As with most questions that start with “what’s the best”, there is not a simple one-size-fits-all answer. Not even when it comes to webinar services can we pick just one and name it the best.
So, if you want a short, precise, and always correct answer, we don’t have it. The shortest one we can give you is: “It depends”. On what? On so many factors!
Remember that the most popular social media gather huge audiences and are still gaining new users daily. This means that your post will be competing with hundreds of posts at best. Sadly, more frequently, we are talking about several thousand updates that might push your post down your followers’ newsfeed.
So, think about the practices within your industry. More importantly, get to know your followers and when they are most likely to be active. The same goes for your location.
Also, sometimes the peak times aren’t the best ones to post. Just picture all businesses tuning in at the same time to share their material. It would immediately turn into the worst time to post for most smaller businesses. In other words, you are occasionally better off posting outside of the “prime time”.
When you look at the overall data, Facebook has a few peaks over the week. In general, the best day for posting is Wednesday, specifically around 11 AM, and between 1 and 2 PM.
Additionally, quite effective times spread around this peak on Wednesday. This means Tuesday and Thursday also see quite a dense Facebook traffic. Expectedly, the earlier part of the day is when most people are active, whereas they tune out towards the late afternoon. This is why you should generally aim to post somewhere between 8 AM and 3 PM.
If you aren’t strictly pursuing the highest traffic times, you can plan your posting schedule from Monday to Friday using a weekly work schedule template for instance. Anything after 10 AM and no later than 3 PM would be just fine and should probably get you enough exposure.
As the night approaches, the activity drops, so you probably shouldn’t post later than 5 PM, nor until 7 AM the next day. Sunday is the day when most people are avoiding Facebook, so should you.
Another point to keep in mind when it comes to Facebook is that the pages have the “Insights” feature. Choose the “Posts” option, and you will get info regarding the daily activity of your audience. You can see how the engagement changed throughout the day. There’s also data on how effective each post was in attracting the readers’ attention. This is an immensely helpful statistic tool, so never fail to consult it before you draw up a posting schedule.
Instagram is Facebook’s daughter company, and pretty much shares its engagement patterns (which means you can also buy likes). For a start, the visitors show the highest activity mid-week, i.e., Wednesdays around 11 AM. Similar number of visits often occurs on Fridays between 10 and 11 AM.
However, keep in mind that the peak might be an overcrowded window for you to post. So, try to find your best posting times somewhere during the workdays between 9 AM and 4 PM.
Instagram visits significantly drop later in the day, but there’s still some decent traffic well into the evening, up until 9 PM. Then, it remains low until 6 AM.
On weekends, Instagram users are relatively inactive, but there are still some active members during the mornings. So, this is when you should post your stories – this quick content is something people find easy to consume on their calm, free mornings.
This network is all about short form and direct communication. There are two overall peaks – on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 9 o’clock. Still, posting only at peak times might not be enough.
Twitter is quite dynamic, so depending on your audience’s preferences, you can choose one or several points during the week to make them your regular posting time.
Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM is a good window to publish your updates.
A large number of users go to Twitter first thing in the morning to check the news. They keep checking until the time for relaxation comes. So, material posted during this time will receive satisfactory attention.
Avoid posting later than 10 PM and before 4 AM, since this is when the number of visits drops noticeably.
But remember – this isn’t only posting. Expect different comments on your post, and you should try to like all retweets and answer any potential questions to strengthen the bond with your followers. This makes Twitter updating a whole-day job.
LinkedIn gathers a smaller audience since it focuses strictly on business-related topics. This is why the best times to post on this network are mornings in the middle of the workweek. In other words, Wednesday through Friday around 8 and 9 AM is when the visiting peaks happen.
Of course, you don’t have to post at these exact times for your material to gain attention.
The optimum time to publish LinkedIn updates is from Tuesday until Friday from 8 AM to 2 PM.
You should avoid the period between 8 PM and 4 AM, as well as the weekends since this is the time when not so many people think about work-related things.
Besides, being business-focused, this network is great for B2B marketing. So, it’s not a place to share your entire material for other social media.
The busiest time on Pinterest is from 8 to 11 PM. Many people get inspired in the evening once they have rested, so they start thinking about the upcoming day. For the same reason, the next best time to post would be 1 until 4 PM, as the workday draws to a close.
Fridays and Saturdays are also quite strong, which makes sense since they are times perfect for planning the next week.
So, forget about posting on Pinterest in the morning on workdays. This is when people are focusing on their work, and they probably won’t pay attention to the news on Pinterest.
On the other hand, Sunday is the day for relaxation, so people would rarely log in to search for new work-related ideas.
Conclusion
Regardless of the network you are focusing on, there are questions you must answer before determining your posting schedule. Primarily, we mean those mentioned in the introduction regarding your industry and location.
Additionally, remember that there are times when it’s only logical to disregard all scheduling and publish posts when they are relevant and fresh, e.g., as soon as your new product has been launched.
Also, it’s a good idea to periodically share an experimental post to see what the response will be. Who knows, you might discover your own most effective posting schedule. We hope we have helped you do so!
Published on August 1, 2020 under business, social media. Modified on January 24, 2022.
