To Achieve Peak Social Engagement for Your Brand, Post at These Times

For brands far and wide (and large and small), social media has proven to be an effective and budget-friendly way to both reach new customers and stay top of mind with existing ones. And as many social media managers have learned the hard way, when it comes to the much-sought-after exposure that a social post receives, the timing can often be just as important as the content — and the ideal timing can vary by platform.

So just when is the best time to post on social media? To help social-savvy brands solve the mystery, the social media team at Brandon has put together the following rundown on the best times to post on some of today’s leading social platforms. (This list is largely based on guidance from the American Marketing Association, with a few insights derived from our agency’s experience with clients’ posts added in.)

Read on to learn when to post on social media for business — and when to avoid.

Facebook

The most popular social media platform in the world with nearly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is something of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the types of content posted there. It’s a great place for brands to post comments; share photos, videos and links; stream live video; and much more.

Best times to post: Weekdays, evenings and early mornings see the most Facebook user activity — with weekdays between 9 a.m. and noon showing the highest levels of engagement.

Worst times to post: Give Saturday posts the lowest priority, as it shows the lowest Facebook engagement of all days of the week.

Brandon insider tips:

• Be sure to regularly engage with your fans on Facebook, responding to as many comments as possible with a reply or a question. This will help your brand feel more personable to consumers and help you establish stronger connections with them.
• Video content is king on the platform — but consider adding subtitles, as a substantial number of videos on Facebook are consumed without sound.
• It’s best to avoid highly promotional posts on Facebook, as its algorithms have cracked down on brand posts that are self-serving. (Instead, send fans off of Facebook for any such content, or use paid Facebook advertising for such messaging.)

YouTube

Boasting 2.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, YouTube is the go-to online destination for posting all types of video content. And for brands, it’s a great place to upload how-to videos, product demonstrations, and videos that answer FAQs about product and service offerings — then embed them all on their own websites.

Best times to post: Because users overwhelmingly find content on YouTube via search engines and video searches on the platform itself, the timing of uploads on YouTube is largely irrelevant. Add content there anytime, and users can find it when searching for videos on the topic.

Worst times to post: N/A

Brandon insider tips:

• Post high-quality videos on YouTube regularly, and work with your SEO team to optimize keywords within titles, tags and descriptions.
• For especially high searchability, use a transcription service to add subtitles to your videos.

Instagram

With 2 billion monthly active users, this social-networking app centered around sharing images and videos from smartphones is all about visual appeal. It’s a great place for brands to post high-quality imagery, fun video reels and infographics.

Best times to post: The sweet spot for Instagram posts is on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. delivering peak engagement levels.

Worst times to post: As with Facebook, weekends see less traffic on Instagram, with Sundays being especially slow on the platform.

Brandon insider tips:

• Use high-resolution/high-quality photography on Instagram, and tag pages when applicable/necessary.
• Be sure to geo-tag locations on all of your Instagram posts, and implement a hashtag strategy for added engagement.
• If your brand regularly leverages and/or interacts with influencers and brand ambassadors, Instagram is an ideal platform for these types of activities.

TikTok

A quickly growing social platform that’s particularly popular among younger consumers — and gaining traction among a broad range of other demographics — TikTok is home to 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. The unique platform’s primary focus is on short-form videos, and it offers a big opportunity to brands looking to gain exposure to new audiences — especially younger ones. That said, it also requires an altogether different approach to content than other social platforms. (Get the full 411 on that by reading this blog article from Brandon sister agency TBA Outdoors.)

Best times to post: Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. show high levels of engagement, with 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays attracting the peak numbers of users.

Worst times to post: Weekends, and especially Sundays, tend to draw the lowest levels of engagement on TikTok.

Brandon insider tips:

• When posting videos on TikTok, high-level production work is unnecessary — and in fact, professionally shot videos will seem out of place on the platform. Videos shot using a smartphone are perfectly acceptable, and are actually the norm.
• Another key to TikTok success is to identify current trends on the platform, and find a way engage with and/or mimic them, all while applying your brand’s own spin and voice. (The trends shouldn’t be hard to spot if you spend much time on TikTok, as the most popular ones tend to come in big waves, heavily populating most users’ feeds.) But act fast, as the popularity of TikTok trends tend to fade quickly.

LinkedIn

A social network geared toward working professionals, LinkedIn boasts 250 million monthly active users worldwide. It’s a great place for brands in all kinds of industries to track and share professional insights, as well as to seek out potential employees and share business-related updates. It can also be a powerful advertising venue for B2B businesses.

Best times to post: LinkedIn engagement levels are highest during workday hours throughout the work week, with peak levels seen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Worst times to post: Predictably, engagement on the professional network is lowest on the weekends.

Brandon insider tips:

• LinkedIn Groups offers a powerful way to make valuable business connections on the platform. Over 2 million Groups are currently active on LinkedIn, and they offer a great way for brands to meet and develop relationships with like-minded professionals who share common business interests.
• LinkedIn’s array of advertising formats includes Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Lead Gen Forms, Text Ads and Dynamic Ads. And with over 200 ways to target specific users and audiences with advertising on the platform, leveraging LinkedIn Ads can be a highly effective way to share brand messaging with exactly the types of prospects who are most likely to have an interest — especially for B2B businesses.

Twitter

A platform centered around users’ sharing of short messages (dubbed “tweets”) with a 280-character limit, Twitter has over 215 million monthly active users. It’s a good place for brands to share company news and developments, as well as to stay abreast of the latest happenings in their industry and keep an eye on customer sentiments about their products and services — all in real time.

Best times to post: Twitter sees the highest engagement levels in the morning hours (particularly between 9 a.m. and noon) on weekdays. Wednesdays see particularly high traffic on the platform, with peak engagement seen between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Worst times to post: Saturdays are the lowest-engagement days on Twitter, with Sundays being relatively slow days there, too.

Brandon insider tips:

• When you discover Twitter users talking about issues and trends relevant to your brand, seize the opportunity to proactively reach out and engage with them. By providing informed insights in these conversations, your brand can develop a reputation as a thought leader in the area.
• To boost engagement with your Twitter posts, use appropriate hashtags and incorporate links as often as possible.
• Hosting Twitter polls and contests can also serve to substantially increase user-engagement levels on the platform.

Looking to ramp up your brand’s social media efforts — and to rev up the results they deliver for your business? Brandon’s seasoned team of social-savvy marketing experts knows all the ins and outs of today’s leading social media platforms … and has the experience needed to move the needle for your business and its bottom line. To learn how you can put our team of social media professionals to work for your business, contact us today.