What's the Best Time to Post on Social Media?

Welcome to a regular day at B3 Marketing, where many new clients ask us the question: What is the best time to post on social media? If there was a universal best time to post on social media for everybody, life would be easy. However, each business, industry, and even platform has different audiences, habits, and interests, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Nevertheless, we have reviewed a number of studies to help create a useful guide for you in your potential social media activity. So let's dive in and help answer: What's the best time to post on social media?

Introduction

In this blog, we aim to address several key questions that will help you optimise your social media strategy:

1. What are the general best times to post on social media platforms?

2. How do these times vary between Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok?

3. How can you tailor these recommendations to fit your specific audiences?

To provide you with the most accurate and comprehensive information, we reviewed data from multiple sources, including SocialPilot, Sprout Social, and HubSpot. These studies analysed millions of posts and hundreds of thousands of accounts across various industries and platforms.

Best Times to Post on Instagram

Instagram, known for its highly visual content, attracts users at different times of the day. According to SocialPilot, Sprout Social, and HubSpot, the best times to post on Instagram generally fall within weekday mornings and early afternoons.

Recommended Times

- SocialPilot suggests that the optimal time to post is between 7 AM to 9 AM and highlights that Mondays and Tuesdays are particularly effective.

- Sprout Social recommends posting on Tuesday and Wednesday around 11 AM to 2 PM.

- HubSpot highlights the importance of lunch hours too, and all studies point towards Sundays being the worst day to post.

These times indicate that users are most active during their mornings and lunch, possibly as a way to relax and browse during work breaks. However, you should monitor your own Instagram insights to identify when your specific audience is most engaged. Additionally, Instagram Stories are interestingly consumed by users towards the late afternoon and evening, especially on Fridays and Sundays.

Best Times to Post on Facebook

Facebook remains one of the most versatile platforms for businesses due to its broad user base. The ideal posting times can vary slightly based on the source, but there's a consensus on mid-week being particularly favourable.

Recommended Times

- SocialPilot: The best time is between 9 AM and 1 PM, with the highest engagement on Wednesday and Thursday.‍

- Sprout Social: Recommends posting between 9 AM and 3 PM on weekdays, with Wednesday at 11 AM and 1 PM being peak times.‍

- HubSpot: Suggests Fridays being particularly good with times best in the later morning and avoiding late evening posts.

Facebook's user activity peaks during mid-morning to early afternoon. This period likely aligns with users checking their feeds during work breaks, similar to Meta’s Instagram platform. Utilising Facebook's built-in Business Suite for analytics can help businesses determine when their followers are online and tailor their posting schedule accordingly. From our experience, we have noticed a particular shifting pattern dependent on a business being B2B or B2C. B2B clients tend to have more success with earlier posting than B2C when customers enjoy their leisure time with content and businesses they follow outside of work.

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Best Times to Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn, the most popular professional networking platform, sees its highest engagement during the typical workweek. Users are most active during business hours, making it crucial to align posts with these times.

Recommended Times

- SocialPilot: The best times to post are between 10 AM and 12 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

- Sprout Social: Also recommends posting on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 AM to noon.

- HubSpot: Mirrors the above findings and once again highlights weekends as the lowest performing days.

LinkedIn's activity spikes during the working week, especially at the beginning and middle of the week. While many users visit LinkedIn for job searching, an increasing number of professionals are also scrolling their feeds to keep up with industry news and their connections’ updates. This means that businesses can reach a highly engaged professional audience even before work hours as users look at their network prior to work beginning.

Furthermore, Monday shows very little engagement compared to other weekdays. This trend is likely because professionals are often busy with catch-up and planning meetings at the start of the week, leaving less time for social media browsing. Lastly, after work hours, most users switch from professional platforms like LinkedIn to more personal social media platforms.‍

Best Times to Post on TikTok‍

TikTok, with its fast-growing and highly engaged user base, has different peak times due to its unique audience demographics. The best times to post can vary widely based on your target audience.

‍Recommended Times

- SocialPilot: Recommends posting early morning from 6 AM to 10 AM and late evenings 7 PM to 11 PM on weekdays.

- Sprout Social: Suggests 4 PM to 6 PM, particularly on Tuesday and Friday.

- HubSpot: Highlights that posting as late as 9:30 PM can work on TikTok.

TikTok’s audience is most active during early mornings and late evenings, which aligns with the habits of its younger demographic who often engage with content before and after school or work. Additionally, the late afternoon and early evening periods are also effective, particularly on Tuesdays and Fridays, as users seek entertainment and relaxation after their daily routines.

One critical aspect of TikTok is its trends-driven nature. The platform thrives on viral challenges, memes, and trending hashtags, meaning that the optimal posting times can vary significantly depending on current trends. Jumping on viral trends can lead to increased visibility and engagement, sometimes regardless of the time of day.

Therefore, while these recommended times provide a general guideline, staying up-to-date with trending content and being flexible with your posting schedule is essential. Regularly monitoring your TikTok analytics will help identify when your specific audience is most active and engaged, allowing you to tailor your posting strategy accordingly.

Tailoring Recommendations to Your Specific Audience

While these recommendations provide a solid starting point, it's essential to remember that each business has a unique audience with specific habits and preferences. Here are some steps you can take to tailor these general guidelines to fit your specific audience:

1. Analyse Your Own Data: Use the built-in analytics tools available on each platform to review when your posts receive the most engagement. Look for patterns in your audience's behaviour and adjust your posting times accordingly.

2. Conduct A/B Testing: Experiment with posting at different times and on different days to see what works best for your audience. A/B testing can help identify the optimal posting schedule based on your unique audience's preferences.

3. Consider Your Audience’s Time Zones: If you have a global audience, be mindful of time zones. Schedule posts to reach the maximum number of followers during their peak activity times.

4. Stay Flexible and Adapt: Social media trends and user behaviour can change rapidly. Regularly review your analytics and be ready to adapt your posting schedule as needed to keep up with these changes.

5. Engage with Your Audience: Pay attention to when your audience is most likely to engage with your content. Responding to comments and messages promptly can boost engagement and improve your relationship with your followers.

6. Quality Over Quantity: While timing is important, the quality of your content is crucial. Focus on creating valuable, engaging, and relevant content that resonates with your audience. High-quality content will naturally attract more engagement, regardless of the time it is posted.

Conclusion

While there are general best times to post on social media, it's important to remember that each business's audience is unique. Regularly reviewing past engagement data and adjusting posting times based on insights is crucial. Platforms like Facebook offer analytics tools that show when your audience is most active, providing further guidance.

Above all, creating quality and valuable content will always outweigh the specific time of posting. Engaging and relevant content finds its way to the audience regardless of timing. At B3 Marketing, we are here to help you navigate your social media strategy and ensure your content reaches the right audience at the right time. Happy posting!