SMB Social Media Times

Knowing what to post on social media is just half the battle. When is the best time to share it with the world? 

The best times to post on social media are when your customers and followers are online. Of course, there are actual times that work best for your brand and we’ll dive into that in this article. Each social platform will have a different time that works best for the audience. For example, the best time to post on Facebook is different than the best time to post on Instagram. Plus, when you start accounting for different time zones, it starts to get complicated.

The more popular your brand the more time zones you’ll likely need to take into account. Some companies, influencers, and brands send out the same message at different times to hit multiple targeted time zones. Ideally, you want to reach the majority of time zones without sending the same message. Aim to send no more than four of the same message in a single day, but scatter them at different times to reach as many time zones as possible.

Where are your customers located? If you’re targeting the United States and Canada, you want to hit the EST time zone as that time zone has the highest number of people, thanks to cities like New York and Toronto. However, if your target audience is in London, you want to post within the GMT time zone.

You can use social media analytics tools to find data about where your customers are located. Using this data, you can better plan which times work best for your audience based on their specific location.

When to Post on Instagram?
If you’re marketing or selling on Instagram, the best time to post is during lunch (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and the evening, after work (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Most Instagrammers log in via mobile, so they tend to avoid browsing during work hours.

  • The best days to post on Instagram are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
  • Sunday is the worst day to post on Instagram, though the best time to post on Instagram on Saturday is 5 p.m.
  • Wednesdays get the highest level of engagement on Instagram.

When to Post on Facebook?
For maximum exposure, the best time to post on your Facebook business page during the week is between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. That’s likely because many Facebook users browse on their desktops and check it during downtime at work. The single best time to post on Facebook on a Sunday at 3 p.m.

  • The best days to post on Facebook are Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
  • Tuesday is the worst day to post on Facebook.
  • Weekends get the highest level of engagement on Facebook.

When Is the Best Time to Post on Linkedin?
The best time to post on LinkedIn is between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. LinkedIn is a professional social network used by recruiters, salespeople, and business people which is why it’s often used during work hours.

  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday tend to be the best days to post on LinkedIn.
  • Weekends and after work hours tend to be the worst times to post on LinkedIn for engagement and visibility.

When to Post on Twitter?
The best time to post on Twitter for your business is during the lunch hour of 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Scheduling posts just before lunch works well too.

  • Workdays tend to get the highest level of engagement on Twitter.
  • Posting at lunch every day Monday to Friday can help you increase social media engagement.
  • Wednesday is the best day to post on Twitter. Weekends are the worst days to post on Twitter.

When to Post on YouTube?
The best time to post on YouTube tends to be early afternoon between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. That’s because most viewers watch videos in the evening, so you’ll want to have your videos indexed by then.

  • Thursdays and Fridays tend to be the best days to post on YouTube.
  • Most viewers watch YouTube on the weekend so feel free to post on Saturdays and Sundays in the early morning around 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.