In 2019 and beyond, social media is and will continue to be one of the best ways to amplify your brand online and highlight the great content you create. Yet it isn’t enough to simply be active, posting content at your leisure. Fact is, if you are looking for visibility and engagement on your social posts, some times are just better than others. So, what are the best hours to post on each social media channel?
Don’t shoot the messenger, but the honest answer is there is no perfect time to post. We are all different, and everybody browses each social network a little bit differently. So different businesses may find different days and times work best for them. Twitter and Pinterest are great examples of this. Tweets typically perform well at hours like 6 p.m., whereas Pinterest often sees certain posts perform well as late at 2 a.m.
That doesn’t mean those are the only (or best) times for your brand to post though. Good post timing largely depends on the platform you’re using and how your target audience interacts with that platform, the regions and time zones you’re targeting, and your specific marketing goals (like clickthroughs, shares, etc.).
What Are The Best Times to Post on Social Media?
The best times to post on social media are different with every social network, and most importantly, dependant upon the type of audience you wish to engage with. Facebook and Twitter both see high engagement at 9 a.m., whereas one of the best times to post on Instagram is 5 p.m. LinkedIn caters to B2B audiences, with an ideal posting time of 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pinterest sees high engagement as late as 4 a.m. With many businesses facing a growing global audience, varying time zones have become a growing concern, especially when it comes to the best times to post.
1. Best Time to Post on Instagram
Instagram is meant for use on mobile devices. Approximately 60% of its U.S. users use the app daily, though it would appear that many engage with content more during off-work hours than during the workday.
- On average, the best times to post on Instagram across industries are 1 p.m, and 5 p.m., during lunch and the end of the typical workday, respectively.
- B2B organizations have the most times of high-clickthrough rates to choose from: 12 to 1 p.m., 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., and even as late as 8 to 9 p.m. when people are winding down for the day.
- The best day to post on Instagram is Friday.
2. Best Time to Post on Facebook
People log in to Facebook on both mobile devices and desktop computers, both at work and at home. How it’s used depends heavily on the audience.
- On average, the best time to post across industries is 9 a.m., when people are just starting work and going online for the first time.
- Facebook sees another increase in clickthrough rates between 11:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. when folks are taking their lunch break.
- The hours of 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM are also promising posting times for B2C, B2B, software, and higher-ed organizations.
- The best days to post on Facebook are Thursday to Sunday.
3. Best Time to Post on Twitter
Like Facebook, people use Twitter on both mobile devices and desktop computers, both at work and at home. How it’s used also depends heavily on the audience — but people often treat it like an RSS feed and something to read during downtimes in their day, like commutes, work breaks, and so on.
- Good times to tweet average around 8 to 10 a.m., as well as 6 – 9 p.m. — which makes sense, given that it correlates with both morning and evening commutes.
- B2C companies have the most hours to choose from where they would see heightened clickthrough rates on their content: 8 to 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and then 7 to 9 p.m.
- If your goal is to maximize retweets and clickthroughs, aim for noon or 5 to 6 p.m.
- For B2C companies, the best days to tweet are weekends. For B2B companies, the best days to tweet are weekdays. Coincidence? Not really. If you think about it, people shop for business needs when they’re working (weekdays) and personal needs when they’re off work (weekends).
4. Best Time to Post on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has been a growing platform as of late. Now more than 25% of U.S. adults use the social site, largely for professional purposes, during weekdays and work hours. While it may be used slightly less frequently than some of the other channels on this list, it’s effectiveness is growing as some of the top influencers begin to make waves in the industry.
- Try to post on LinkedIn between 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- B2C, media, and higher-ed organizations have the smallest windows for posting in terms of maximum performance: 12 p.m., 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. are their best times.
- Everybody’s working for the weekend, but the best day to post on LinkedIn is Wednesday.
*information courtesy of HubSpot at https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-times-post-pin-tweet-social-media-infographic
Need Help Increasing your Brand Reach on Social Media?
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Influencer marketing is a highly effective method for both growing your presence on social media, and engaging with your target audience. Not only do influencers have large, highly engaged followers who trust their opinions more than those of a brand, they also create authentic, effective content to communicate their message. Reach out to us today for a free consultation, and how we can help make your brand go viral!