Are you looking for greater engagement and increased conversions when it comes to your social media posts? It may be time to tweak your posting time to cater best to your current following.

In this blog, we’ll go over the hard facts on when to post on social media based on research from HubSpot, Hootsuite, Later, SproutSocial, and TrackMaven.

When you’re finished reading, you’ll be ready to revamp your posting schedule so that you and your followers can experience heightened interaction through likes, comments, and shares.

What is the best time to post on social media?

We would love to give you a perfect time for any given business to post on social media, but regrettably, the reality is that it depends on what kind of business you have and who your audience is.

So, how does one decide on what the best time to post on social media is?

We’ll dive into the research on the best social media posting times for you so that you have a place to start. From there, you can test times out to find out what works best with your audience and when your peak engagement time is.

How to find the best time for your audience and company?

As mentioned, the best time to post on social media depends completely on your audience.

For example, if you are a B2B software sales business, posting during traditional work hours while employees are on their business accounts makes the most sense.

On the other hand, for a B2C business, posting when your audience gets a break from work would be the smartest time. Examples include early morning before work, lunchtime, or after work hours when your consumers get some screen time while relaxing after a long day of work.

What are the best times to post on each social media platform?

Maximize your engagement and the value of your time spent on social media by knowing each network’s peak time.

Best time to post on Facebook

According to HubSpot’s 2021 Facebook guide, the best time to post on Facebook is 9 am across industries or again between 11 am and 12 pm. However, other studies uncovered Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 3 pm.

There is a lot of data on the topic, but it seems that the most consistent time for both B2B and B2C brands is midday on weekdays. 

Best time to Post on Twitter

Since Twitter is short-form centric, the volume of tweets per day is massive. Over 500 million tweets are posted per day in fact.

Therefore, to stand out on the platform, you must familiarize yourself with Twitter’s algorithm which prioritizes posts it thinks followers want to see.

According to Hootsuite’s data composition from 300 brands, they found that the best time to post on Twitter in order to gain the highest engagement rates are:

Between 6 to 9 am PST on weekdays

During the week, the worst time to post on Twitter is Friday after 3 pm and any day of the week after 8 pm.

Your best bet on Twitter is to post more than once a day, if possible, somewhere between 9 am and 3 pm.

Best time to post on Instagram

Like Twitter, Instagram also uses an algorithm for the post that it believes the audience wants to see versus chronological order. In turn, your best bet for the highest engagement rates is to post during peak hours.

According to Later, 12 million Instagram posts were studied and showed that the best time to post is between 9 and 11 am.

SproutSocial analyzed over 25,000 Instagram posts that rendered the following data:

• The overall best day to post on Instagram is Wednesday
• Additionally, Wednesday at 11 am and Friday from 10 to 11 am are the best times to post during the week
• Tuesday through Friday in the span of 10 am – 3 pm holds the most consistent engagement

Instagram’s Business Analytics

If you have a business account for Instagram, you can track your followers’ activity using its analysis tool:

• Go to your client-facing profile (not Instagram’s feed)
• Click the hamburger on the top right corner
• Click Insights
• Scroll to the bottom of the insights page to find follower activity bar charts for each day of the week
• You should also use Instagram stories because they have even higher engagement rates than posts

Best time to post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social media platform most predominantly associated with business professionals.

It has become the hub for all things business with over 303 million active monthly users. LinkedIn is far more than a place to connect with colleagues; it’s a place to build your brand.

You need to create compelling content to get seen though. TrackMaven studied the interactions per post of 1,000 followers and found that the best time to post on LinkedIn for both B2B and B2C business owners is Wednesday at 9 am.

SproutSocial’s study echoes that Wednesday at 9 am is effective, but said they also received good results at 12 pm on Wednesday’s.

Both TrackMaven and SproutSocial agree that Sunday is the lowest day for engagement on LinkedIn.

What social media habits produce LOW engagement?

• Following everyone who follows you. While returning the favor can seem harmless, your feed should consist of followers and content relevant to you and your company.
• Having a complicated username. Make your usernames simple, recognizable, and professional. The best-case scenario is being able to use your real name or business name.
• Posting without a caption. Regardless of how great your image is, it will get lost in the digital stratosphere without a caption. Informative captions foster higher levels of engagement and begin a conversation with your audience. Share a quote or information, ask a question, spark dialogue. Bonus points for hashtags.
• Buying followers. It’s unfortunate we still have to say this! Buying followers will take you out of the running for getting on the Instagram Explore page. These followers will not like or comment on your posts, which won’t help improve your engagement rate.
• Sharing every post to all of your platforms. Doing so will lessen a viewer’s chance of following each of your social media profiles. Why would someone go to multiple grocery stores when they can get all of the ingredients at one store? Share the occasional post to all of your platforms, but focus on platform-specific content. For Instagram, post visually captivating photos. For LinkedIn, post intentional thought leadership ideas.
• Overposting selfies. We hate to break it to you, but you aren’t Snoop Dogg. If you’re trying to grow your business, selfies won’t help you. Show your followers that there is more to your business than you.

For our timesavers, here’s a quick overview of the dos and don’ts

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

• Best posting times depend heavily on your audience (B2B or B2C)
• B2B: Post during traditional business hours as that is when they will be posting or active on their accounts
• B2C: Post before work, during lunch, or after work breaks as that is when individual consumers get screen time

BEST TIMES TO POST ON EACH PLATFORM

• Facebook: For both B2B and B2C, post midday on weekdays
• Twitter: Post more than once a day, due to the high volume of tweets on the platform, between 9 am and 3 pm
• Instagram: The overall best day to post is on Wednesday at 11 am
  LinkedIn: For both B2B and B2C, post on Wednesday’s at 9 am and stay away from Sunday’s

SOCIAL MEDIA NO NO’S:

• Following every/anyone
• Complicated username/handle
• No caption
• Buying followers
• Sharing every post to all platforms
• Too many selfies

Save on Tylenol, outsource to social media marketing gurus

At the end of the day, social media is changing and growing faster than you can say, “social media.” If you need a break from the shuffle and are getting tired of wasted media efforts, it’s okay to ask for help. As a social media marketing agency, our team here at Gravity Junction maximizes brand potential on social media platforms day in and day out. Give us a call so that we can handle the particulars, boost your following, grow your network, and engage with your followers consistently in a way that honors your unique brand voice.