Best Time to Post on Social Media for Your Business

Data shows that a large portion of the world’s population is now an active social media user. According to Smart Insights, exactly 62.3% of the planet uses social media, with the average person spending 2 hours and 23 minutes on social platforms everyday.

The tricky part is pinpointing at when that 2 hours and 23 minutes active window is for your audience, since posting then means your carefully crafted will reach the most eyes.

After all, social media marketing costs are not always cheap, so you want to ensure you get bang for your buck.

To help you do this, we’ve researched the best time to post on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube and X to get the maximum amount of engagement on your posts from your followers.

The Best Time to Post on Social Media: Summary

We have conducted extensive research and utilized our expertise to develop a rough guide that outlines the optimal times for catching active users on various social media platforms. As you can see from the guide, the peak times vary significantly based on both the day of the week and the specific platform being utilized.

If you want to gain more engagement on Instagram and Facebook, it’s better to post earlier in the day, especially at the beginning of the week.

On the other hand, TikTok audiences are more active in the afternoon and during the evening. If you want to increase your engagement on X or LinkedIn, then it’s advisable to focus on posting during the working week vs. the weekend because it’s when activity is at its peak. For a detailed analysis of our findings, please read on.

Best Time to Post on Instagram

We found that scheduling your social media marketing posts for earlier in the day scores a higher engagement rate. The best time to post on Instagram on Mondays and Tuesdays is between 9-10 AM, according to our research. This is because it’s the start of the workweek, so people are more focused on their day-to-day tasks, and may be more likely to check social media first thing, rather than throughout the day as they get into deeper work.

If you want to be sure to catch those earlier users, it’s wise to schedule your posts with a social media marketing tool such as Zoho Social or HubSpot. That way you can post even without being online yourself. With these platforms, you can also access important insights into your social media performance, to help fine-tune the best times to post according to your engagement.

As we move further into the week and attention spans wane, audiences are looking to Instagram as a distraction. Wednesday’s audiences peak at 9 AM, 11 AM and 4 PM, while your best bet on Thursdays is 2 PM.

You can reach your audiences either on Friday mornings between 9 -12 AM, or again at 5-6 PM. As we arrive at the weekend, Saturday morning seems to be a peak time for scrolling, while Sunday’s audiences rise a little later between 10 AM – 2PM.

Best Time to Post on Facebook

When it comes to the best time to post on Facebook in 2024, we noticed pretty steady popularity for 10 – 11 AM for peak browsing times on the platform throughout the working week. Once the weekend rolls around, Facebook users are easiest to reach between 8 – 9 AM on Saturdays and a little later on Sunday mornings, at 10 AM.

Best Time to Post on TikTok

Since TikTok users tend to skew younger compared to other social media platforms, the best time to post on TikTok is less dictated by the 9-5 workweek. Statistically, over 76% of US 18 and 24-year-olds and 70% of teenagers were on TikTok in 2023. This means that the best time to post may align with the daily schedule of a student, rather than a full-time worker. 5 PM seems to be the sweet spot on most days.

That said TikTok isn’t just teenagers, they’re still some working age users on the app, with two-thirds of global TikTok users between 18 and 34 years old. You’ll often be able to catch them after lunch, between 1 – 2 PM, Monday through to Wednesday.

Thursday evenings around 7 PM also see high levels of engagement, as well as on Fridays after lunch and in the early evening.

Best Time to Post on YouTube

While YouTube follows a rather different speed than the other social media platforms, posting time can still be worked to your advantage. We see a little less variation across the days of the week and more so a discrepancy between the ideal times to post on weekdays vs. the weekends.

From Monday to Friday, we learned that the best time to post is the middle of the afternoon, between 2 – 4 PM. On the other hand, when the weekend arrives, users are more active on YouTube in the morning. This means your videos can attract more engagement if posted between 9 – 11 AM.

Best Time to Post on LinkedIn

As LinkedIn is made for networking, it makes sense that the best time to catch users on the platform is during regular business hours. You will notice that users are predominantly active on LinkedIn during the mid-morning, with a total lack of engagement during weekday evenings. Since Monday mornings are usually spent catching up on important matters, 11AM is a better option to catch busy professionals looking for a mid-morning break.

Activity drops significantly on the weekends, but you can still catch some people who were too busy to visit LinkedIn during the week. As early as possible on Saturday has been deemed the golden hour, while Sunday at 6 PM also seems to be a peak time for social-savvy professionals.

Best Time to Post on X

Interestingly enough,  X seems to have crept into the territory of a social media app predominantly used during the working week. Businesses especially will not see much engagement from posting on X throughout the weekend, so we’d recommend focusing your efforts on other platforms during that time.

During the working week, you’ll see the most engagement on X throughout the morning (9 – 11 AM). That peak time gets later on Fridays, with the most active users at noon to 1PM. This tails off throughout the afternoon as users put away their phones for the weekend.

How to Find the Best Time to Post on Social Media

While we’ve given you the average best times to post on different social media platforms based on available data, this can vary a lot depending on the audience you’re trying to reach.

Here’s how you can pinpoint the best times for your business to post:

1. Know your target audience: the age range of your target audience can give you a good idea of when they’re most likely to be active, and what social media platforms they use most. As we’ve seen, TikTok is popular with a younger audience that’s active later in the day, while Instagram and Facebook skew older (30s-40s) with users most active in the morning.
2. Look at when your best performing posts where posted: learning from your successes (and mistakes) is another way to optimize posting. It could be that your best posts performed well because of their great content, but when they were posted probably also had a lot to do with it. Do your 10 AM Facebook posts typically do great, while your weekend posts don’t? If so, you might want to refocus your posting.
3. Be aware of time zones:  your target audience might be in a different time zone than you, and if that’s the case, schedule your post according to their time zone, not yours. For example, if your East coast-based business wants to reach Californians on Instagram, don’t post at 9 AM EST when they’re all still asleep.
4. Keep on top of trends: social media platforms evolve overtime, and so do the habits of their users. Keeping up to date with the latest trend data will make sure your business doesn’t get left behind.

Specialized social media management tools like Hubspot and Zoho Social can make narrowing down you audience’s habits easier, so if you’ve got room in your budget, we’d recommend you use them.

Why Does the Time You Post on Social Media Matter?

Posting at the right times matters for businesses on social media because it can directly impact engagement and visibility with their target audiences. Here are some of the key reasons:

1. Reach More Prospects: Posting content when your audience is most active on social media platforms means more of your target customer base will see your posts and content in their feeds. More visibility yields more potential engagement.
2. Drive Sales: Higher post visibility and engagement can translate directly into more site traffic, online sales, and conversions.
3. Compete With Others: Just as you aim for high visibility times, you’re competitors are doing the same. Posting first means your brand content may show up higher in feeds and attract more engagement overall.
4. Build Trust With Followers: You’re more likely to generate comments, shares, and beneficial interactions that show you’re listening if followers see your posts immediately or while the discussion is hot around your industry.
5. Understand Demand: Paying close attention to when engagement spikes and dips can reveal new opportunities for content that caters to your audience’s real-time interests.

Because social media moves quickly, when you post is crucial for making the most of your marketing efforts. Analyzing the best times to post for engagement helps convert interested audiences into paying customers.