When is the best day and time to post on social media?
Overview
Social media is constantly changing. People don’t just look at their feeds for entertainment or what their friend ate for lunch like back in the old days. People get all sorts of information from social media—such as facts about a business, customer service help, and more. Of course, social media has also become a hub for online shopping and ecommerce.
Creating a strategy around when to post on each of your social media accounts is now essential. So when is the best time to post on social media? Look no further. This post will guide you on the best days and times to post Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
We will continuously update this guide as best practices evolve to help keep your social strategy on track. In this iteration, we’ve focused on what’s changed during the pandemic when it comes to the best days and times to post on social media. Data used to compile this report sourced through a study by Sprout Social as well as other sources linked to throughout the post.
If you’ve strategized your social media cadence before, you probably already know that there’s no such thing as a “one schedule fits all” approach to getting your post timing right. The timing of a given post depends on that platform you are using, the audience you are targeting, seasonality (like national and regional holidays), global events (like a pandemic), and above all else—the quality of your content. The most reliable learnings on the best times and dates for your social media presence will always come from your own social analytics and by monitoring your social media engagement rates.
The best days and times to post on Instagram.
- Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 11am.
- Tuesday at 2pm.
The best and worst days to post on Instagram.
- Tuesday is the best day to post on Instagram.
- Sunday is the worst day to post on Instagram.
People are spending more time on Instagram, which means that there’s more chances to hit your audience when they’re online. The peak time for posting on Instagram falls midday during the week.
The best days and times to post on Facebook.
- Weekdays between 9am and 11am.
- Thursdays at 11am.
The worst day to post on Facebook.
- Sunday is the worst day to post on Facebook.
Facebook’s window of best times to post has also widened. Much like on Instagram, Facebook posts that go live on weekdays after 5pm or anytime on weekends receive less engagement.
The best days and times to post on Twitter.
- Wednesday 9am – 3pm.
- Tuesday and Thursday 9am – 11am.
The best and worst days to post on Twitter.
- Wednesday is the best day to post on Twitter to get engagements.
- Saturday is the worst day to post on Twitter.
Twitter is THE destination for people looking for the latest news and hot takes. It’s also a key channel for your audience to @ you in their mentions or connect via direct messages. Wednesday is the strongest day to get engagements on Twitter.
The best days and times to post on LinkedIn.
- Tuesday 9am - 12pm
- Wednesday 9am - 2pm
- Thursday 9am - 12pm
- Friday 10am - 11am
The best and worst days to post on LinkedIn.
- Tuesday is the best day to post on LinkedIn
- Sunday is the worst day to post on LinkedIn
LinkedIn typically gets the bulk of its engagement from Tuesday to Thursday between 9am and 12pm. It makes sense that people would be on LinkedIn most during their workweeks. Like other social media platforms, weekends are slow on LinkedIn.
The best days and times to post on Pinterest.
Pinterest has a very different demographic compared to the other platforms—it skews female and caters to people looking to gain inspiration for crafts, events, projects, hobbies, passion projects, and small businesses. This variety of use cases helps explain why Pinterest’s peak days and times land outside of working hours, which is the norm for the other social platforms we examine in this post.
- Friday 8pm - 11pm (peaking at 9pm)
- Saturday 8pm - 11pm (peaking at 9pm)
The best days and times to post on TikTok.
- Monday - Friday 6am – 10am
- Monday - Friday 7pm – 11pm
TikTok is the it social media platform—and it’s usage continues to incread. According to the 2021 TikTok marketing statistics by Oberlo, 90% of TikTok users access the app daily. Target your captive TikTok audience on weekdays first thing in the morning and later in the evening.
The best days and times to post on Snapchat.
- Every day between 10pm and 1am.
Snapchat is the nocturnal member of the group with most of its users active at night, according to Amplifer. Keep the late-night habits of your Snapchat audience in mind when posting to this platform.
The best times to post on YouTube.
- Every day between 7pm and 10pm.
It can take time for the YouTube algorithm to pick up on new content. Therefore, its best to begin your YouTube strategy by understanding the times when most users watch videos. According to HowSociable, the best time to post on YouTube is in the evening.
Now that you know the best days and times to post on social media, start brainstorming on the actual content that you’ll distribute. Wondering what to post next? Get inspired with our list of 33 social media post ideas.