Best Times to Post on Social Media [2024 Complete Guide]

So, what are the best times to post on social media?

It’s a colonial question for the social media marketing veteran and a whimsical one for the rookies. Though, neither of them can put the finger on the exact global best time to post on social media.

Why? Because there isn’t any. The landscape has changed significantly due to pandemic disrupting the schedule and ways people connect on social media.

Don’t lose the spirit, now.

Luckily, there are time ranges that have shown the best result for getting massive engagement and can be used to find your personal best times to post on social media later.

Let’s giddy-up and check out the timings!

Why Does the Best Times to Post on Social Media Matter?

It’s the algorithm effect.

Recency is one of the major elements that play a part in showing your post on social media feeds. The most recent posts are prioritized to rank higher on the feeds over days or week-older posts.

With the help of the different best times to post on social media, you can maximize the chances for your audience to both see and engage with your posts.

However, this doesn’t mean you will crack the engagement code just by posting at the best times.

The best times of day to post on social media will help you grab the eyeballs, but from there, your fate lies in the quality of content you provide to your audience.

Best Times to Post on Social Media

According to research, overall the best times to post on social media are between 6 PM to 9 PM and 12 PM to 3 PM. Also, Friday is the best day to post on social media

Source: HubSpot

Generally, the best times to post on social media overall are as follows::

• Weekdays: 1 pm-3 pm and 5 pm-6 pm
• Weekends: 9 am-2 pm and 8 pm-11 pm (Saturday)

But, wait on before you start scheduling all your social media on these time frames. It’s important to note that these are just general guidelines and the best times to post on social media may vary depending on the social media channel and audience you are targeting.

That’s why,

Let’s first know the basics of how different users use social media platforms!

We all are familiar with the major social media platforms, but knowing their basics is the key to understanding why the best timings change for each of them.

Let’s have a look!

Facebook is one of the leading platforms with the largest audience and is accessed both at home and work through different devices. So, it depends on who the audience is and how they use this social network.

Twitter is the best place for marketers to interact and engage with end-customers. People use it more while commuting and during breaks. Just like Facebook, it has been mainly audience-dependent.

LinkedIn is used by professionals and the working community. They use it anytime around the day, depending on the ease of work, breaks, etc.

Pinterest is viewed during leisurely hours like watching TV or spending some time with the family in the evenings.

Instagram has a massive following of smartphone users who use it just about any time.

So,

Now, you might have got a rough idea of how these major social media platforms are used by different users and thus have different best times to post, right.

Let’s jump to the detailed discussion of the best times to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more for achieving the finest results.

Let’s get started with Facebook first!

What are the Best Times to Post on Facebook?

Facebook is one of the most used social media platforms. According to the latest Facebook statistics, Facebook has 2.91 billion monthly active users. Its gigantic group of users makes it easy for anyone to grow their business from scratch to WOW.

By posting your content at the correct timings on Facebook, you can achieve your targeted audience. In fact, there are special hours or timings that can help you boost your post instantly.

Here’s a detailed note on the best times to post on Facebook.

Particularly, there is no standard best time to post on Facebook, but timings between 1 pm-4 pm is considered to be ideal for the ones targeting more readers.

Actually, there are different criteria for posting on weeks and weekends, which can help you get the highest click-throughs.

Best days and times to post on Facebook on weekdays:

• Wednesday: 3 pm
• Thursday & Friday: 1 pm-4 pm

Best days and times to post on Facebook on weekends:

• Saturday & Sundays: 12 pm-1 pm

However, with the best times to post, there also come certain worst times you must avoid while posting on Facebook. They are,

The worst time (hours) to avoid posting on Facebook is between 8 pm-8 am for the entire week.

Moreover, some of the social media experts have suggested their views about scheduling content at the correct times. They are:

• Elle & Co. suggests 1 pm-3 pm is an accurate time to post on Facebook.
• Hubspot analyzed that 9 am is a good time when people leave for their offices. 1 pm-3 pm from Thursday to Sunday is the next peak time.
• 3 pm on Wednesday is recommended as an ideal time to post on Facebook by Fast Company.
• Huffington Post recommends posting on Thursdays and Fridays, as these weekdays have more traffic of readers. They further added that the usage of Facebook spikes by 10% on Fridays.

#SMM tip for FB

Consistently track and monitor your Facebook analytics to ascertain when your audience and fans are online. Once you zero down on the best times of day to post on social media, use SociaPilot’s Facebook scheduling too to automate your posting for the selected times.

So, here’s your answer.

If you’re aiming at a higher number of likes & shares, your safest move of posting on Facebook must be at 1 pm, 3 pm, or 4 pm.

Now, what’s next on the dish?

Let’s step ahead on Instagram!

What are the Best Times to Post on Instagram?

Instagram has a huge participating audience that engages users in the age bracket of 18–30 all around the week.

According to social media statistics, about 6 in 10 Instagram users log in at least once daily, so this clarifies that if you’re posting your content at the correct times on Instagram, there are a lot more chances of increasing your shares & followers!

But wait, there is more.

Just like Facebook, there is no universal best time to post on Instagram either.

But, posting on the below-stated timings on Instagram will definitely help you get the finest results!

Best time to post on Instagram on weekdays:

• For the entire week – 6 am-9 am, 12 pm-2 pm, and 5 pm-6 pm

Best time to post on Instagram on weekends:

• Saturday and Sunday – 9 am-2 pm

Moreover,

If you want to attract the audience through Videos on Instagram then it is recommended to post throughout the week from 9 pm-8 am.

But, what about the worst times?

Overall, weekends are the least favorite days. Still, you can use the time frame between 9 am-2 pm as suggested above.

Also, It is good to dodge posting on Instagram between 3 pm-4 pm on all the days of the week, so you don’t end up messing up your post. You can use SocialPilot’s Instagram scheduling tool to keep a check on your posting schedule.

Wait, it isn’t over yet!

Don’t you want to know what the social media experts have to say about the best times of posting on Instagram?

Let’s take a look at what they are suggesting:

• TrackMaven recommends 9 pm-8 am as the ideal times for posting pictures and videos. Actually, during these times, and specifically on Thursdays and Mondays, there are more chances to get a great response to your posts.
• Hubspot favors the time between 2 pm and 3 pm (CDT) and Thursday as the best day to post.
• Search engine Journal favors Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 11 am and Tuesday at 2 pm.
• On the other side, MarketingProfs says 1 pm-2 pm is the best time to post on Instagram.

#SMM tip for Insta

As per Instagram statistics, 81% of Instagrammers use the platform for researching new products and services. So, post great content with relevant color schemes, hashtags, emojis at the best posting times to drive greater traffic to your business.

Yes, it is true!

Every tech-savvy expert will have different reviews, but for making it simple for you…

Here’s your answer.

The best times to post on Instagram that can help to make your content the topmost are 6 am-9 am, 12 pm-2 pm, and 5 pm-6 pm.

Now it’s time for Twitter on the list!

What are the Best Times to Post a Tweet?

Twitter has nearly 330 million monthly active users worldwide. Actually, well-known social marketers realize that one of the major benefits of Twitter is to collect information regarding their target audience.

Hence, if they can, why not you?

With the focus of posting at correct times and monitoring carefully on Twitter, you can definitely experience a good impact on your tweets.

Best times to post on Twitter on weekdays:

• From Monday to Friday, 9 am-3 pm is recommended.
• On Wednesdays, posting at noon and between 5 pm-6 pm is ideal.

Best time to post on Twitter on weekends:

• Weekends are the least favorite days to post anything on Twitter. So it is important to schedule your posts for weekdays mostly.
• However, you can try Sundays by posting between 9 am-11 am.

However, if you want to increase or maximize your chance to get more clicks, you can also try these best times to post on Twitter:

• 2 am-3 am
• 6 am-7 am
• 9 pm-10 pm

But, with everything Good comes something Bad (Worst times).

Similarly, there are ideal times to post on Twitter, but there are also the bad times that can put you in big trouble. They are:

• Weekends
• All days between 8 pm-9 am.

So, now you might be clear on all the possible best times to post on Twitter to get your tweets more eyeballs, but…

Wait a minute!

Aren’t you forgetting something? Yes, of course!

How can you forget what social media experts say about the best times to Tweet?

• Kissmetrics recommends Wednesday as the best day to tweet and 5 pm as the best tweeting time.
• HowSociable suggests that 9-10 am is the best time, and Friday is the best day to post on Twitter.
• G2 learning hub favors the 9 am to 4 pm time frame during weekdays, with Friday showing the most engagement at 3 pm.
• Dan Zarrella also has shared his views, saying posting between 5 pm-6 pm is the best time for Twitter.

People access Twitter from their smartphones and desktops and treat it like RSS feeds. Use any effective Twitter analytics tools to ascertain when your targeted audience is online and then leverage the automating ability of SocialPilot’s Twitter scheduling tool to publish your tweets on those times.

So, after understanding the entire explanation on when to tweet,

Here’s the final line…

The optimal times to tweet to reach more and more people on Twitter the entire week is between 9 am-6 pm.

Let’s talk about Youtube now!

What are the Best Times to Post on Youtube?

With more than 2.6 billion active users, Youtube has become the second most-used social media platform in the world.

No wonder Youtube is the hotspot for video marketing.

The video-centric platform is a perfect fit for marketers who want to showcase their products, demonstrate how they work, or tell a brand’s story.

Like every platform, Youtube also has certain time spots to leverage to get the most engagement.

Take a look at the average best times to post on Youtube!

Best time to post on Youtube on weekdays:

• You can choose any weekday and post between 2 to 4 PM

Best time to post on Youtube on weekdays:

• On weekends, it is recommended to post anytime between 8 PM to 11 PM

Now, let’s take a look at the times when you should avoid posting on Youtube.

The worst time to post on Youtube on Weekends:

• Avoid posting in morning hours on weekdays

Check out the time suggestions from some industry experts and see if you can spot any similarities.

• Frederator Networks recommends posting during weekdays from 2 to 4 PM (EST) and on weekends between 9 to 11 AM (EST).
• Boosted suggests that Sunday at either 11 AM or 5 PM (EST) is the best time to post.
• HowSociable favors posting between 2 to 4 PM (EST) and Thursday and Friday as the most effective days.
• InVideo recommends posting on weekdays from 12 to 4 PM (EST) and on weekends from 9 to 11 AM (EST).

#SMM tip for Youtube

Unlike other social platforms, YouTube requires time to process and understand the content of the video before presenting it to the viewers in their search results or home screen. Hence, always upload your Youtube video 2-3 hours before your target audience’s optimal viewing time.

Speaking of video marketing, It’s time to discuss TikTok!

What are the Best Times to Post on TikTok?

Riding high on short-form videos, TikTok has drastically changed the social media marketing landscape. Latest TikTok statistics prove it is the fastest-growing social channel with over a billion monthly active users.

Businesses targeting Gen-Z users can’t risk ditching TikTok in their social media marketing strategy.

However, moving the engagement needle towards your business on TikTok is a tough nut to crack. Alike all social media platforms, engagement on TikTok greatly depends on the best time to post.

Optimizing your posting time improves the chances of your posts getting stellar engagement and appearing in the “For You” section.

Let’s look at the best time to post on TikTok throughout the week.

Best time to post on TikTok on weekdays:

• Friday: 5 am and 1 pm-3 pm

Best time to post on TikTok on weekends:

• Saturday: 11 am and 7 pm-8 pm
• Sunday: 4 pm

Worst time to post on TikTok:

• Saturday: 10pm – 4am

#SMM tip for TikTok

TikTok is all about creativity, and you can’t promote your business like other platforms here. To achieve success on TikTok you need to blend your content with TikTok’s innovative content features and use proper hashtags.

As you get to indulge in creating quality content for TikTok, leave the hassle of posting on the best times on SocialPilot’s TikTok scheduling features.

Here is the bottom line!

To sum it up, the best time to post on TikTok is between 6 am to 10 am and 7 pm to 11 pm, whereas the best days to post on TikTok are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Let’s move on to Linkedin!

What are the Best Times to Post on LinkedIn?

The very first thing that comes to mind when we hear LinkedIn is–the largest professional network.

As it has the largest business network, it is obvious that you’ll get the most engagement during working hours. Yet, for a better idea,

Below is the list of the best times to post on LinkedIn for weekdays.

Best times to post on Linkedin on weekdays:

• On Tuesdays, it is ideal for posting between 10 am-11 am.
• And for workdays such as Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 7.30 am-8.30 am, 12 pm and 5 pm-6 pm are best suitable.

But, when it comes to weekends, it is better to avoid posting on weekends because professionals may cut back their social media time from Friday to Monday for spending their personal time with family.

In fact,

The worst time to post on LinkedIn is mentioned below:

LinkedIn itself suggests not to post during the overnight hours (times) between 10 pm-6 am because your target audience will not be able to catch up with your post, resulting in fewer readers.

Stop!

Don’t you want to know what social media experts have to say about the best times to post on LinkedIn?

Take a look.

• According to Elle & Co., the best time to post is between 7.30 am-8.30 am and 5 pm-6 pm.
• Oberlo suggests the time frame between 10-11 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as the best choice.
• Forbes suggested posting on LinkedIn between 8 am-5 pm on workdays to achieve the finest results on your posts.

#SMM tip for LinkedIn

Keep tracking your audience by using one of the effective LinkedIn analytics tools to understand the days and times when you get the highest engagement. Once you decide on the best time-frames, schedule your post for the best times using our LinkedIn scheduling tool.

So, here’s the final answer.

If you’re looking to maximize the click throughs and engage more readers, try out 7 am-8 am, 5 pm-6 pm or 12 pm as your posting time on LinkedIn.

Last but not least, it’s time for Pinterest!

What are the Best Times to Post on Pinterest?

With so many social media platforms, Pinterest is rising in popularity. It has over 444 million monthly active users worldwide.

So, if you’re one of those 442 million visitors and want to post on Pinterest, then it’s always best to post at ideal times on Pinterest so you can attract as much traffic as you can!

But, before moving ahead,

Here are some of the best times to post on weekdays and weekends on Pinterest.

The best times to post on Pinterest on weekdays:

• Fridays sound best to post on Pinterest at 3 pm.
• You can also try out posting on these times: 2 am-4 am, 2 pm-4 pm, or 1 pm-3 pm.

The best times to post on Pinterest on weekends:

• Saturdays from 8 pm-11 pm are ideal for pinning on Pinterest.

Well, these are the ideal times to post on Pinterest that will help to focus on your targeted audience, but what about the worst times?

Yes, there are times when you should not or avoid posting on Pinterest. They are:

The working hours!

Make sure you avoid posting during working hours because it won’t help you get more clicks or responses for your Pins.

Let’s have a look at what the experts have to share on this…

• According to Fannit, the best times to Pin is between 8 pm-11 pm and 2 pm-4 pm
• Hubspot suggests that pinning between 2 am-4 am and 2 pm-4 pm is ideal for engaging with the audience.
• SurePayroll acknowledges Saturday mornings as the best times to post on Pinterest.

#Smm tip for Pinterest

With 444 million active pinners, Pinterest content sure has a long lifespan. Use appealing content that has keywords in its description and pin at the ‘specific time’, using our Pinterest scheduling tool to attract a more active audience. Pinterest’s very own analytics tool is again very efficient in tracking your audiences’ behavior.

This brings us to the final answer, i.e.

The best time to pin on Pinterest is 9 p.m., especially on Saturdays!

And it’s a Wrap!

Frankly, there is no single best time to post on social media.

But in a way, it’s a good thing. I mean, who would want to live in a world with only a single best time to post.

Whenever you put real efforts into creating outstanding content, you always wish your content targets as many eyeballs as possible, isn’t it?

Well, now you can easily grab the chance!

With the help of picking the best times to post on social media, you can maximize the chances for your audience to both see and engage with your posts.

Moreover, you can use SocialPilot’s unparalleled scheduling features to automate your posting on seven social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.