“When is the best time to post on social media?”, you furiously type into Google.
You have the determination, content, and consistency to grow your platforms, but you’re just not seeing the engagement and conversion rates you want.
So what gives? You’re probably posting at the wrong time for your audience.
After all, when to post is almost as important as what to post (almost!)
Maybe you’re posting when everyone is sleeping or on Sundays (one of the worst days for engagement).
Whatever your ailment, we’ll figure it out with a heavy dose of research!
This guide takes a deep dive into the best times to post on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok for maximum reach and engagement.
Ready to whip your post scheduling into shape? Let’s go!
The Best Times to Post on Social Media
Here’s a complete breakdown of the best time to post on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok.
All backed up by research and split into industries!
When is The Best Time to Post on Instagram?
Struggling to grow on Instagram? The secret sauce lies in engagement.
Psst…Did you know Instagram only shows your post to 10% of your following? Depending on their reaction, your post is either given a boost or buried.
The more likes, comments, saves, and shares you can get within the first hour of posting, the more the algorithm will like you and share your post to a wider audience.
If you’re posting at a low engagement time, you’re giving your new post no opportunity to spread like wildfire.
According to research, the average best time to post on Instagram is between 2 pm and 3 pm CDT.
However, you need to look at the day of the week as well. If you schedule a photo for Sunday (the worst overall day) at 2 pm, you’ll have dramatically lower engagement than Thursday (the best overall day of the week) at 2 pm.
Here are the average best times to post on Instagram during the week globally:
1. Sunday: 8 am – 2 pm
2. Monday: 11 am-12 pm
3. Tuesday: 10 am to 3 pm-7 pm
4. Wednesday: 11 am
5. Thursday: 10 am-12 pm
6. Friday: 10–11 am
7. Saturday: 9 – 11 am
Here are the overall best times to post on Instagram by industry:
• eCommerce: Wednesday at 3 pm
• Media companies: Friday at 9 am
• Education: Friday at 10 am
• Non-Profit: Tuesday from 1–3 pm and Wednesday at 2 pm
• Tech: Wednesday at 6 am, and 9–10 am., and Friday from 7–10 am
• Healthcare: Tuesday at 8 am
• Finance: Friday at 11 am
• Recreation: Wednesday and Thursday at 1 pm
When is The Best Time to Post on Facebook?
Facebook is notorious for its lack of organic reach.
However, there are ways around it.
You can tip the algorithm in your favor by posting when your audience is most online. It will boost the chances of people seeing your content, engaging with it, and sharing it.
Research shows that Facebook user’s taper off on the weekends.
So if you want to capture your fan’s attention, skip posting on the weekends and stick to the weekdays.
You should also consider how your audience uses Facebook. Most of us log on for midday updates (usually during a lunch break). In the mornings, we are busy getting ready and sneaking in a quick scroll before work begins, and in the evenings, it’s Netflix time.
Here are the average best times to post on Facebook during the week globally:
1. Sunday: 9:00-2pm
2. Monday: 9 AM – 10am 1pm
3. Tuesday: 10am 1-2pm
4. Wednesday: 9–3 pm
5. Thursday: 10am-2pm
6. Friday: 9–11 am
7. Saturday: 9 – 10am
Here are the overall best times to post on Facebook by industry:
• eCommerce: Wednesday at 1 pm and Friday at 11 am.
• Media companies: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 5 pm, Friday from 8–9 am.
• Education: Wednesday at 9 am and Saturday at 5 pm
• Non-Profit: Wednesday and Friday at 8–9 am.
• Tech: Wednesday from 9 am-noon
• Healthcare: Wednesday from 10 am-noon
• Finance: Wednesday at noon
• Recreation: Tuesday at 2 pm, Wednesday at 1 pm and Friday at 11 am.
When is The Best Time to Post on TikTok?
TikTok is the newest social media platform on the block and it’s no different than the rest.
When you post will dictate the success of your post.
To maximise your success on TikTok, you need to build a content schedule around where your audience is from.
For example, if 80% of your followers are from Los Angeles, and you’re from South Africa, you don’t want to post when it’s 3 am in the United States.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, who analysed over 100,000 posts, here are the best times to post on TikTok in Eastern Standard Time (EST):
• Monday: 6 am, 10 am, 10 pm
• Tuesday: 2 am, 4 am, 9 am
• Wednesday: 7 am, 8 am, 11 pm
• Thursday: 9 am, 12 am, 7 pm
• Friday: 5 am, 1 pm, 3 pm
• Saturday: 11 am, 7 pm, 8 pm
• Sunday: 7 am, 8 am, 4 pm
If you want to see where your followers are from, switch to a TikTok Pro account. It’s free, but you will need more than 100 followers to qualify.
When is The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has a bit of a reputation for being the ‘boring’ social media network.
But if you’re using it correctly, it’s a powerful lead generation machine and can propel you into an industry thought leader.
How do you do that? Show off your personality. Use GIFs and pop culture references. Join groups and spark friendly debates. Share things you find fascinating. Make dad jokes and write captions that sound like you.
But none of that matters if you’re sharing your industry insights and quips when no one is online.
With LinkedIn being a more professional network, most people are online during the week. Weekends? It’s a barren desert.
Here are the average best times to post on LinkedIn during the week globally:
• Monday: 11 am 1 pm-2pm
• Tuesday: 9-10 am 12-1p m
• Wednesday: 8–10 am 12 pm
• Thursday: 9 am 1–2 pm
• Friday: 9 am
• Saturday: 8-9 am
• Sunday: 9 am
Find Out The Best Time to Post on Social Media for YOUR Audience
While it’s great to have the top times to post on social media across the board…
…You know what’s more awesome?
Fine-tuning those times to YOUR audience.
By digging around in your analytics, you might find that your audience is online at off-peak times. Or, your followers are tapping away when you’re catching up on your beauty sleep.
With Plann, you can cut down on research time and combing through your analytics for different platforms. You’ll be able to automatically schedule your social media posts to go up at either the best time locally, or the time that your audience is most active. That way, you can help give your content the reach, visibility and engagement it deserves!
Create your Plann account today and stop second-guessing when is the best time to post on social media for your audience!
