, so your post will likely get lost in the shuffle.

3. There are only so many times you can post in a day

You don’t want to spam your followers’ feeds by posting too often, or they’ll start ignoring your content altogether. Posting fewer times but at optimal times will help you space out your content while reaching the maximum number of people.

4. Optimal posting times vary by network

Best practices for timing vary depending on which platform you’re using. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram all have different user demographics and engagement patterns. What works on one site might not work as well on another.

5. The time zone of your audience matters

This one is easy to forget, but it’s essential to consider your audience’s time zone. You might be based on the West Coast but have a large following on the East Coast – if you post during Pacific Time working hours, most of your East Coast fans will see it after they’ve already finished work for the day.

If all of this sounds like a lot of work, don’t worry – there are plenty of social media management tools that have built-in features to help you determine the best time to post.

Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons why it’s important to post at the right time let’s get into the nitty-gritty and find out when that is for each social platform.

Overall Best Times to Post on Social Media

Posting times

Each social media site has its benefits and drawbacks, as well as its own user base with different behaviours. That said, there are some generalities we can make about the best time to post on social media in general:

  • The best time to post on social media: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
  • Best days to post on social media: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
  • The worst day to post on social media: Sunday

There’s more to posting on social media than this quick stat. When you break it down by network, you can get a more nuanced sense of when to post on social media for each one.

The best time to post on social media is when your audience is most likely to be online and engaged with your content. To figure out when that is, you can look at their age, location, job, and interests. You can also use social media analytics tools to track your performance and see when people are engaging with your content the most. And, don’t forget to experiment on different social media platforms with different times and days to see what works best for your business.

The Best Time To Post On Facebook

Social media platform

Facebook is a hugely popular platform with over 2 billion monthly active users. Because of its size, the best time to post on Facebook varies based on who your target audience is.

Generally speaking, the best time to post on Facebook is between 12 P.M. and 3 P.M., when most users are active. However, this changes depending on who your target audience is. For example, if you’re targeting working professionals, you’ll want to post during the workday – between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. – when they’re most likely to be active on Facebook.

Industries that have more success posting early morning are agriculture, food, and beverage brand.

Facebook has remained the leading social media network in the world, which means you’ll get a lot of attention when you post on it. Facebook boasts 24/7 interaction. On the other hand, weekdays, evenings, and early mornings demonstrate the most consistent engagement and possibilities for companies to generate exposure for their Facebook posts.

The Best Time To Post On Twitter

Social media platforms

Twitter is a fast-paced platform, with tweets going in and out of users’ timelines at lightning speed. Because of this, it’s important to post when your audience is most likely to be online and scrolling through their timeline.

The best time to post on Twitter is between 12 P.M. and 3 P.M., with a peak at 5 P.M. This is when most users are active on the platform. However, this changes depending on who your target audience is.

For example, if you’re targeting teenagers, you’ll want to post later in the day – after 7 P.M. – when they’re out of school and have more free time.

Twitter is an excellent platform for engaging with your audience in real time. Because of this, it’s important to post when your audience is most likely to be online and scrolling through their timeline.

The Best Time To Post On Instagram

Social media platforms

Instagram is a visual social network, so it’s important to post when you know your audience will be online and looking at their feed. The best time to post on Instagram is between 9 A.M. and 11 A.M., peaking at 10 A.M. This is when most users are active on the platform. However, this changes depending on who your audience is.

Instagram isn’t just a pastime anymore; it’s become a science with its complex algorithm and the mysteries of hashtags. If you’re one of those people who want to break into Instagram stardom, you’ll want to know how to use this platform to your advantage. One of the first things you should do before getting into the art of framing captions or following the appropriate kind of individuals is figuring out when is the best time to post on Instagram.

While the best time to post on Instagram is mid-week at around 11 A.M., you might also want to experiment with other times. The important thing is to find what works best for you and your audience.

The Best Time To Post On LinkedIn

Social media platforms

LinkedIn is a professional social network, so it’s important to post when you know your audience will be online and looking at their feed. LinkedIn engagement is most significant during the US workweek when it’s at its most concentrated in the middle of the day and doesn’t go too far outside of the US working hours.

It’s unlikely you’ll receive a lot of response on LinkedIn postings on weekends when interaction drops dramatically. According to Hootsuite’s data, 9 A.M. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best time to publish on LinkedIn. Engagement is most concentrated during mid-mornings throughout the week.

However, LinkedIn’s algorithm considers more quality, relevance, and current topics while weighing less recency than other platforms, so your posting time may not have as much impact there as elsewhere.

The Best Time To Post On TikTok

Social media platforms

The best time to post on TikTok is during the weekdays when people are most likely to scroll through their feed during their commute or lunch break. One thing to keep in mind about TikTok is that it’s a platform where one size may not fit all.

The people you meet on TikTok are unique; their followers come from various places and demographics. However, TikTok provides analytics to determine when your fans are most active on the site. To access TikTok’s analytics and discover insights into when your audience is engaged and interested, have a Pro Account.

The Best Time To Upload Videos On Youtube

Social media platforms

The optimum time to upload videos on YouTube during weekdays is between 2 P.M. and 4 P.M. These early afternoon hours are the most densely populated and active internet time zone. You may think it’s a bit too early because video traffic on YouTube peaks at 7 P.M. to 10 P.M.

But the real reason for posting on YouTube early is that Google indexes blog material in much the same way as YouTube does, allowing your video to be indexed and appear in your audience’s search results when they log in late at night. They’ll wind up in their search results if they go to YouTube after work or while watching television.

YouTube has the highest usage among video marketers, with more than Instagram and TikTok combined. This year, the platform will receive the most marketing investment. Afternoons and evenings are good times to post on YouTube. You should also consider the time of the day your audience is most active on YouTube.

Best Time To Post On Snapchat

Social media platforms

There isn’t much data about the best time to post on Snapchat. However, based on our research and what we could find, it seems that the best time to post on Snapchat is during the night.

This makes sense because people are more likely to use Snapchat when they’re out with friends or at a party rather than during the day at work or school.

Snapchat also has a feature called “Stories,” which allows you to post photos and videos that stay up for 24 hours.

  • The best time to post on Snapchat: 10 P.M. to 1 A.M. on Mondays through Sundays
  • Best days to post on Snapchat: Monday, Saturday, Sunday

Industry-Specific Best Times to Post on Social Media

To get even more granular, it’s worth considering what industry you’re in and how that affects the best time to post on social media. Here are some general tips:

  • If you’re in the B2B space, post on social media during the workweek.

  • If you’re in the B2C space, post on social media during the weekend.

  • If you’re in the eCommerce space, post on social media during the weekdays.

  • If you’re in the entertainment industry, post on social media on weekends.

Overall, the best time to post on social media will vary depending on your industry, target audience, and platform. However, there are some general rules of thumb that you can follow to make sure you’re posting at a time when people are most likely to see your content.

When it comes to social media, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for the best time to post. But by understanding your audience and which platform they’re using, you can get a feel for when the best time to post is.

Tips On Finding Your Own Best Time To Post

The best way to find out when the best time to post is for your business is to experiment with different times and days. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Look at Your Buyer Personas

When you’re trying to figure out the best time to post, it’s helpful to look at your buyer personas. Consider things like their age, location, job, and interests. This will give you a good starting point for determining when they will most likely be online.

What is the typical day of your target audience? When they look at their social media profiles, whether they are working or in school, they will have an impact. If your target audience works a regular 9-5 job, they’ll be viewing social media sites during their lunch breaks, on the way to and from work, and during the weekend. Whereas, if your target audience is university students, it’s more likely that they would check social media at various times of the day and week.

It’s also a wise choice to research your target audience’s occupations and social media usage behaviour to understand when they are most likely to be active on social media.

Social media usage

Find Your Top-Performing Posts From the Past

Take a look at your top-performing posts from the past and see what time and day they were published. If you notice a pattern, you can start to focus your future social media strategy around those times.

Top-performing posts can provide valuable insights into when your audience is most engaged with your content. If you don’t have a lot of data to work with, start by looking at your three most recent posts and see if there’s a pattern.

Use Social Media Analytics Tools

Most social media platforms have analytics tools that you can use to track your performance. For example, Facebook Insights allows you to see when your fans are online and what kind of content they engage with the most. Twitter Analytics shows you when your tweets get the most engagement and who your most engaged followers are.

By looking at your social media analytics, you can better understand when people are engaging with your content and adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

Paid tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite Insights can also give detailed insights into your social media performance.

Check out the Competition

See when your competitor’s posts get the most engagement and try to post at similar times. Of course, you don’t want to copy everything they’re doing, but this can give you a good starting point for finding the best time to post. By looking at when they’re getting the most engagement, you can figure out when people are most likely to be online and engaged with social media content.

You can also use social media monitoring tools to track when your competitor’s posts are getting the most engagement. This can be a helpful way to see what times and days are best for posting without manually checking each of their profiles.

Post In Your Audience’s Time Zone, Not Yours

If you have a global audience, it’s essential to consider their time zone when you’re scheduling your posts. You don’t want to post when it’s the middle of the night in their time zone because chances are they won’t see it. Instead, try to post during the daytime in their time zone so that your content is more likely to be seen.

Posting times

Experiment with Different Times and Days

The only way to know what works best for your business is to experiment with different times and days. Try out different posting schedules and see how your audience responds.

Once you start experimenting with different times and days, it’s essential to keep an eye on your engagement levels. Look at the number of likes, comments, and shares you’re getting on each post. This will give you a good indication of how well your content is performing and whether or not people are engaging with it.

Over time, you’ll start to get a feel for when the best time to post is. And, don’t forget to keep track of your results so you can continually optimize your strategy. It is also a good idea to keep in mind social media trends and the best times to post are always changing.

Final Thoughts!

The bottom line is that there is no magic time to post on social media. It all depends on your audience and what works best for your business. So, take some time to experiment and find out what works best for you.

Do you have any tips for finding the best time to post on social media? Share them in the comments below!

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Social Media news, insights and strategies to help you grow from the Team at Feedalpha.