The Statistical Best Time to Post on Facebook

If you run a social media marketing campaign for yourself or your employer, you naturally want to get the best bang for your buck. So when, statistically, is the best time to post on Facebook? Early morning? Midday? Late afternoon? Is there even a best time?

I run multiple social media accounts for companies across the country and have a few tried and tested schedules. Yet, I also admit that I don’t know everything so researching for this post was a good exercise for me personally as well as you dear reader.

The one thing everybody knows about statistics is that they can be manipulated or at least presented in creative ways to suit the desired narrative. Therefore it becomes necessary to consult several sources to come to a consensus. That is exactly what I have done.

It’s all about the timing

Other forms of marketing are all about the long game. Blog posting, case studies, email blasts, white papers, guest posts, interviews and other forms of promotion all gain momentum after a little time. Social media marketing is the opposite. It is a short, sharp hit whose primary effects last only a few hours. Secondary effects can last longer but their value is less. So timing really is everything.

Unfortunately, there seems to be no absolute ‘best’ time. Much depends on your audience, your industry and your time zone. The other consideration is whether you want shares or clicks. Some statistics present different times for different outcomes.

The general consensus is that the best time to post on Facebook is between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Weekend posting does well too, with posts on Saturday and Sunday between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. doing particularly well.

What the big guns think

Hootsuite has done a lot of work studying the different posting times and agrees with those timings. I use the Hootsuite platform to schedule posts and must admit to using their timings for my own campaigns.

SEO experts Kissmetrics consider Saturday to be the best day to post onto Facebook with 12 p.m. being the best time. They put together a neat infographic to display their findings. I learn a lot from Kissmetrics but do not follow their Saturday is best formula.

Another mover and shaker in SEO and marketing is Quick Sprout. They say 1 p.m. on Thursday is the best time to post to Facebook. They also say any day between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. is safe to post and will engage with Wednesday through Sunday being better.

TrackMaven also agrees that Thursday is the best day but says 8 p.m. EST is the best time, which is 1 p.m. somewhere. They go one step further and suggest that the best time to post on Facebook depends on your industry. There may be some mileage in that assertion but may also be slipping into the realm of marginal gains which isn’t where most of us are at. At least not to begin with.

Linchpin, another leader in digital marketing have done more work on that industry breakdown. They have put together a large page by industry and suggest that different times work for different sectors. For example, they say that if your target markets are in advertising and consulting that Saturday and Sunday are best. If you’re posting for the financial industry, Monday and Friday are better.

If you really want to delve into 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 in-depth studies of social media posting I have seen.

So what’s the best time to post on Facebook?

According to a cross section of statistics, it seems Thursday between midday and 1 p.m. is the best time to post on Facebook. While a single post per week is not enough to gather much engagement, including that timeslot in your posting schedule is essential.

The other weekdays mentioned above, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are all good bets too with posts between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. getting most attention. If you use a post scheduler and your industry supports the effort, posting on a Saturday and Sunday between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. gets some traction too. Check the Linchpin page for more information on whether your industry is awake at the weekend or not.

The timing of your efforts is only one aspect of mounting a successful social media marketing campaign. At least now you have a good idea of when to post!