If you’re running a social media marketing campaign for yourself or your employer, you naturally want the best bang for your buck. So when is statistically the best time to post on Facebook? Early morning? is it noon? afternoon? Do you even have the best time?
I run multiple social media accounts for companies nationwide and have several tried and tested programs. However, I admit that I don’t know everything, researching for this article has been a good exercise for both me and you, dear readers.
One thing everyone knows about statistics is that they can be manipulated or at least presented in creative ways to fit the desired narrative. Therefore, it becomes necessary to consult several sources in order to reach a consensus. That’s exactly what I did.
It’s all about timing
Other forms of marketing are all about the long game. Blog posts, case studies, email explosions, whitepapers, guest posts, interviews, and other forms of promotion soon pick up speed. Social media marketing is the opposite. Its primary effects are a short, sharp stroke that lasts only a few hours. Secondary effects may last longer but are less valuable. So timing really is everything.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an absolute ‘best’ time. A lot depends on your target audience, industry and time zone. Another consideration is whether you want to share or click. Some statistics offer different times for different results.
The general consensus is that the best time to post on Facebook is between 12:00 and 15:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Weekend shipments are also doing well, with shipments between 12:00 and 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday doing particularly well.
What do big guns think
Hootsuite has worked hard to review the different post times and is participating in those timings. I use the Hootsuite platform to schedule posts and must agree to use their timings for my own campaigns.
SEO experts Kissmetrics consider Saturday the best day to post on Facebook, and the best time is 12:00 noon. They put together a neat infographic to showcase their findings. I learn a lot from Kissmetrics but I don’t follow their Saturday best formula.
Another move and shaker in SEO and marketing is Quick Sprout. They say the best time to post on Facebook is at 1pm on a Thursday. They also say it’s safe to post any day between 9am and 3pm, and Wednesday through Sunday would be better.
TrackMaven also acknowledges that Thursday is the best day, but says 8pm EST is the best time, which is somewhere around 1pm. They go a step further and suggest that the best time to post on Facebook depends on your industry. There may be some distance in this claim, but it may also be slipping into the realm of marginal gains that most of us don’t. At least not to start.
Another leader in digital marketing, Linchpin has done more work on this industry breakdown. They did a big page by industry and suggested that different times work for different industries. For example, they say Saturday and Sunday are best if your target markets are advertising and consulting. If you’re posting for the financial industry, Monday and Friday are better.
If you really want to research the best time to post, visit this page on Social Media Today. It has more data than you could ever need and is one of the most comprehensive social media posts I’ve ever seen.
So when is the best time to post on Facebook?
According to a snapshot of the stats, the best time to post on Facebook seems to be between noon and 1:00 pm on Thursday. While a single post per week isn’t enough to garner a lot of engagement, it’s essential to include this time frame in your posting schedule.
The other weekdays mentioned above, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, are good bets where posts between 12:00 and 15:00 get the most attention. If you use a shipping scheduler and your industry supports the effort, shipping between 12 PM and 1 PM on Saturday and Sunday will also gain some traction. Check the Linchpin page for more information on whether your industry is awake at the weekend.
The timing of your efforts is only one aspect of creating a successful social media marketing campaign. At least now you have a good idea of when to post!
