If Facebook competed in the Game of Thrones, it would definitely become the King in the North, or the Queen of Westeros, if you like. Just because it has a two-billion army of users and two dragons hiding underneath the logos of Instagram and WhatsApp. Other social networks have already bent the knees. To use this social channel properly and get more traction on Facebook, we keep sharing different social media hacks. In this article, we summon our inner Bran and answer what is the best time to post on Facebook so your efforts don’t go unnoticed and result in maximum exposure.
There’s no rule for all when it’s best to optimize your social media marketing efforts. It would be strategically correct to post for the maximum number of users during the highest traffic times on Facebook. But Facebook has its good and bad days, like any other social media network. According to recent statistics collected and updated by Zephoria in April 2019, a spike in Facebook users’ activity is most noticeable on Thursdays and Fridays. The overall engagement rate tends to be 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays compared to other weekdays. Since people feel happier on Friday, experts advise publishing optimistic, lively content to suit the mood of the audience. If you have relevant content every day of the week, Buffer reports that the best time to publish on Facebook is between 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM during the week and Saturdays.
The problem is that there are too many suggestions on the best day and time to post on Facebook because of numerous studies dedicated to this topic. Here’s a number of social media marketing companies, pointing to the optimal days and times to post on Facebook:
Hubspot: Thursdays and Fridays from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
CoSchedule: 1:00 – 4:00 PM late into the week and on weekends.
SproutSocial: 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM on Wednesday.
Hootsuite: 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
What unites these viewpoints is the prime time when you can boost posts – during or after lunch. But still, considering that the optimal time slots and days differ, you would probably like to know why each is salient. Almost every study has a different data set directly related to the industry, time zone, and location. It doesn’t mean that all of them are wrong. It only means that you never know if they fit in your specific business situation. Therefore, it’s better to jump to your specific niche right away and find your peak Facebook posting time.
| Beware! The worst time to post on Facebook is on weekends before 8:00 AM and after 8:00 PM. |
Did you know that more than 480,000 users check their Facebook accounts from their mobile every minute? It shouldn’t come as a surprise, because people typically find that Facebook is the hardest social media platform to resist. That’s why it is so relevant for digital marketers to know what are the best and worst times to get the most likes or engagement.
Technology rules the world and it surely does it on social media as well. Remember how Google posted a video about Google Home featuring Macaulay Culkin as an adult in Home Alone? It was such a good move and the ad instantly went viral. Digital marketers should know that the peak time to post on Facebook for tech companies is Wednesday at 10:00 AM. Armed with this knowledge and killer content, marketers can achieve an impressive result. So anytime you have a thought to post something important or start a conversation on social, use this prime time. Additionally, don’t forget that the least engagement for tech is seen on Sunday and every day from 6:00 PM to 4:00 AM.
Promoting consumer goods is a wide-held practice on Facebook. This social network gives you so many opportunities in terms of what you can do on your business page. Generally, it is believed that the best times to schedule Facebook posts for retail brands are Wednesday at 1:00 PM and Friday at 11:00 AM. The worst time to post consumer goods content would probably be on Sunday, as it’s the day when the industry experience the lowest engagement.
In comparison to the above, it can be difficult for Media companies to get attention, especially for newborn portals. Good times to post on Facebook for this niche can be on Tuesday at 5:00 PM and on Friday in the morning, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. Similar to retail brands, Media companies should abstain from posting content on Sundays. The time slot from 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM can also be problematic.
The most popular times to post on Facebook for education institutions differ from the above because students can be active at night, in the mornings, or during the weekend. The peak Facebook times are on Wednesday at 9:00 AM or Saturday at 5:00 PM. However, social media experts do not recommend promoting on Facebook every day from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM and on Sundays.
People love nonprofit organizations and they have a lot of opportunities on Facebook. As usual, the content for nonprofit organizations is enlightening and informative. The highest engagement rate for nonprofits is during weekday mornings when people prepare for work. This is why we recommend Wednesday, with the best time of day to post on Facebook from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM in particular. It’s better to not schedule Facebook posts during the weekend or in the evening.
Healthcare is another niche growing its social presence. Healthcare social media managers consider Facebook a great place to distribute knowledge about the clinic’s practices, maintain relationships with current patients, and speak to the audience of potential patients. It’s good to post on Facebook for healthcare practitioners on Wednesday at 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM. The weekend has minimum engagement, so it’s best not to waste your efforts on publishing on Saturday or Sunday.
Curious when to post on Instagram? Check our article on best times and days to post on Instagram.
It’s never been easier. To figure out when your audience is the most active on Facebook, you should take a few baby steps. Go to your business page with Facebook analytics, click on the Insights section on the top, and then choose Posts in the left menu. Voila! You have the graph. Now you can see the weekdays with the most active users and if you hover your mouth over a day, you’ll see another diagram, with spikes. What you need to do now is to check out the place where the activity starts to grow and look at the times below.
What does this data tell us? The audience turns on its active mode near 3:00 PM and the number of active online fans starts to grow so the best time to make Facebook posts would be around 17:00 PM.
When planning publication time, however, be guided by where most of your readers and clients live.
CoSchedule has analyzed research from 14 studies and concluded that post frequency on Facebook should be at least once a day but no more. Otherwise, your followers can start to feel spammed. Although, again, it depends on the type of content and features of the target audience. In addition, you should regularly monitor the reaction of the audience and promptly answer questions and comments posted on your page.
Social networks can offer you maximum coverage and efficiency for posting at different times, but it’s better when an algorithm tells you exactly when to post. Let’s be honest here – we want to save as much time as we can. So sure thing, there is a tool. You can use PromoRepublic to automate posts on Facebook or any other social media network with the help of its calendar. The system learns constantly to ultimately suggest you when it’s best to post and to indicate the types of relevant content.
What Facebook trends have you caught your followers on? Let’s talk in the comments below!
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