What you communicate in your social media posts is of course important, but almost as consequential is the time at which you post. Here we look at optimal posting times for the major social media platforms in the contemporary media environment.
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Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0
When it comes to social media promotion, the time of day that you post can be just as critical as the content that you’re posting. There are some generally accepted post times that apply to the various networks, but some new research has tweaked those a little. I’ve posted before about the best times to post, but these times have been updated for 2019 with new information from different sources.
Remember that we’re looking at primarily a United States audience. It’s best to combine Eastern and Central time zones, since that represents almost 80% of the U.S. population, so all the times below are Eastern. Obviously, for audiences located outside the U.S. you’d use the time zone that your audience is in. Let’s get into it.
1) The Best Times to Post on Facebook
The best times for Facebook have changed in the last few years. Wednesday is the best day to post for the most engagement, especially between 11AM and 1PM. Early mornings and evenings, before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. have the least amount of engagement per day, and Sunday has the least amount of engagement for Facebook during the week, according to Sprout Social. Best to stay away from times either before 7AM or after 5PM, as they get the least amount of engagement.
Although there is some research that says that Facebook use spikes by 10% on Fridays, I’ve personally not seen that happen. In fact, Friday always seems to be the worst day of the week for engagement, at least for me.
2) Best Times to Post on Instagram
The safest times to post on Instagram is every weekday between 9AM and 11AM EST, according to Later. That said, there are nuances for each day. For instance, Wednesday is the absolute best day to post for the most engagement, and 5AM, 11AM and 3PM are the peak times. If you’re totally confused about timing, you’re probably okay as long as you stay within the 9AM to 5PM range.
3) The Best Times to Post on Twitter
Once again, the prime posting times for Twitter have changed, much like the other social networks. While Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days to post on Twitter in terms of engagement, the very best times are 9AM on Wednesday and Friday. You can feel safe posting any time between 8AM and 4PM during the week though. Stay away from Saturday, as posts on that day get the least engagement, and don’t tweet between 10PM and 4AM any day of the week.
4) Best Times to Post on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is used by professionals, and they tend to use it mostly during working hours, and just before the workday starts or after it ends. Most people are busy on Monday and don’t have much time for social media. That means that the best posting time is Tuesday through Friday from 8AM to 2PM. The absolute best time to post is Wednesday from 9 to 10AM and again at 12PM. Stay away from Sundays. As you would expect, the worst time to post on LinkedIn is during the night, between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
These may be some times that work for others, but they may not work for you. It’s still best to use the above times as a guideline only, since may sources will provide different information, and check other times as well to find the ones that best fit your audience.
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