A successful social media strategy enables target audiences to connect and engage with your brand. However, in addition to what you post, did you know that the time you post is also important? To help you achieve the best results from your social media strategy, here are the optimal times to post on each social media platform, backed by data.
Why an effective social media strategy is important?
An effective social media strategy can be beneficial for every business. One of the biggest advantages is increased brand awareness and engagement. Social media platforms allow you to reach a wider audience and enhance visibility.
Consistent posting with engaging content helps establish brand recognition. It’s also possible to increase engagement and customer interaction with your audience. Interactive content, such as polls and live videos, helps create better relationships and loyalty.
A strong social media presence also drives traffic to your website or landing pages. Whether it’s sharing blog posts, product updates, or promotional offers, these are all methods to encourage more users to visit your website.
As such, this can be a much more cost-effective marketing method. Whether it’s organic posts or paid advertising, this is a more affordable and effective method to target specific audiences, thereby providing a better return on investment.
It is also possible to engage and interact with customers in real time. Whether it’s replying to comments, answering questions, or addressing feedback, this can have a positive impact on enhancing trust and strengthening your brand reputation.
Another benefit of an effective social media strategy is gaining a competitive advantage. Monitoring your competitors’ activities on their social media profiles helps you analyse their strategies. This can provide insights into audience preferences and market trends.
You may be surprised to find that social media can also benefit your SEO. While it doesn’t directly impact your SEO rankings, the engagement and link-sharing can boost your visibility. The increase in website traffic can also be beneficial.
By focusing on building an effective social media strategy, you can increase conversions and sales. Combined with building a stronger brand community, there are lots of benefits to an effective social media strategy, which can be enhanced by posting at the right times.
Why does timing matter for social media posts?
The time you post on social media is crucial. Finding the optimal time to publish your social media posts can have a big impact on impressions and engagement. Otherwise, you risk posting at a time when fewer people are online.
Many different factors can impact the optimal time to post. Whether you target B2C or B2B customers can make a difference, alongside your industry, social media platform, and day of the week. Differing user behaviour patterns and trends can also impact the optimal post times.
Therefore, timing your social media posts is vital for maximising your engagement, impressions, and the overall effectiveness of your social media strategy.
What is the optimal time for posting on social media?
There have been countless studies and research exploring the best times to post on social media. Whether it’s looking at different industries, social media platforms, or audience demographics, finding the optimal times to post can make a big difference in how successful your social media efforts are.
We will cover each of the main social media platforms below with the optimal days and times to post, alongside the least effective times and the best target audience to tailor content for.
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using Facebook is 25-34-year-olds, according to Statista. Facebook can be used to target B2C and B2B target audiences.
Optimal post time:
Various research from different sites all suggest that posting in the morning is most effective on Facebook. SproutSocial, Wordstream, and Hootsuite all have data that suggests any time between 8 am and noon is most effective.
Evenings can also be an effective time to post on Facebook, with posts around 5 pm generally receiving higher engagements than other times of the afternoon.
Optimal post days:
To receive the optimal reach and engagement for your social media posts on Facebook, consider posting between Monday and Thursday. This is the time users are most active, thereby helping to boost impressions and engagement.
Least effective times:
Sunday is generally considered the worst day to post on Facebook, although Friday and Saturday also experience less engagement than other days.
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using Instagram is 18-24-year-olds, according to Statista. Instagram can be used to target B2B audiences, but it is more effective at targeting B2C.
Optimal post time:
Research from Buffer indicates that posting around 3 pm on weekdays is the most effective time. This changes to 6 pm at the weekends. However, any time between 2 pm and 5 pm can be an effective schedule window.
Optimal post days:
Generally, any weekday at the above optimal time is an effective day to post on Instagram. However, the research data from Buffer does suggest Friday has a slight edge in being the optimal post day on Instagram to receive the most engagement.
Least effective times:
Weekends are the least effective days to post on any social media platform, and the same goes for Instagram. Generally, it is best to avoid posting at all over the weekend. During the week, avoid posting too early or too late in the day.
YouTube
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using YouTube is 25-34-year-olds, according to Statista. Compared to other social media platforms where short-form video content performs best, long-form videos are more effective on YouTube.
Optimal post time:
Given that YouTube is primarily used for watching long-form videos, it stands to reason that the optimal time to post on this platform is later in the day. However, the data for this differs. Research by Social Pilot found mid-afternoon between 2 pm and 4 pm the optimal time, whereas HubSpot found evening between 6 pm and 9 pm the optimal time.
Optimal post days:
Unlike other social media platforms, YouTube receives the most engagement at the weekends. Research from Social Pilot suggests posting between 9 am and 12 pm is the most effective weekend time. Alternatively, Friday between 3 pm and 4 pm can also be effective.
Least effective times:
Monday and Wednesday are the least effective days to post if you want to grow your YouTube channel, with videos posted around midday on these days receiving the lowest engagement, according to research from Buffer.
TikTok
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using TikTok is 25-34-year-olds, according to Statista. In contrast to YouTube, short-form videos are the most effective on TikTok, with videos 2 minutes or less performing the best.
Optimal post time:
Research from both SproutSocial and Hootsuite indicates that mid-afternoon is the most effective time to post on TikTok. SproutSocial indicates the most effective time is between 4 pm and 6 pm, whereas Hootsuite indicates a slightly earlier time of 3 pm.
Optimal post days:
Mid-week is also considered the best time to post on TikTok. Wednesday and Thursday are the most effective days for achieving the highest impressions and engagement.
Least effective times:
Monday and Sunday are the worst days of the week to post on TikTok, with Sunday generally being the worst-performing day for TikTok videos. Posts after 6 pm also have considerably less engagement than the afternoon.
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using LinkedIn is 25-34-year-olds, according to Statista. Compared to other social media platforms, LinkedIn is most effective at targeting B2B customers, according to data collected from business professionals for Statista.
Optimal post time:
Given that LinkedIn is most effective for targeting B2B customers, the most effective time for posting on this social media platform is during working hours. In particular, posts between 9 am and 2 pm will receive higher engagement, according to Wordstream.
Optimal post days:
As with the optimal LinkedIn time, the most effective days for receiving higher engagement on posts are during the week. Posting earlier in the week is more effective, with Monday being the best day.
Least effective times:
In comparison, the worst time to post on LinkedIn is at the weekend, given that most of the B2B target audience will not be active on the platform. Posting at late times or towards the end of the working day are also ineffective times to post on LinkedIn.
X
Best target audience:
The largest age demographic using X is 25-34-year-olds, according to Statista.
Optimal post time:
Despite Twitter receiving a major overhaul and becoming X, the most effective times and days for posting on this platform haven’t changed much. The optimal time to post on X is around 11 am, with the most engagement expected around midday, according to research from Buffer.
Optimal post days:
The optimal days to post on X are either Monday or Friday, although most weekdays should receive good engagement, providing you post at the optimal time.
Least effective times:
The weekend, as with most other social media platforms, is the least effective time to post. However, if you have to post over the weekend, late in the day is recommended. During the week, avoid posting after 6 pm as engagement heavily drops after this time.
Finding the optimal time to post on social media is vital for ensuring the success of your social media strategy. While the optimal times above are a good indication of when you can expect the most engagement, the times may vary depending on your industry and target audience. Carefully monitoring your data and analytics will allow you to determine what time best works for your business.