Timing is Everything: A Savvy Guide to Posting on Social Media Channels
In the fast-paced world of social media marketing, where attention spans are limited and algorithms are ever-changing, timing is the unsung hero of success. If you want to discover when, exactly, is the best time to post on social media then you’ve come to the right place.
Hootsuite has published its findings for the best time to post on social media in 2023. Their report shares the best times for each social media platform and analyzes thousands of social media posts to determine the optimal posting time.
If you’re just starting out on your social media journey or want to experiment with timing to generate better results, this is a great place to start. So, without further ado, let’s dive into their findings.
Facebook is a prime platform to connect with your audience and share interactive content. 70% of Americans check their Facebook accounts at least once per day. On average, users spend over half an hour per day scrolling through their News Feeds and interacting with content. Posting at the right time can help you boost your reach and engagement..
According to the analysis by Hootsuite, the best time to post on Facebook is Mondays and Tuesdays at 10:00 A.M. PST.
The Instagram algorithm determines what content shows up on a user’s feed and in what order. The goal of the algorithm is to help users access content that is most relevant and interesting to them. The following factors are most important to the Instagram algorithm:
Relationships: The strength of the connection between the content creator and the viewer is vital. Interactions such as following, messaging, and commenting are weighed heavily. Consistent engagement with a particular user increases the likelihood of seeing their new content. This is particularly significant for businesses, as active community management, including responding to direct messages (DMs) and comments, can enhance brand visibility.
Interest: Instagram assesses a user's engagement with specific content types or formats. If a user regularly interacts with a particular type of content, the algorithm shows them more of the same.
Relevancy: Content is evaluated for its overall relevance. This evaluation includes alignment with trending topics and the timeliness of the posts. Recent content is considered more relevant than older posts.
By posting the right content at the right time, you can work with the algorithm to get as many eyes on your post as possible. Based on Hootsuite’s data, the best time to post on Instagram is 9:00 A.M. PST on Mondays and 8:00 A.M. PST on Wednesdays.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Similar to Instagram, X prioritizes recently published posts as well as freshly trending topics. With this in mind, it may help your brand to capitalize on recent events, like the Superbowl, and post related content. On the other hand, if these events don’t fit into your content strategy, you may not want to post at the same time as these major events to prevent your content from being buried.
On any given week, the best time to post on X is 7:00 A.M. PST on Mondays and 10:00 A.M. PST.
When compared to the other social media platforms, LinkedIn is often used more in a professional setting, rather than for entertainment. In the past, mornings have been a consistent time for users to post on LinkedIn, catering to the schedule of established professionals who check their newsfeeds before clocking in to their 9-5. Now, young professionals and students are joining the platform and browsing throughout the day.
Hootsuite has found that the prime time to post on LinkedIn is on Mondays at 1:00 P.M. PST
TikTok
TikTok is a great platform for targeting younger audiences. The average TikTok user spends around 45 minutes on TikTok and opens the app over 8 times per day. If you are looking for the sweet spot for your content length, videos between 20-35 seconds long tend to garner the most engagement.
Hubspot shares that the best time to post on TikTok is at 9:00 A.M. PST on Saturdays, 1:00 P.M. PST on Sundays and 7:00 P.M. PST on Thursdays.
However, the TikTok algorithm takes more time to distribute your posts, so when you hit “post” it may not show up immediately on users’ feeds. This delay allows time for TikTok to figure out what your video is about and who it may be relevant to. With this said, you may want to post sooner than these recommended times so that TikTok starts showing your video at these peak times.
Making It Work For You
If you want to find the best time to publish your posts, it’s a good idea to start with these recommended posting times based on Hootsuite’s research. However, there are a few more things to consider:
Check out when your target audience is online. If you post when your audience is online, the chance of them engaging with your content improves.
Monitor your past successful posts. Learn from your top-performing posts and see what kind of patterns occur. Look at impressions, engagement and click rates.
Adjust your schedule to your audience’s time zone. Depending on where your business and audience is located, you should adjust your schedule so that you are posting when they are online.
Monitor your competition. See what works for your competitors and learn from it. If your competitors post on the hour, you may find greater success if you post on the quarter hour mark to give your content some breathing room.
Experiment with different times and find what works for you. Social media is always evolving so don’t be afraid to play around with different publishing times.
The Savvy Peach Social Media Management Platform
If all of this information is overwhelming, don’t worry. You don’t have to figure it out by yourself. There are tools and teams, like ours at The Savvy Peach, that can help you on your social media journey.
We recently debuted The Savvy Peach Social Media Management Platform, a tool made to make your social media management journey easier. One of our favorite features is that the platform uses AI to automatically test publishing times for your social media content and find the best posting times for you!
To learn more about The Savvy Peach Social Media Management Platform, schedule your free social media strategy chat and start harnessing the full potential of our brand new social media marketing platform.
