Engaging with followers on various social networks is one of the more organic and effective ways to get your message across. It can help you strengthen your brand, promote your products and services, and keep your company name in the front of your followers’ minds as they like, share, and click on your content.
However, like the old philosophical question about no one hearing a tree fall in a forest, if you post on social media and no one sees it, does it still make an impact? It’s an important consideration when you’re using your social media profiles: when should you be posting?
As loose and unstructured as social media may feel, there is always a best window of time during which you’ll get the most user engagement — and that’s when you should be posting. It’s tricky, though, as this window of time varies from one social network to the next. So, to help you figure out when to post and when to wait, here’s our guide to the social media calendar, based on data compiled by several respected sources, including HubSpot, Forbes, Huffington Post, and more. Read on for the optimal days and times for posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Facebook: End of the Week in the Early Afternoon
Engagement on Facebook is most related to people’s moods; if they’re happy, they’ll click and share and reply. And people are typically in the best mood when it’s the weekend or when it’s almost the weekend. Posting early in the afternoon on Thursdays and Fridays is typically a good time, since people can see the light at the end of the so-called tunnel and may be spending a little more work time on social media than they would on a Monday. This uptick in mood and short lapses of productivity can translate into better numbers for your content.
Twitter: Wednesday Late Afternoon
The middle of the workweek during business hours is best for tweets, especially from business to business companies. Later in the day is also good, as commuters who use public transportation often use that downtime to scroll through their Twitter feeds. While companies that market to consumers rather than businesses may also find that there’s more engagement on weekends, most research points to Wednesday afternoons as an ideal time to tweet.
Instagram: Monday or Thursday in the Early Morning
It’s a curious stat, but Instagram posts made early in the morning, especially on Mondays and Thursdays, get the most user engagement — sometimes as much as 30% more as posts made during other times. More curiously, the different entities that researched Instagram user engagement were led to quite different conclusions as to the time of day that’s especially good or especially bad to post on Instagram. However, most agree that Mondays and Thursdays are the best days to put up images and videos for your followers.
LinkedIn: Middle of the Week in the Late Afternoon
LinkedIn is used primarily by professionals, and because of that, the best times to post something on LinkedIn for maximum engagement is during the workweek. Not Mondays, though (those are too hectic), and not Fridays (those are too loose). Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are all best, either at the beginning of the workday, the end of it, or during lunchtime. Essentially, when people are at work but have a minute of downtime to engage with LinkedIn, they will.
Pinterest: Weekend Evenings
People can spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but unlike other social networks, they tend to do it very much on their own time. Saturday nights are an especially good time to post if you’re looking for an engaged audience that will look, like, and repin.
Schedule Your Week!
If you’re aiming for maximum user engagement, our social media calendar is a good place to start. Of course, your mileage may vary; if posting on Facebook at 2:00pm on Thursday isn’t getting you the level of engagement you’re after, try varying your timing. You might try Friday, or maybe 3:00pm, or maybe your followers are most active at a completely different time. Check your stats, track your changes, and keep posting! You’ll find the right time for posting, and hopefully, you’ll benefit from the results.
IMPORTANT NOTE
We hope these days and times help you when scheduling your social media posts, however, it’s always a good job to consistently post to your social media channels, and we recommend daily. So use the information above to help you decide when to post your most important messages. Also, the information above is based on accounts from all types of business with all different types of audiences. To find out the best time to schedule for YOUR audience check our your social media INSIGHTS. Facebook is the best at letting you know when YOUR audience is online the most and what posts they’re reacting to.