Having a strategy for rolling out social media is key to online success. That doesn’t just mean understanding what keywords to hit or how to craft engaging copy. You also have to consider when to share content on each individual platform. But how do you find the best time to post on social media?
Why Does Social Media Post Timing Matter?
Building a following was the best way to ensure your posts would be seen and potentially pushed out to additional viewers.
Every social media platform now utilizes a different algorithm to determine what content to push to its users. Many of them consider the amount of interaction a post receives early on. Solid engagement upfront can massively increase the likelihood of the algorithm putting your post in front of a wider audience.
Ultimately, you want to ensure your content has the greatest chance of success. Putting a little effort into determining ideal times to post can give you a serious boost, so why not take advantage of that?
Is There a Definitive Best Time to Post on Social Media?
The short answer is not entirely, but maybe a little.
There are better times for your specific account(s) to post on social media than other times. Various factors determine this, such as the demographics of your audience, your specific niche, and the platforms on which you’re posting.
“The key takeaway for marketers is that social cannot be approached with a one-size-fits-all mentality,” Rachael Samuels of Sprout Social told Forbes in 2018.
“What works for one industry or brand may not work for another, and having that understanding at the start can help brands break through the noise, build more authentic connections, and be memorable on social.”
While we can’t tell you exactly when to post, we can provide some basic guidelines that will help you begin the trial-and-error process. We can also tell you how to suss out more information to help you narrow down the best windows as you go.
The Best Time to Post on Social Media
Every site that has analyzed posting times has come to slightly different conclusions about the overall best times to post.
For instance, Hootsuite suggests the “overall” best time to post on social media is at 8:00 a.m. PST on Wednesday. Sprout Social, meanwhile, suggests Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are all ideal posting days. Buffer, on the other hand, claims YouTube posts do best on Friday afternoons.
However, most of the data seems to agree that weekends tend to be worse than weekdays for posting. Mornings work best for Facebook, X (fka Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn, while afternoons and evenings work best for TikTok and YouTube.
Here are some of the best times to post to each platform in your time zone. If you’re trying to attract viewers outside of where you live, post when it is this time in their timezone.
Facebook: Weekdays between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
X (fka Twitter): Weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Instagram: Weekdays between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
TikTok: Weekdays between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
YouTube: Monday through Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Thursday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
LinkedIn: Weekdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Finding the Best Time to Post on Social Media for Your Accounts
The recommended best times to post to social media per platform are jumping off points. But you can narrow things down further to find the best times for you and your content. Here are some ways you can do that.
Keep Tabs on Your Analytics
Various platforms have different offerings when it comes to analytics. TikTok and YouTube, for example, provide a large range of information about the makeup of your viewers and subscribers and when they’re most active on the platform.
Learning how to interpret this information can help you key in to beneficial times for posting.
Consider Your Content Type
Just like different platforms have different ideal posting times, the type of content you post can affect what time periods will give you the best chance of success.
Are you posting things that require the viewer to be deeply engaged with what they’re looking at? Or are you making short, light posts easy to consume during work or school breaks?
Understand Your End Goal
You might get the most eyes on something in the morning hours, but are views alone your end goal? Chances are, that’s going to vary per post. Sometimes, you might be angling for engagement, or link clicks, or even sales.
A 2018 report by the Harvard Business Review claimed that a major newspaper’s Facebook page showed that their posts received more clicks in the mornings. However, there was a higher conversion from clicks to revenue in the afternoon.
That’s why it can be important to track different metrics, as the best time to post for one of these things may not be the same for the others.
Trial and Error
Testing out different posting times is the best way to get an idea what will work for you. Specifically, it’s a good idea to post similar content at different times. This will help you get a more accurate reading on your audience’s habits.
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Be Prepared for Things to Change
The best time to post on a platform today might be the worst time a year from now. Algorithms change, viewing habits change, and your audience might even change.
Things can also shift depending on the time of year, so high engagement rates in the summer might not translate to high rates at the same time in the spring. The more data you collect and retain, the easier it is to identify patterns and adjust quickly when something is no longer working.
No matter how you approach it, finding the best time to post on social media for your particular needs will take some time. However, treating this like a strategy and not a science is your best bet. Try different things and see where it takes you.
