The Best Times to Post on Social Media

The famous saying is that timing is everything and you know what… it’s right, especially when it comes to the best times to post on social media.It’s 2018 and social media isn’t exactly a new marketing resource for businesses and while it still is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, it’s not as easy as it once was to reach your audience.Now that more brands and businesses have discovered the power of social and now that the platforms have grown and made changes to their algorithms, social media often feels like you’re just screaming in the middle of a crowded room but no one is listening. Talk about frustrating!

via GIPHYOf course, there are a few options every business owner has when it comes to their social media.Option A. Invest money into paid advertisingOption B. Complain about how the algorithms have changed and declare social media a worthless endeavorOption C. Create a better social media strategy.Option C is the cheapest and more effective, so let’s go in that direction! Creating a better social media strategy is something you have complete control over.Social media can bring every business traffic and sales, just like it always has but only if you have a smart strategy behind your social media.One component of a smart social media strategy is the timing of it. While there are many different factors to your success, finding the best times to post on social media is a great way to start seeing improvements in your social media.Now, finding the best times to post isn’t a guarantee that your social engagement will skyrocket. However, it is a more strategic way to begin managing your social media that can lead to more insights and a better social media presence overall.And while we know we don’t need to say this, we just want to make it crystal clear: a great social media presence really matters these days!Instead of speculating about algorithms or just posting and hoping that someone will see your post and engage with it, build on existing knowledge about social media users activity and improve your timing so you can increase your engagement and your feed.Social media timing is a hot topic and there have been many studies done on this subject and their results all vary. So we gathered data from some of the latest studies to give an overall look at the best times to post on social media and share a few tips on how you can use this information to become a social media maven!

Facebook

Let’s start with the juggernaut: Facebook! Facebook has made more than a few people angry by decreasing organic reach for businesses over the years which has led many businesses to wonder if there’s even a point to being on Facebook.However, Facebook is still the biggest social media platform with over 2 billion users and it’s a platform that users visit while at work and at home. The average user spends 50 minutes on Facebook every day so it still has amazing potential for your business.Based on several studies and sources, Neil Patel found that the best time to post on Facebook for engagement is in the early afternoon. Posts around 1pm received the most shares and posts around 3pm usually receive the most clicks. That time period also works well for photos and videos with photos receiving a high number of comments between 1-2pm and videos receiving the most comments between 12-1pm.On Facebook, it pays to follow a less is more philosophy with your content. So Trender found that organic reach of brand Facebook pages drops with every update. If you don’t post daily and are looking for the best day to reach users, go for Wednesday. That middle of the week spot is prime time.

Twitter

Twitter is a little different because quantity counts on Twitter. Unlike Facebook, you could never get away with just posting one tweet every few days.So while you want to be sharing on Twitter often, you can narrow it down as to when you post your newest or most valuable content so that it posts during busy times.Data from various sources compiled by Hubspot found that the optimal time to post on Twitter is 12pm-3pm, Monday to Friday. This correlates with many people taking their lunch break from work and checking their Twitter while on break.Link clicks follow that pattern as they seem to peak throughout the afternoon, between 12pm and 6pm. This is also likely because people are taking lunch breaks or leaving work and are looking for something to read.Also, just like Facebook, Wednesdays are a busy day, specifically between 5pm-6pm. It makes you wonder if those middle-of-the-week blues start to get to people and drives them to social media!

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LinkedIn

The business networking platform, Linkedin, is perfect for B2B businesses looking to target professionals. As you might have guessed, since it’s a professional networking website, the data shows that LinkedIn is most engaging during the week with engagement decreasing over the weekend.Continuing the middle of the week pattern, data shows that Tuesday-Thursday are the best days to post on LinkedIn. Two studies point to Tuesday and Wednesdays as the best days for LinkedIn sharing. AddThis analyzed data from 14 million users and found that the most clicks and shares occur on Tuesday between 10am and 11am. According to Adobe, the commonly agreed upon best times to post on LinkedIn are:

• Tuesdays: 7am - 8:30am, 10am - 12pm, 5pm - 6pm
• Wednesdays: 7am - 12pm, 5pm - 6pm
• Thursdays: 7am - 8:30am, 9am, 1pm - 2pm, 5pm - 6pm
• Fridays: 7am - 8:30am, 12pm

Instagram

If you were placing bets that the middle of the week, especially Wednesdays is a great time to post on Instagram, we have news for you! Unlike our other platforms, Instagram doesn’t quite follow that pattern. In fact, there isn’t a very clear pattern because the data on the best time to post on Instagram skews across the board.There’s actually a really good reason for this! Instagram has its own algorithm. They reorder the posts in their user feeds based on timelines and previous engagement with the brand, among other factors. So the results of best times to post will also vary based on each brand’s individual audience and content.It’s best to experiment on Instagram and find your own sweet spot using your data. However, it never hurts to have some data to start your posting schedule.One thing the data shows is that users spend time on Instagram. 35% of instagram users access the site multiple times a day! Far from a ghost town, Instagram is one of the most engaged social media platforms.For timing, engagement tends to be higher during the week. Some studies recommend anytime between 9am and 6pm, Monday through Thursday. TrackMaven found that engagement tended to remain consistent throughout the week but that there is usually a dip on Sundays.Also, multiple studies found that peak engagement is often found in the early morning, starting at 5am to 6am. This makes sense if it follows the pattern that most people log into their social platforms when they first wake up or are getting ready for work.Some experts recommend posting on Instagram outside of peak hours. This can help you beat the competition from big budget companies. Fortune 500 companies mostly post photos during business hours, so posting at non-peak times could offer you a better opportunity to reach your audience.

Does timing really matter?

All of this data might seem a little overwhelming and well, scattered. And that’s because it is. Every page is going to have a different experience because every audience is different. However, timing actually does matter in social media. Even with unpredictable algorithms, it still pays to understand how your users interact and when they engage.If you are just getting started on a channel or with social media, posting at peak times can give you an opportunity to see quick wins from your social media and it makes it easier to get organized and set up so you don’t get overwhelmed.Above all use peak times to schedule your posts is the best way to stay consistent and keep your feeds engaging and your fans expecting your content. We recommend getting your schedule set up with some popular times and then analyzing your own data and your metrics and measuring what works for your unique audience.There are metrics and analytics on every social media channel that will give you insight into what works for your business. We walk you through how to find them and how to use your metrics to create your schedule in this blog post.Once you’ve measured your analytics, you can create your schedule around your own peak times.In Edgar, once you’ve determined the best time for your brand, you can set your posts to always post at that time so you don’t have to think about it!By combining your own analytics data and an organized schedule, your social media strategy will be consistent and effective and you’ll be able to see much better returns for it (with less work) in the long run!Over to you, what times do you post on social media? Do you use a set posting schedule for your social media channels?