Ah yes, the age-old question: If nobody sees your post, did you even post?听
When it comes to running a small business, there are听so听many things to consider, and social media is one of them.
We all know the importance of social media. You鈥檙e scrolling through your feed just as much as I am.听
During your social media binging, you鈥檙e absorbing听a lot听of marketing campaigns. And now, it鈥檚听your听time to join and market your message to potential customers.
But what time should you post on Facebook? Is it the same time as you would post on Instagram? While you may think the answer is yes, it鈥檚 actually no. Each platform has its own optimal time for you to engage with your audience.
If you鈥檙e scratching your head right now wondering how you鈥檙e going to figure it all out, don鈥檛 worry.听
You think we would leave you high and dry? Think again. Based on data from , in this post, you鈥檙e going to learn what are the best times to post on social media.
With so much information online, sometimes you wonder whether everything you鈥檙e reading is true or not. I don鈥檛 blame you! Maybe you鈥檝e heard about the 鈥渞ight鈥� time to post on social media, but is that true?
The answer is yes. The best time to post on social media is when your followers are the most active. But is it听that听simple? No. So, here鈥檚 the thing. While the best time to post online is when your followers are most active, it can be hard to find that ideal time. What if your followers are global?
Firstly, if you already have a social media following, it鈥檚听much听easier to figure out the best time to post by using the right tools.听
If you don鈥檛 have a following, it鈥檒l take some time for you to learn who your audience is and when they engage with your content the most.
However, there is a general universal time you can use as a starting point until you learn more about your audience. Once you start to gain more insight into your audience, see what works for you and your audience. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to social media, so use this guide as a general recommendation.
Through social media, you have the opportunity to engage with tons听of people as it鈥檚 still one of the most effective platforms to promote your brand. So, when鈥檚 the best time to post?
Generally speaking, the best time to post on Facebook during the week is at 9 A.M. as that鈥檚 when people are starting their working day and tend to check their online profiles.
Facebook traffic peaks again between 1 P.M. and 3 P.M., when people are on their lunch breaks. But on weekends, audience activity isn鈥檛 very high (people getting the most out of their days off), so if you post on weekends, the peak hours are between 8 A.M. to 10 A.M.
The best days to post on Facebook are听Tuesday听and听Thursday.听If you鈥檙e going to post on the weekend,听Sunday听is the best day to post.听
Instagram may look innocent, but its algorithm isn鈥檛 easy to crack. But if you want to get seen and engage with your audience, here are the times to know.听
The best time to post on Instagram is between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. This peak time correlates with the average person鈥檚 working day. Most people check their posts around breakfast, lunch, and after work. Those are the times users are most active. There鈥檚 also a peak at 2 A.M.鈥攕ome late-night scrolling.
But your level of engagement also depends on the听day听you post.
The best days to post on Instagram are听Monday,听Wednesday,听Thursday,听and听Friday.听Thursday has the largest peak, followed by Friday鈥攁im for these days to get some extra likes and comments. As for the weekend, if you are going to post, avoid Sunday.
If you鈥檙e trying to catch your business audience on LinkedIn, you鈥檒l want to use these times to help you out. The highest interaction peaks happen earlier in the morning before the working day starts between听8 A.M.听and听11 A.M.听听
When it comes to LinkedIn, it鈥檚 pretty easy to follow. The best days to post are on听Tuesday听and听Wednesday.
A lot of people scroll through Twitter throughout the day, but many start the morning catching up on Tweets they missed the night before. That said, the best time to post on Twitter is at 8 A.M. However, posting between 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. will help you increase engagement.
The best days to post on Twitter are at the beginning and end of the week, Monday and Thursday.
If your content is mostly video-based, then you can find your audience on TikTok. With over one billion people on TikTok, there are plenty of people to engage with and just to let you know, TikTok鈥檚 platform algorithm rewards posts with high engagement. So you want to post at the right time.
The best time to post on TikTok generally follows a typical work/school schedule. Post in the morning from听6 A.M.听to听10 A.M.听and at night from听7 P.M.听to听11 P.M.听On Fridays, you鈥檒l want to get up early as the best time to post is at听5 A.M.
On weekends, TikTok performs well. Saturday has peak hours at听11 A.M.听or in the evening between听7 P.M.听and听8 P.M.听Sunday peak hours are at听7 A.M.听to听8 A.M.听and around听4 P.M.
The best days to post on TikTok are generally throughout the entire week. But the days with the highest engagement are听Tuesday,听Thursday, and听Friday.
If your audience is visual-based (which is basically everyone), then Pinterest is a great platform to use. Posts on Pinterest appear chronologically, so if you want your post to be seen, you need to know when to post.听
The best time to post on Pinterest is late in the evening between听8 P.M.听to听11 P.M.
A majority of Pinterest鈥檚 audience are women and they鈥檙e most active late at night. Yet, the best days to post aren鈥檛 during the week. Pinterest users are most active during the weekends. The best days to post are on听Friday听and听Saturday.
When posting on Reddit, keep in mind that most users are from the United States. So, if you want to reach your audience, keep in mind the time zone as it depends on听where听you鈥檙e targeting (New York isn鈥檛 in the same time zone as Los Angeles).
The best time to post on Reddit on the weekdays is from听6 A.M.听to听9 A.M.听On weekends, the best time to post is between听7 A.M.听and听9 A.M.
When posting on Reddit, post during the week between听Monday听and听Thursday. These are the days with the highest engagement as most people are near a computer.听
Here are some key factors to consider when deciding on the best time to post on social media. Remember, your goal is to increase engagement and attract your audience when they鈥檙e most active.
What鈥檚 your goal for posting on social media? I know for a fact, you鈥檙e busy and aren鈥檛 doing this just to waste time.听
Whether it鈥檚 making more听people aware of your brand听(brand awareness), gaining more followers, or selling products, you need to know听why you鈥檙e doing this.
Where does the majority of your audience come from? I know social media attracts people from all over the world, but where is your target audience located?听
By knowing this, you can align your posts to fit听their听online activity. That way, they鈥檙e more likely to engage with your content.听
If you have multiple time zones to consider, then try your best to find a time that hits peak hours for听all听time zones.听
For example, for Facebook, to reach your audience in EST, CST, and PST all at once, you would schedule your post for 4 pm EST. That way, it鈥檒l show up on people鈥檚 feeds at 3 pm CST, 2 pm PST鈥攁ll peak hours.
Here鈥檚 the thing, when you post听too听often, you may be flagged as spam. When you don鈥檛 post enough, your content may not be seen at all.
You have to find that sweet spot that suits your business. You don鈥檛 need to be posting three times per day, but you should post regularly (meaning, once a day or a couple of times per week).
If you know your target audience, then you already have detailed information about their demographics, like their gender, age, occupation, and education.听
Use this information to help you understand when they鈥檙e most likely to be active on social media.
If your target audience is married women between 35 to 45 with children, posting at 8 am when the kids need to be taken to school isn鈥檛 a good strategy. However, posting around lunchtime or later in the evening may work best.
Ah yes, the algorithm. I can鈥檛 forget about algorithms. You鈥檝e probably heard about it too. Social media is designed so people keep coming back to view the content.
Each platform has a different way of doing this. Some rank posts based on the number of engagements, while others rank based on the time of posting. To get the most out of each platform do some research on its algorithm.
While I do suggest observing your competitors, I don鈥檛 recommend following听everything听they do.听
You should focus on posting when your audience is most active on social media, not when your competitors post (because they may not be posting at the right times).
The general times to post on social media can really help you 听
But there will come a time when you鈥檒l want to be more accurate and听really听engage with as many people as possible. For that, do the following:听
Your past social media posts can provide you with a lot of valuable information about your audience. It鈥檒l show your least and most active posts, which can help you determine听when听is the best time to post. When looking at insights, pay attention to these metrics:
Awareness – this includes impressions and reach. Impressions are the number of times a post shows on a person鈥檚 timeline. Reach is the number of unique viewers that have seen the post.
These insights are provided for free by most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Engagement – this means how the audience interacts with the post (via likes, comments, clicks, and shares).
Conversions – when someone makes a purchase on your site that occurred after they visited your social media channel.
Like I said before, it鈥檚 important not to follow听everything听your competition does.听
However, you should check their social media and see what they鈥檙e doing.听
Is there a specific pattern you鈥檙e noticing? What times do they post? This doesn鈥檛 mean you should change your social media strategy, but do keep your eyes open.听
You鈥檙e not posting for yourself, you鈥檙e posting for your audience. And that means you need to post when听they are most active.听
Who鈥檚 your audience? Are they early risers or night owls? If your target audience is 18 to 24-year-old men, you鈥檙e probably not going to post at 6 am. Post to suit your audience.
When it comes to social media, you don鈥檛 know until you try. You can do everything by the book, yet, not get the results you want.听
You should always be testing your posts and seeing which ones engage with your audience best. It may not necessarily be the time you’re posting, rather听what听you鈥檙e posting.听
I wish social media could just stay the same and never change, but in reality, it鈥檚 changing听all听the time. The world changes and social media follows.听
For example, the pandemic brought people even closer to social media than ever before. So, it鈥檚 normal to see changes in your performance.
What鈥檚 important is you flow with those changes and adjust your strategy to compliment them.听
While you can always refer back to this article, sometimes it’s nice to have all this information bundled onto one page. And that’s exactly what we did. On this cheat sheet, you’ll find everything you need to know when posting on social media.
Download this PDF template and have it available whenever you need.
We鈥檝e covered when is the best time to post on social media and the factors to keep in mind when doing so. Now, it鈥檚 up to you to put it into action!
Just remember, social media isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. So, be consistent and make changes based on the data given to you. You got this!
This portion of our website is for informational or educational purposes only. 91吃瓜 is not a law firm, and the information on this website does not constitute legal advice. All statements, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions are solely the expression of the author and provided on an as-is basis. Accordingly, 91吃瓜 is not responsible for the information and/or its accuracy or completeness. It also does not indicate any affiliation between 91吃瓜 and any other brands, services or logos on this page.
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