By scheduling your social media posts to go live when you know your audience is using the network, you increase the chances that your content will generate more engagements. It can also help you grow your following.
Below, we outline why social media is so important for your business and provide the optimal times on each platform that you may want to consider posting your content.
What is social media?
Before diving into social media strategies for your accounts, it’s good to know the basics behind what social media is. Social media are websites and apps that allow people to create content, participate in social networking, and share posts. With social media, you can share information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression within the virtual community.
Some of the major social networks are companies that you already likely know:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
Why is social media important for your business?
Social media is important for any business’s marketing strategy, for one simple reason: It’s where people spend their time online!
Regardless of your industry, there is a good chance that your ideal customers or clients spend at least some of their time on one of the major social networks. Understanding which social networks your audience uses gives you the opportunity to get your content in front of them to ultimately drive business. Social platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness of your brand, and boost your leads and sales.
Additionally, by opting into the business tools that each of the major platforms offer, you will unlock a number of analytics tools and also gain the ability to run ads, which can quickly help you reach your business goals.
The Best Times to Post on Social Media
Each social media platform has their own ideal time to post for optimal engagement. These times are determined by the unique algorithms that each company uses to serve content to users at a time that it knows they are likely to engage. Because no two social networks use the exact same algorithm or have the exact same audience, these times naturally vary from network to network.
Some platforms are better to post during the weekday on a lunch break, other times are after work hours on a weekday. Some platforms encourage posting on weekends, while others suggest avoiding weekend posts. Etc.
Below are some insights about the times that posts tend to perform best on each of the major social networks. In this section of the article, we will look at the best times to post for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter.
Note: While data shows that the times below are optimal times, you know your audience better than anyone! Use your own judgment and understanding of your audience to schedule your posts for the time that you believe they will be most likely to engage. You can always test posting at different times to find exactly what works best for you!
Developed in 2004, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media networking platforms in the world and has 2.6 billion active users.
Studies have shown that the best days to post on Facebook with the highest engagements are Tuesday through Thursday with safe posting times between 8am to 3pm However, the lowest engagements show not to post on Facebook after 5pm any day during the week.
Created in 2006, Twitter has become a popular microblogging and social media site where users can “Tweet” messages. There are about 300 million users on Twitter.
The peak times to post on Twitter are Wednesday and Friday at 9am. Since Twitter is more of a day-time use blogging social media site, engagements tend to drop off after 4pm. Weekends, especially Saturdays, tend to have the lower engagements.
Launched in 2010, Instagram has accumulated over 850 million users within the past 10 years. A free social media app, Instagram focuses on aesthetically pleasing photos and videos.
Ideally, content for B2B companies seems to engage better over the weekdays rather than the weekends. According to research, the best days to post on Instagram are Wednesdays with a peak time at 3pm and Fridays with peak times between 10am to 11am. The worst day to post is usually Sunday.
Operating since 2003, LinkedIn is mainly used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their resumes. LinkedIn has accumulated over 760 million users.
LinkedIn tends to target a specific audience in the social networking world. The best days to post on LinkedIn are week days when employers and employees are online. Specifically, the days with higher engagements are Wednesday, with peak times 8am to noon, Thursday, with a peak time of 9am, and Friday, with a peak time of 9am. The days with lowest engagement tend to be Sundays.
TikTok
The newest social media app is taking the world by storm. Launched in 2016, TikTok has curated over 500 million users by showcasing short comedic and educational videos.
With a stranger algorithm than other social media platforms, TikTok’s posting times are unique. Studies have shown that the best days to post on TikTok are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. With a forever changing algorithm, it is currently recommended to post on TikTok between 8am to 11am and any time after 7pm.
Founded in 2009, Pinterest allows users to share images and videos as “pinboards” for ideas and discovery. There are currently over 442 active users on the social media site.
That being said, the best times to post are after the work day, when children are usually in bed. The best days to post on Pinterest are Saturdays with peak times between 2am to 4am, and 8pm.
Helping your engagements grow
Whether you are posting on Twitter, or Instagram, Facebook, or any other social network, it’s important to schedule your posts to go live at the times when your target audience is more likely to see and engage with them.
Does your social strategy need a boost? Partnering with marketing specialists can help! At Pepperland, we specialize in inbound and content marketing and can help your business grow exponentially through our expertise and resources. Contact us today to find out how we can help achieve your goals.
