Social media is one of the best ways to deliver your thoughts and ideas. Quality contents play a major role in establishing your thoughts or intentions. 

Here a question can arise: is content quality everything? 

Well, when it comes to social media, time of post is as important as content quality!

Time of posting on social media: What’s the Relation?

Now another question can arise, “I’ve worked hard to create quality content, why should I think about timing?” 

Social engagement specialist Trish Riswick says, 

“The worst thing in the world is having an amazing post that you’ve worked so hard on and then it doesn’t get the traction that you wanted it to. We’ve all been there. Knowing when your audience is most active online helps ensure that doesn’t happen.” 

Hope we’re clear now. One of the main purposes of creating content is to reach and engage a large number of audiences. So, the best time to post on social media is to post at a time when most of your targeted audiences are active.

Most active users on social media: different days and times

It’s a very complex thing to measure. Some people like to browse social feeds during the day, while others prefer scrolling at night. 

Apart from all the differentiations, we’ve figured out some time when people use social media the most.

1. Weekdays during lunch break: People love to consume some sort of entertainment during their lunchtime. And social media has become the main source of entertainment nowadays. So, around 12 to 2 pm is one of the best times to post on social media.

2. Evenings: After work hours, there’s increased activity on social media. People love to catch updates after some hectic office hours. So, 5 to 7 pm is also a good time to post on social media.

3. Late nights: Social media users are more active on late nights between 9 pm to midnight. Because people have a lot of free time at that time. 9 pm is arguably the best time to post on social media.

4. Weekends: Social media engagement generally spikes at weekends. Morning and afternoon on weekends can be a good time for social media posting. 

Overall the best time to post on social media

Confused? A very common question we face is among all these suitable times which should I use! Well, it depends on your targeted audience. 

But in general, 9 pm is the best time to post on social media according to many social media specialists.

Till now we only learned about the general case, now we’ll learn about the best time to post on a few specific social media.

Best time to post on Facebook

We regularly face this question, “when is the best time to post on Facebook?” Well, it varies! 

Usually, the best time to post on Facebook is mid-week afternoon and evenings, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Still, it entirely depends on the audience you’re targeting. 

We suggest performing research on your audience to have more accurate results. 

• Best time to post on Facebook: 3 – 9 pm local time for your target audience 
• Best days to post on Facebook: Wednesday, Thursday
• Preferred content type: Text only, images and videos

Best Instagram posting hours

Instagram was mainly a platform for sharing photos in its initial days. Gradually, they included videos, reels, live streaming, and many more. It has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world day by day. It has also become a very important marketing tool for businesses. 

Instagram has brought many features like quizzes and polls which can boost your engagement many times. All you need to do is come up with some quality content and find some good Instagram posting times.

So when is the best time to post on Instagram? 

According to several social media experts, the morning to midday hours is the best time to upload an Instagram post. Wednesday is the most recommended day to post on Instagram, while some others believe Saturday is the best day to post on Instagram.

Though the suggestions are based on several types of research, they may vary for different content types and audiences.

• Best time to post on weekdays: 8 am – 1 pm local time for your target audience 
• Best time to post on weekends: 12 – 4 pm local time for your target audience
• Best days to post on Instagram: Saturday, Wednesday
• Preferred content type: Images and Reels

If you’re interested in learning more about the best practices for Instagram, check out our Instagram Marketing course.

The best time to post on Twitter (X)

X, previously known as Twitter, is a text-based social media platform. Twitter is a heart place to join trending conversations, build communities, and engage audiences. 

Generally speaking, the early hours of the weekdays are considered the best time to tweet.

• Best times to post on Twitter: 9 am – 12 pm local time for your target audience
• Best days to post on Twitter: Wednesday, Friday
• Preferred content type: Text only

When is the best time to post on Linkedin?

LinkedIn is the best social media for professional platforms in the current world. LinkedIn’s variety of unique features took it to the top of the list. To grow a professional network, there’s no worthy competitor of LinkedIn in the current world. 

Usual weekday lunchtimes are considered the best time to post on LinkedIn. Also, the midweek days are the best days to post on LinkedIn.

• Best time to post on Linkedin: 10 am – 3 pm local time for your target audience
• The best days to post on Linkedin: are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
• Preferred content type: Text only

Learn all about LinkedIn and how it works from our LinkedIn Marketing course now!

The best time to post on Reddit

Reddit has become one of the most popular social media sites lately. It is largely used for community building. It is also admired in terms of knowledge sharing. 

There is very little research about Reddit posting times. According to Recurpost, the best time to post on Reddit is 6 to 10 am local time for your target audience.

Ideal upload timing for YouTube

YouTube is the most popular video platform in the world. Upload timing plays a key role in YouTube video engagement. So, carefully selecting YouTube upload time is very important.

The best time to upload on YouTube is Thursday in the afternoon, after 3 pm local time for your target audience.

When is the best time to post on Snapchat?

SnapChat is popular for snap sharing among your close friends very easily. It’s super easy to share a Snap with Snapchat. 

Unlike other platforms, Snapchat posts have the best engagement at night. The best time to post on Snapchat is between 10 pm and 1 am local time for your target audience.

The best time to post videos on TikTok

TikTok is a platform for sharing short videos. It has become very popular within a few years. 

The platform is mostly used by the youth to express themselves. It allows users to create short videos and share them across a community. 

According to SocialPilot, the best time to post on TikTok is between 6 to 11 am local time for your target audience.

When is the best time to post on Pinterest?

Pinterest is a platform to share ideas through photos or videos. Pinterest is widely used for finding ideas like recipes, fashion, home decor, and more.

According to vosco.com the best time to post on Pinterest is on Saturday from 8 to 11 pm local time for your target audience.

The Best time to Stream on Twitch

Twitch is the most popular video streaming platform. It offers to watch people play games. 

Young adults and teenagers around the world love watching gameplay by pro gamers. This craze has made Twitch the most popular video streaming platform.

The best time to stream on Twitch is between 7 pm to 12 am local time for your target audience.

Note: The times mentioned above are based on the local time zone for your targeted audience.

5 Tips for finding the best time to post on social media

Identifying the best time to post on social media is a must to achieve your goals. Here are 5 tips to find the best time to post on social media for business or personal purposes:

1. Analytical tools: Analytical tools can provide you with insights about your post-engagements. You can use them to have a better understanding of post-scheduling.

2. Experimentations: You can perform several experiments on your audience. By posting several times, you can easily find the time when engagement is higher than other times.

3. Know your audience: Understanding the audience’s demography and time zone is very important. You should be aware of their daily routine and should post when they are likely to be online.

4. Competitor analysis: Keeping an eye on your competitors is a great strategy to find the best time to post on social media. Analyzing their top-performing posts will give you a clear idea about when to post.

5. Events and Trends: Seasonal events and trends have a huge effect on people’s social media activity. During events or festivals, people are more likely to be active. Posting on those times will give you way more engagement on your posts.

FAQ

What is the best time of day to post on social media?

According to most experts, 9 pm is the best time to post on any social media. However, it depends on a lot of factors like target audience, social media algorithms, popularity and following, etc.

What is the single best time to post on Instagram?

During weekdays 8 am – 1 pm is the best time to post on Instagram. While on the weekends, it’s 12 – 4 pm.

What is the best time to post on social media in 2024?

In 2024, 9 pm is still the best time to post on social media.

Do posting times matter on social media?

Yes, posting time is one of the most important factors for social media posting. But other important qualities such as content quality are still the main factors.

Should I post in the morning or evening?

In general, the best time of day to post is from 11 am to 3 pm. Don’t post in the early mornings and late afternoons if you want to get the maximum engagement.

How long should a social media post be?

An Expert Writers panel suggests that posts that are 100 characters or fewer, get 3 times more engagement than longer posts. 

Should you post every day?

Posting 1 to 2 times a day is the best practice to post on social media. The goal is to stay present in the minds of your audience. But do not overwhelm their feeds by excessive posting. A research article states, “Daily posting will grow followers 4x faster than posting less than once a week.”

Conclusion:

In the world of social media, timing is one of the most important factors for the success of your content. You can not achieve your goal by just creating quality content. You also have to utilise the timing factor as well to achieve your desired goals.

To schedule the contents properly you have to use and understand many factors and tools. Analytical tools can give you audience insights. You can run several experiments to have a better understanding. You must also analyse your competitors to know which time works best for your industry.

By following the steps, hopefully, you’ll receive the maximum engagement on your content and thus will achieve your desired goal.

To have the best understanding of post-scheduling, don’t miss a chance to enrol in our Ultimate Digital Marketing course.