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Written by Taylor White | Wednesday, Aug 2, 2017

Best Times to Post to Social Media: A Simple Guide

When it comes to social media, timing is everything. Though it’s important to be engaging and consistent across social media channels, if you want to optimize reach and engagement, you need to post content during the days and times that individuals are most present and using these channels. Below, we’ve put together a simple guide with the best days and times to post to social media by channel.

Facebook

Though Facebook is certainly a popular channel with 1.18 billion monthly active users, the changing algorithms make it difficult for brands to reach their audience through organic posts. By being more strategic about when you post Facebook content, you can work to reach a wider audience throughout the week.

  • The best times to post on Facebook are from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday.
  • The most active times on Facebook are 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and 1 p.m. on Thursdays.
  • To increase shares and click-through rates, post at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
  • For optimal reach and engagement on the weekends, post from 12-1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Avoid posting on early mornings or late at night as these are the least optimal times to post content on Facebook. Though you do have an opportunity to reach your audience each day, Monday and Tuesday are the least active days of the week.

Twitter


Twitter is one of the most responsive social media platforms for businesses as it allows brands to engage with their followers and fans in real time. However, with the fast nature of Twitter, it can be hard to grab the attention of your audience, making it vital to optimize your posting schedule.

  • The best days to post are Monday through Thursday, with Thursday being the most active day. Some niche audiences may be more active on the weekend, so pay attention to trends on your own page.
  • In general, the best times to post are any weekday from 12-3 p.m. and at 5 p.m.
  • Make sure that you are tweeting around noon on Thursday as that’s the most active time of the week.
  • Typically, if you want to increase your click-through rates and retweets, post at noon, 3 p.m. and from 5-6 p.m.

Early mornings and late nights are the least optimal times to post. Twitter also gets the least amount of traffic on Saturdays and experiences slower traffic on Fridays and Sundays.

Instagram

Instagram allows you to engage your audience with stunning visual content, and it has quickly become the social media channel with the highest engagement rates. To take advantage of this engagement, optimize your posting times.

  • The best time to post is during the week (Monday through Friday) with Monday getting the highest engagement.
  • Generally, the best times to post are at 2 a.m., 8-9 a.m., and 5 p.m.
  • If sharing video content, you can post any day between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. for the highest engagement.

Sunday has the lowest Instagram engagement, and 3 p.m. is the least optimal time to post on weekdays.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great social channel for reaching professionals. Posting during the right times of the week can make all the difference for your brand, especially if you are in the B2B space.

  • In general, the most optimal times to post are mid-week (Tuesday through Thursday) at noon and from 5-6 p.m.
  • You are pretty much safe to post at any time between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
  • For highest click-through rates, post from 7-8 a.m., 12 p.m. and 5-6 p.m.

LinkedIn gets far less traffic on the weekends, making Saturday and Sunday the least optimal days to post. It also has lower engagement on Mondays and Fridays. You should also avoid posting during the week from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Not getting the results you want from your social media marketing efforts? We can help. Our team of inbound marketing experts knows just what it takes to develop an effective social media marketing strategy for your business. Schedule a free inbound assessment today to and let's discuss the social media opporunties your company has.