There are lots of articles and studies that show you the best times to post content on social media (you may have already read a lot yourself if you came here by typing “best times for posting on social media” in your search bar). And you know what this article will tell you? “It depends.” Yeah I know.
But let me tell you a little more about what it depends on and how you can get more specific answers – because they are there, we have them, do not worry 🙂
Discover your best times to post on social media
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Is there such a thing as a “best time to post on social media”?
Well, not if what you are looking for is one universal rule that you can use without considering things like:
- Your industry
- Whether your business is B2B or B2C
- Your target audience and preferences
- Time zones
- Geographical location
- Individual social networks
- Devices your audience uses to read your social media posts
- The type of content you post.
And so on and so forth – you see. So, sorry to disappoint you, but I can not tell you “the best time to post on Facebook is Monday, 14:00”, as long as it turns out to be true. Because I do not know all of the above for you and your business.
Fortunately, you do. So it will not be so difficult.
But first, let’s look at what (some of) the available data does say
First of all, marketing is a numbers game (up to a point) – but those numbers are not universal. Like, you will not find a guide or guide that you can use to plan your calendar on Facebook or Instagram. (If there was, I would not have had a job writing these articles).
And it sucks, I know.
But it’s a bit not either.
Yes there is Research Shows you an average The best times to post on various social networks. As an example:
- Times when people take a break from their work day
- As they drink their morning coffee, scroll through their social media updates
- When they shut up at their table for that day
- Or when they pick up their phones / laptops after dinner for scrolling in the evening or for quick email coordination
- Or even on a Sunday evening while your clients can prepare for the upcoming work week.
And as you may already see – maybe we will get some average here, depending on the type of audience. For example, whether you are selling products or services to healthcare professionals who may not be able to scroll through Facebook or Instagram throughout the day, and instead go in the early morning hours before they start their shift. Or entrepreneurship of a mother who collects work late at night after putting their children to bed.
for example, According to CoSchedule, The best times to post on Facebook for B2C businesses are between 9-10 in the morning, 11: 00-12 at noon and 16: 00-17: 00. This makes sense, since these times probably overlap with breaks at work or the end of the day.
But this is clearly only part of the truth.
And the truth is…
Your best time to post on social media is just that … yours
Of course, you will probably fit into a broader context of the industry, and it is advisable to check the metrics for your type of business, but no one will know the best time to advertise for your specific audience like you. (It came as a surprise?)
You just need tools to keep track of it (I know I say it like it’s super easy, but it’s about that).
Like using social media analytics to monitor your * content * status:
- When people respond to your posts
- What kind of posts on social media are they responding to.
Then use these considerations in creating an advertising schedule for your brand (I’ll show you how to do that later as well). You can do both on NapoleonCat, so here, let me show you.
Finding the sweet spot of your content, which is the best time to post on social media
If you use NapoleonCat, go to Analytics and then to the Content tab. This is exactly where your source of knowledge about the performance of your posts on social media is located – and at what hours of the day.
You can see your best times to post for:
- Instagram.
The platform will show you engagement in posts by days and by hours, with details on the number of interactions from your audience.
Analyzing both over time will help you determine which times and days typically get the highest engagement rates – and schedule your content log accordingly (more on that shortly).
This knowledge, along with the types of social media posts that generate the most engagement, will help you tailor your strategy forward.
Discover the best times for your competitors to advertise
Wondering how it works for your competitors? After all, you and your competitors share the same (or very similar) target audience.
In NapoleonCat, you can analyze their post timings in the exact same way you would for your social media content (as shown in a few paragraphs above).
What’s really helpful is that you can analyze several competitors collectively by creating a data set so you can set more reliable industry standards and see the bigger picture, instead of just focusing on a single profile.
You can watch this video to see how it is done step by step – both for your profiles and for your competitors.
Find the way forward
Now that you know when people are responding to your (and your competitors’) posts, you can design a content log that is more likely to be effective than just posting things whenever you have time.
What, by the way, you can also do in NapoleonCat.
Here are some tips on how to do it:
Set the frequency of publication
This may require trial and error – but at least now you have data you can use as a reliable basis. Some other considerations should include:
– The resources you have to create content and publish it. Obviously creating content like videos can take longer, so keep that in mind. Creating a batch of your posts and scheduling their publication automatically is key here.
– The resources you have to conduct discussions under your posts (which of course you want to have to increase engagement rates). Automated management is your friend here.
– Your industry and product / service – and what types of content you want and can produce around it.
You can start slowly – for example in two posts a week on set days and experiment frequently. Try to see what happens when you increase / decrease the frequency and how it affects engagement rates.
The key is to follow closely and make adjustments as you go. And keep posting regularly to enter the algorithm and keep reaching your audience. Social networks hate when brands are inconsistent and may punish you with a lower reach.
Analysis and reports of social media
Analyze your social media performance and track your competitors as well! Generate in-depth social media reports in seconds. Try NapoleonCat for free:
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Define what you want to talk about
Data on engagement in posts will also help you determine when people are more likely to participate in conversations on various topics. So dig into it and plan your schedule around key categories on specific days.
A smart thing to do is create recurring content formats that appear on the same day of the week. People can get used to your posts and (if they are fascinating, of course) watch them and pay more attention.
Schedule your content in advance
Both to save you some work and also to control advertising times more effectively. When you have a bird’s eye view of your content, you can make global changes and adjustments and also know what to expect and when.
With NapoleonCat, you can create a shared log that your entire team has access to, so everyone will always stay ahead of the social media schedule.
This is especially helpful (and actually necessary) when your audience is scattered across the globe, and the data clearly shows you that you need to post in the middle of the night. Or when you are planning time-sensitive seasonal content – like your Black Friday promo, for example.
Respond in time
Your involvement depends not only on the timing of the post on social media and its content (of course), but also, among other things, on how you conduct the discussions that take place below. Your relevant and coordinated responses will encourage engagement and at the same time help you connect with your fans and followers in a more genuine way.
When you use NapoleonCat, this part of the social media puzzle becomes easier (and connects to all the other parts, when you work in just one tool).
Track conversations on different social media platforms using the social inbox to stay up to date on everything happening within one dashboard.
In some cases, you can automatically manage the notes to make it even easier. This is especially helpful if you get a lot:
- Repeated comments and questions, especially around things like product offers, opening times, etc.
- Spam, including unwanted links (here’s how to create an anti-spam rule).
Protect your social networks from spam
Automatically hide or delete offensive comments, hate speech and spam. Try NapoleonCat for free:
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Time is money – but that’s just one side of the story
Timing is crucial on social media. A poorly timed post – even if really interesting and valuable – can be completely lost by your audience if it is published at a time when it is unlikely to engage. But even scheduling alone is not enough to keep your audience engaged.
So once you determine the best days and times to advertise to get people involved, make sure your content strategy is tailored to what is important to them as well. Either way, you have some valuable data at your fingertips – so you will make good use of them.