Everyone wants to kill it on social media, but figuring out the best times to post to SM can be tricky. We can help with general guidelines, but ultimately the best times to post social media are going to vary based on several factors including your business, your audience, and even which social media platform you are using.
Here are some basic posting strategies, per platform, according to our friends over at HubSpot.
Facebook: Mid-day (noon-1 p.m.) on weekends, 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, 1-4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. It seems like most people enjoy a little distraction in the afternoons at the end of the week. Facebook is often used at work from desktops or laptops and via mobile devices.
Twitter: People prefer to use this platform during mid-day breaks and mid-week commutes. Monday-Friday, noon-3 p.m. and 5-6 p.m. on Wednesdays.
LinkedIn: Since LinkedIn is a professional networking platform it makes sense that the majority of users access their LinkedIn page during work downtimes, like the beginning and end of the day. Best times to post are 7:30-8:30 a.m., noon, and 5-6 p.m. midweek (Tuesday-Thursday) and between 10-11 a.m. on Tuesdays.
Pinterest: This popular inspiration platform is comprised mainly of female users who access it mostly at night. Between 2-4 a.m. and during evening hours every day; 5 p.m. on Friday and 8-11 p.m. on Saturdays.
Instagram: Mobile-friendly Instagram is pretty much all-access all the time with only 3-4 p.m. on weekdays being a less than optimal time.
When You Should Post
Now, these are great basic time frames to get you started, but to figure out the best SM times for your specific business, take a look at your personal history. If you are using HubSpot’s social media publishing tool, export a list of your past social shares and organize it by SM channel and number of clicks. Once you have the data, you can look for trends such as the most popular times that readers clicked. Looking at past numbers can help you schedule future post times for optimal success, but remember that content, quality, and other factors, such as length, contribute to clicks and shares.
What You Should Post
So, now that you have a better idea when you should post on SM, don’t forget that you need to balance quantity with quality. Using buyer personas is an excellent way to know what your audience is looking for when they are on Facebook, Twitter, and the like. HubSpot’s Lindsay Kolowich notes that, “The most effective posts on social media have a clear goal, whether that's to drive traffic to your blog, encourage comments, get shared, or something else. The general rule of thumb is to keep it real and keep it relevant...” with content split between promotional (30%) and value-added (70%).
On all social channels, keep your language clear and concise while avoiding click-bait phrases, which turn most readers off. People expect hashtags on Twitter and Instagram, but use them sparingly and don’t go overboard. Visual content is a huge boon on all platforms, but particularly Instagram and Pinterest, where you can let pictures tell the story and keep the text short.
Consider that social media success is a balancing act—posting relevant, worthy information at optimal times ensures the best click rates. Be sure to think about what type of info your target audience wants and when they are most likely to access it.
Find out more tips on how to attract buyers with your Facebook page today!