So What Are the Best and Worst Times to Post to Social Media?

That’s a question many people have as it relates to them posting content on social networks. Naturally, you want to post during the time of the highest traffic so your content can be viewed by as many people as possible.  Well who knows what that time really is? I’m glad you asked…all of the networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIN keep up with these statistics and release them throughout the year.

Interestingly enough, the times you think would be ok seem to be the times of the least activity on the networks. Facebook suggests posting for engagement between 1pm and 4pm. After 4pm user engagement seems to drop, understandably so since most people are thinking about getting off work and the battle of the rush hour traffic they must incur. Not to mention, all the different laws that have been enacted to prevent drivers from using their cellphones while their vehicles are in use. Furthermore, after getting home, many head into the mindset of winding down and getting dinner ready for the family.

One of the habits of engagement that was seen with research was that almost all of the social media networks list the weekends as the worst time to post. Of course Pinterest would be the lone ranger in this category which makes a whole lot of sense considering that many view Pinterest as more of a “hobby” related posting site. Arts, Crafts and all things in between of special interests of the users can be posted.

It’s imperative to understand these habits of engagement and schedule your marketing efforts and content aggregation around them to yield the best results for your marketing efforts. You can have the best looking marketing pieces and great content, however, if no one is there to see it, then it’s not working to your advantage nor is it an effective engagement tool for you. Check out this infographic provided by Social Caffeine. It breaks down the best and worst times to post on each of the main social media outlets.

Disclaimer:

These are considered to be the optimized times based on numbers each network provides as it relates to usage from end users. There could be other factors such as niche and industry that may not fit into these guidelines…what am I saying? Test, adjust and optimize until you find the perfect fit for your niche and followers. However, I would certainly suggest using these as starting guidelines. You know how the old saying goes…”Don’t reinvent the wheel…just realign it!”

Click the Image Below and the Expand Button  for a full size depiction.