When to Post Content on Social Media
Social media is a practical, inexpensive way to get people to visit your website, use your business, and share your content with friends and family members. The best time to post depends on your target audience, the platform you’re using, and whether your viewers prefer computers, smartphones, or other devices. You should also think about time zones and the countries where your audience members live.
Most people in the United States live in the Eastern and Central time zones. However, you may need to post at a different time to reach social media users in other parts of the world. Here are the best times to reach potential customers in their local time zones on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and more.
Facebook is the most extensive social networking platform, with about 1.86 billion monthly users. You can reach a variety of potential customers, from college students to businesses to retirees. Getting your posts a good place on users’ news feeds can be challenging, but good timing will help your content get more views and shares.
People spend more time on Facebook during weekends, and engagement is also higher on Thursdays and Fridays. The best times to post are around 9 a.m., at lunchtime, and in the afternoon. Since people tend to be happier on Fridays and weekends, share upbeat or funny content at those times. Avoid posting on Mondays, since many users are focused on their work. You also shouldn’t post on weekends before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m., when most people are asleep or spending time with friends or family members.
Image via Flickr by Fotero
Twitter is popular with businesspeople, celebrities, and their fans. Its 300 million monthly users post about 500 billion tweets per day.
For the largest audience, post between Monday and Thursday and between 1 and 3 p.m. When people are feeling sluggish after lunch, looking at a few tweets can provide a short but welcome break from work or household chores. Lots of people who use public transportation also look at Twitter during their commutes. The worst times to post are Fridays after 3 p.m. and weekends after 8 p.m. No matter what time you post, tweets with links and interesting images are most effective.
Most of Instagram’s audience is under 35 years old, which makes it an ideal platform for trendy entertainment, exotic food, fashionable clothing, and other brands that want to reach younger people. It’s meant for mobile devices, and about half the users in the United States use the app every day.
Instagram’s algorithms will help make sure that your followers get a look at all your posts, but timing strategies can still help you increase clicks, likes, and comments. The best time to post is on Mondays and Thursdays between 8 and 9 a.m., when people are commuting or starting their workdays. However, people tend to watch more videos around 9 p.m. Since many Instagram users stay up late, you can also get more viewers by posting around 2 a.m.
Most Pinterest users are female, and many posts on the network are about great vacation spots, life hacks, delicious recipes, local meals, and dream purchases. With lots of daily users, it’s an ideal place for content from a variety of brands. The site is most popular on Saturdays between 8 and 11 p.m., and you can also get good results by posting content on Fridays and Sundays around 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.
However, people don’t use Pinterest on commutes as much as other social media sites because browsing can be more difficult. Many pins require people to visit sites outside the network, and you can get more engagement with a call to action that encourages people to visit your store or your website.
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals, businesses, and job seekers. It has users in hundreds of countries, so you should use Google Analytics to find the locations of your viewers and then adjust the times you post to match their time zones.
The best times for posting on the network are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during lunch or when people are commuting. You should post around 8 p.m. to reach hardworking CEOs and other executives. On Fridays, many people are thinking about relaxing over the weekend, so inspirational or humorous content works best. Mondays are excellent for tips and advice on solving problems because many LinkedIn users are thinking about the upcoming challenges of the week. Since this social media site is all about work, most people stay away from it on weekends.
Google+
Many Google+ users check their accounts in the morning between 9 and 11 a.m. Gmail is a popular email platform that’s also owned by Google, and people can easily use its menu to visit Google+ after they check their mail. You can get good results with posts around lunchtime as well. Most Google+ users simply browse content instead of posting new material or comments, but the network offers a variety of topics. You can find posts on the latest news, wildlife photos, life hacks, clothing, home decor, and more. Use Google+ to encourage people to visit your website.
Tumblr
Most Tumblr users are under 25, and many are still in high school. You can reach more of these students by posting on Tumblr before school from 4 to 7 a.m., during lunch, and during the bus ride home in mid-afternoon. Since lots of high school and college students stay up late and spend hours on social media, you’ll also get more views by posting between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. Weekend days are also popular, especially Sundays, and GIFs and short videos usually get more views.
You should use social media management software to help you schedule your posts at the optimal times for your target audience. Hootsuite and Post Planner are only two of many management apps. With the right timing, your posts will be influential and effective. You’ll also get more followers and more new customers from each post.
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