How to Find the Best Times to Post on Social Media (4 Platforms)

Timely social media posting is an essential part of any marketing strategy. However, nobody ever said it was easy. Finding the right window that will help you reach as many people as possible can be challenging.

Fortunately, you don't have to resort to making random guesses. By knowing how to use each platform's analytics, you can find the best times to post on social media for your particular brand.

In this article, we'll cover why effectively posting on social media is so important. Then, we'll show you how to discover your perfect time slot for four popular social networks. Let's dive right in!

The Importance of Well-Timed Social Media Posts

You probably don't need us to tell you that social media is essential. This flexible tool can benefit your business in a variety of ways, including:

• Unlocking a wider audience to target
• Crafting a brand identity across multiple platforms
• Encouraging more traffic to your main website

Given all of these advantages, it's hard to imagine a modern marketing strategy without social networks. However, using these platforms correctly is a bit more complicated than simply adding a few updates now and again. Timing can also be critical.

Publishing content when few users are online can be a wasted effort. You're essentially limiting the post's ability to succeed. After all, only a fraction of your audience will immediately see your content. Therefore, your engagement levels will likely underperform as well.

On the other hand, posting at the correct times can have the opposite effect. Knowing when your most engaged users are online helps you maximize the potential of your posts. This timing can lead to more comments, likes, and even shares.

Therefore, finding the optimal posting times is an important first step in your marketing campaign. When paired with other innovative strategies, such as maintaining a consistent brand image, you can ensure that your content efforts get the attention they deserve.

How to Find the Best Times to Post on Social Media (4 Platforms)

There isn't a universal best time to post on social media. That's why we recommend you use brand-specific analytics instead. Here's how to find the best posting times for four major social networks.

1. Facebook

Facebook is a social media powerhouse. With almost 2.89 billion monthly active users, it's hard to ignore a potential audience this big. However, that size may also make it tricky to find your target audience on Facebook.

That's where Facebook Insights comes in. No matter what your ideal demographic is, this tool can help you dig into their digital preferences.

You can access this information by going to Facebook Business Manager > Insights > Posts. There, you'll see how well your posts perform at different times and dates:

This data can help you decide when to post. However, try to remember that even when using the best time slots, you'll still need consistency. Try to inject personality into your posts whenever you can to provide your audience with a better idea of what your brand stands for.

We also recommend reviewing this data frequently. Audiences aren't static – and by minding your analytics, you can keep up with them as they evolve.

2. Instagram

Instagram is a platform that can be particularly helpful for small businesses. That's because the developers have included multiple advanced features to help boost your engagement. Posting at the right times can help you make the most of them.

Instagram has an Insights function that operates very similarly to Facebook's. You can view data from the past week, 14 days, month, or 90 days:

You can take advantage of Instagram by leaning into your brand identity. For instance, if you're advertising toothbrushes, you might want to consider posting earlier in the day when people are more likely to be thinking of them.

We also recommend doing your best to boost engagement. Instagram's algorithm uses this statistic to display specific posts more often. Thus, the more you increase engagement, the bigger your audience will be.

If you're unsure how to do this, we suggest investing in a social media management tool. That way, you can focus more on the content and less on the technical aspects of your strategy.

3. Twitter

Twitter also has a reasonably useful analytics feature. However, we think that it's best for individual dates – not specific times:

If you want to see more specific data, you could still use this dashboard. You'd just have to click on the Top Tweets section and see what time you published your best-performing content. However, this approach may take a bit of extra work on your end.

That's why you may also want to consider improving your overall Twitter posting strategy. That way, you can get the most out of your efforts regardless of when you post.

For example, up to 55% of users say they use Twitter as a news site. Thus, you might want to prioritize posting updated information about your brand. This news may include your most recent posts or new products.

You might also want to consider using a Twitter-specific growth tool such as Hypegrowth. This platform can help expand your exposure and access an even wider target audience. That means you'll have more accurate data for your ideal posting times.

4. TikTok

Finally, TikTok also has some formidable analytics. This data is helpful because it helps target your audience's geographic locations. As such, you can worry less about isolating people outside of your time zone.

You can start by looking at Top Territories > Follow Activity. There, you should see information by the hour for your most popular locations:

This data enables you to get very specific with how you promote affiliate links. Alternatively, you can also access a more birds-eye view of general trends. Using both sets of information together can help you find the best time to post on this social network.

We also highly recommend using TikTok's analytics features if you host many live streams on the platform. Live videos come with their own unique statistics. That means, if these audiences differ from your regular viewers, you can adjust your marketing accordingly.

Conclusion

No matter how well you know your target audience, marketing to them effectively can be tricky. This is especially true when it comes to choosing the best time to post on social media. Fortunately, leveraging just a few analytics can go a long way.

In this article, we showed you how to find your ideal posting time for four social media networks:

1. Facebook: with the help of Facebook Insights.
2. Instagram: with its seven to 90-day insight data.
3. Twitter: using analytics and brand-specific advertising strategies.
4. TikTok: with the help of data from individual timezones.

Do you have any questions about finding the best times to post on social media? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this article, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn! And don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.

Affiliate Link Disclosure