When to Post on Social Media
Are your social media posts not making the impact you were hoping they would? It might be that you’re simply posting at the wrong time of day (or maybe even the wrong day entirely).
To help you make the most of your content and set your business on a path to social media glory, we’ve put together a quick and simple guide on when to post on social media. But before we get into what the studies say, let’s examine why they may not always be correct…
No simple answer
Although we’d love to list a few universal ‘top times’ to post that’ll guarantee great reach for your content, we can’t. Not because we like keeping secrets, but because there simply aren’t any!
The truth is that every business (and every social media account) is different, attracting a different type of audience with a different daily routine and browsing habits.
Let’s say you’re in the entertainment industry. Your posts might do brilliantly on a Friday night while achieving lacklustre results on a Monday morning. The reverse could be true of an office equipment supplier, for instance.
So, achieving great results on social media takes time and effort – there are no shortcuts to success. To identify the prime posting times for your account, we recommend delving into your chosen platform’s analytics reports.
Sites like Instagram will tell you when your followers are most active, helping you decide when to share and when to keep shtum.
If your business is new to social media and you don’t have much data to go on just yet, here are some findings from the social media pros that may come in handy.
What the studies suggest
Curious about the best time to post on social media, a number of digital marketing industry professionals and websites have completed studies on each of the main social platforms.
According to Sprout Social, the best times to post on Facebook are Tuesdays to Fridays between 10am and 12 noon. Saturday fared worst, with noticeably lower engagement.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays were most successful on Instagram, particularly in late morning. Twitter seemed to favour earlier posting, with weekdays at 9am being the hotspot. Meanwhile, on LinkedIn, the study suggests that the best times to post are Tuesdays to Thursdays between 10am and 12 noon. Hootsuite reached similar conclusions in a study of its own.
Before you get too excited, it’s important to remember what we discussed earlier and take these findings with a pinch of salt. Though they may apply as an average, these days and times won’t suit every business – and there’s no substitute for putting in the legwork and finding out for yourself. Time to get stuck in!
