New Data on the Best Times to Post on Social

Social media isn’t just about what content you post but WHEN you post it. It’s a great platform for amplifying the stellar content your business is creating but, as with all things marketing, it’s best to be strategic about posting. I implore you, don’t just post when you feel like it. Aspects like what platform you are using, how your target audience interacts with that platform, and the time zones of the areas you are targeting should be taken into consideration. Before posting your social media messages also determine your goals. For example, do you want more followers? Better engagement? An increase in traffic?

There’s no one answer to the question of “what’s the best time to post on social?” The not-very-helpful answer is that you want to post when the people who want your content are on your chosen platform. You can track your audiences in Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics. For Instagram, Iconosquare is a helpful tool.

Truthfully, though, different brands will find different days and times work for them. However, there is a whole lot of data out there on the best times to post on social. Luckily, the folks over at CoSchedule took a deep dive on the Internet for studies (thank you Buffer, Huffington Post, Fast Company, HubSpot, and more) as well as analyzed the data they themselves had collected.

Here’s a quick rundown of when to post on my favorite networks:

Facebook: Post between 1 and 4 PM, late into the week and weekend.
Instagram: Audience are pretty much always engaged on Instagram but try Mondays.
Twitter: Between 12 and 3 in the afternoon seems to work well (during the workweek!)
LinkedIn: Midweek, 5 to 6 PM garners more results.

Peruse the infographic below to get an idea of when you should be posting to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.

 

Hopefully this will help you figure out your best times to post on your social platforms. Happy marketing!