Key Takeaways
Sharing great content in the social media environment requires that you assess each social platform for the optimal publishing time.
Times vary on the major social platforms as unique groups of people approach each social platform with distinct motives and methods of engagement.
Establish a schedule to use for social media planning and maximal reach.
When it comes to the internet, producing great content is only half the battle.
A genius banana bread recipe will only get so many hits if it’s posted at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday. Really hungry church goers.
To get the most activity on your posts, take note of the following optimal posting times for each social media platform, and master your distribution by using a sharing calendar, especially software tools, to plan your week's sharing.
Twitter
Optimal time to post: 12-3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; 5-6:00 p.m. Wednesday
Reasoning: Twitter still stands as the most brief social media platform. Its 140 character limit encourages users to post often, while the Twitter atmosphere (or “Twittersphere”) is very casual, making for less thought-out posts. It is most often used during commutes, work, and school.
It may also be useful to note that business-to-business communications will see 14% more engagement during weekdays, while business-to-consumer communications have 17% higher engagement during weekends.
Facebook
Optimal time to post: 12-1:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 3-4:00 p.m. Wednesday; 1-4:00 p.m. Thursday-Friday
Reasoning: Facebook is the original social media platform, giving it a very diverse age demographic. Posts are longer, often more thought-out, and likely to include links to articles, videos, and a variety of other internet sources.
The so-called “happiness index” of Facebook users spikes 10% on Fridays, making users more likely to provide activity and positive comments for posts. The engagement rate falls 3.5% below average on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, making Fridays and the weekend even more optimal for posting.
Pinterest
Optimal time to post: 5:00 p.m. Friday; 8-11:00 p.m. Saturday; evening hours every day
Reasoning: Pinterest’s audience is dominated by middle-aged and young adult women. Since the majority of pins have no relation to real time or personal lives, it’s one of the least likely platforms for users to check every day or multiple times a day.
Pinterest is consumed similarly to cheap reality TV shows—users turn to it during times of boredom at home. Thus, it comes as no surprise that optimal posting hours are when people are home from work and school—evenings and weekends.
LinkedIn
Optimal time to post: 7:30-8:30 a.m. every day; 12:00 p.m. & 5-6:00 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10-11:00 a.m. Tuesday
Reasoning: As the most professional social media platform, LinkedIn is dominated by business-to-business communications, so it comes as no surprise that LinkedIn reports weekdays during business hours as the best time to make posts.
AddThis claims that Tuesdays between 10-11 a.m. is the ultimate ideal time for LinkedIn posts.
Instagram
Optimal time to post: All times Monday-Thursday except 3-4:00 p.m.
Reasoning: Instagram is another social media platform that is often used during long periods of downtime, whether during or after the workday. Posts are brief, although feeds can often get lengthy.
One study showed that during work hours, 22.5 per 1000 Instagram followers interacted with Fortune 500 company videos. This number rose to 33.4 per 1000 Instagram followers during off-hours, suggesting that evening posts may fare slightly better than daytime posts.
Blog Posts
Optimal time to post: 9-11:00 a.m. Monday-Saturday
Reasoning: Blog posts are usually found either on blog website feeds or through links on any of the previously mentioned social media platforms. Unless posted by someone they know directly, blog posts are typically one of the last types of posts to be interacted with by users.
The ideal time to catch them is while they’re catching up on feeds in the mornings, but towards the end, when they have already consumed all of the more pressing posts on their timelines. SocialTimes suggests that blogs get the best traffic at 11:00 a.m., the most comments at 9:00 a.m., and the most inbound links around 7:00 a.m.
Check out this powerful infographic from the knowledgeable Hubspot, the source of much of the information here.
Thinking Through Social Media and Planning
Keep in mind that these times may vary slightly for different users and audiences. Do your own experimenting, posting at different times and taking note of which ones seem to generate the most activity.
Once you’ve nailed down the best times for your particular sites and purposes, channel your willpower to stick to those optimal posting times. It can be tempting to hit send the second you’ve perfected a viral-worthy post, but you’ll benefit in the long run if you stick it out for the next traffic-heavy interval.
By Melissa Pierce
Melissa is a recent communication graduate from Brigham Young University-Idaho who specializes in writing, design, and marketing. She has contributed articles to the BYU-I Scroll and ZipMinis.com. Melissa is currently a freelancer for hire. Check out her portfolio blog at piercingthought.wordpress.com .
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