As you might guess, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to good timing for social media posts. Each media platform attracts different types of users who engage with it in various ways. That being said, studies do show trends in views, shares and clicks on the different social media platforms. Here are a few questions to answer before sharing your content:
1. Which social media network are you using?
2. What type of engagement do you want to encourage (clicks, likes, shares or something else)?
3. Does your specific audience follow the norms for your social media network?
Let’s dive into the three most popular social media networks to uncover an answer to the best time to post on social media.
What’s the Best Time to Post on Twitter?
Twitter has an interesting breakdown in the best days to post. B2B marketers should focus on Monday through Friday while B2C sees better results from Wednesday through Sunday. It isn’t too surprising that businesses tend to connect with other businesses during business hours, Monday through Friday.
Here again, your goals help determine the best time to tweet. If you want retweets, shoot for 5 p.m. On the other hand, if you’re going after click-through, these peak at noon and 6 p.m. Presumably, this is due to lunch break clicks and entertainment during the daily commute home.
Followerwonk is a tool that can help you determine the best time to tweet with your specific audience. While these days and times are a good place to start, remember that they are simply averages based on the habits of everyone using Twitter. The habits of your specific followers may vary.
What’s the Best Time to Post on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn users tend to be most active on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As 93 percent of B2B marketers claim that LinkedIn is the best social network for lead generation, it’s worth setting up a social media schedule that focuses on optimizing engagement.
An analysis of 14 million users conducted by AddThis concluded that Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. is the best time to post on LinkedIn. Another study conducted by Fannit concluded that 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays are the best times to post.
As LinkedIn is primarily a network focused on B2B engagement, it seems obvious that posting during the workweek and during regular business hours yields the highest engagement rates. Keep in mind that Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. may be considered normal business hours by most in the USA, but this varies by industry. Additionally, your audience may be located in another country or time zone. This requires an adjustment to your social media schedule that matches the business hours of your audience.
What’s the Best Time to Post on Facebook?
There’s a saying, “The less people want to be at work, the more they are on Facebook!” that can help you figure out the best time to post. It turns out that Thursday and Friday are the best days to post on Facebook since that’s when people are most eager to get out of work and start their weekend. Posts published Monday through Wednesday have a 3.5 percent drop in engagement, and the “Happiness Index” on Facebook has a 10 percent spike on Fridays.
For your Facebook audience, the best time of day to post is in the early afternoon. Keep in mind that your audience is likely dispersed over different time zones, so you should target the time zone of the majority of your followers.
If your goal is to get more shares, you should publish your post at 1 p.m. However, if clicks are your goal, then you need to hold off until 3 p.m. In the end, any time between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. increases engagement with your posts on Facebook.
To find data specific to your followers, use a tool called Fanpage Karma. It can help you figure out the optimal time to post on Facebook based on the habits of your audience.
The Bottom Line
In the end, these days and times are averages for all members of these social media networks. It’s a great idea to start posting based on these guidelines, but you shouldn’t stop there. Certain industries, countries and audiences deviate from these averages. The best way to optimize your social media schedule is by studying your specific audience. Once you know when to post, you can use tools like Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule your posts.
