Trying to figure out the best time to post on social media using Google is an activity akin to herding cats, drawing blood from a stone, or predicting what Julia Fox will do next—impossible.
One quick search for the ‘best days to post on social media’ brings up over 2 billion search results, each claiming they’ve discovered the perfect time to post for triple the engagement and that precious cut-through you’ve been patiently waiting for.
So, which one of the many case studies, articles, or research papers should you believe, and does posting time actually matter in 2024? While the answer to question #1 is a little tricky, our response to question #2 is a resounding yes. The day, time, and frequency with which you post to your channels do have a bearing on the performance of your content.
To help quieten the Google search noise, we’ve pored over study after study to give you an up-to-date, comprehensive picture of when and how often to post to social media. Before we get stuck in, though, we’ll leave you with this caveat – there’s no silver bullet. The best time to post on your owned channels is when your audience is online, as most social algorithms now rely on an initial boost of engagement to push your content out further. So, it pays to understand how to read your audience analytics, and use this to inform your posting schedule.
With that in mind, let’s examine the research on the best times to post on social media.
Platform 1: Instagram
We’re kicking things off with perhaps the most transparent platform: Instagram. Head of the platform, Adam Mosseri, has given us some handy insights into the algorithms (plural!) in the past, so we know that success comes down to a combination of recency and relevance.
The tl;dr is that new content that hits just right with your audience will be boosted by the algorithm. But if your post doesn’t perform in the first few hours after publishing, it runs the risk of being buried.
To nail the ‘recency’ component of the algorithm, aim to post when there are high volumes of users online – especially your existing audience. If they’re active on Instagram, they’re more likely to engage with your content right away and give it a nudge to be prioritized by Instagram’s algorithm. As a result, the best times of day to post on Instagram reflect when the highest volume of engaged users are online.
Use your Instagram analytics to figure out when your audience is most active – this will tell you the best time of day to post on social media.
- Best time of day to post on Instagram: Most reports tell us posting between 9am and 12pm is your best bet for quality engagement.
- Best days of the week to post on Instagram: The earlier in the week, the better! Monday to Wednesday are the best days of the week to post on Instagram.
- Best time to post Instagram Stories: Between 11am and 2pm on weekdays to tap into that all-too-common midday scroll.
- Best time to post Instagram Reels: Between 9am and 12pm local time from Monday to Thursday.
- Best time to post Instagram Carousels: Between 6pm and 9pm local time, any day of the week!
- Ideal posting frequency on Instagram: While recommendations on this vary, most creators see growth when they post three to five times per week on the feed and Reels. For Stories, the big guy himself (Adam Mosseri) says that users should be aiming to post twice a day – although we’d suggest that at a minimum.
💡 Plann Tip: While each platform may have a suggested post frequency for optimal engagement, it’s important to remember that the best frequency is the one you can maintain, regardless of the channel. If you can only manage a few posts a week, but you can keep it consistent, then that’s the best posting schedule for your brand.
Want to learn more about the Instagram algorithm? We’ve put together all the pieces of the Instagram puzzle in our guide to the best time to post on Instagram in 2024.
Platform 2: Pinterest
Pinterest is a powerful social media platform, and studies have shown that there is a right time to post to maximize engagement for your brand.
Pinterest content has a pretty long life, so does it even matter what time of the day or week you post it? Well, you might be surprised to know that timing actually has a bearing on the performance of your pins!
Unlike fast-moving platforms like Instagram and TikTok, though, the Pinterest algorithm is less finicky and depends more on the behavior of your audience.
Research shows us there are windows throughout the day and week when content is likely to hit more feeds and see better engagement. Within these time frames, the ‘best’ time to post will depend on your audience activity, which you can dig into in your Pinterest analytics.
It pays to think about this qualitatively, too, by asking who your audience is and what their behaviors are. If your content is about corporate workwear recommendations for women, for example, it’s probably going to perform best when your audience is on their phones during lunch breaks and their after-work commute.
- Best time of day to post on Pinterest: 12pm, 6pm, and 8pm in your local time, according to the latest research.
- Best days of the week to post on Pinterest: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Sounds like people love to scroll through Pinterest on a weekday!
- Ideal posting frequency on Pinterest: Various sources recommend posting anywhere between one and 35 (!) times per day. Ultimately, the best post frequency for Pinterest is going to be one that’s sustainable for your business, your team, and your content strategy.
Learn more about the best times to post on Pinterest, as well as some Pinterest content dos and don’ts, in our always-up-to-date best posting times on Pinterest guide.
Platform 3: TikTok
We’ve all heard famous TikTokers say the only way to grow on the platform in 2024 is to post multiple times a day. If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably scratching your head thinking, ‘is that really true?’ (and ‘how in the world am I going to manage that?’). Well, we’re here to demystify all the information swirling around in the TikTok-verse with some cold, hard facts.
Research suggests that the best time to post on TikTok varies by day and by the location and time zones of your audience. The best time to post on Monday in the USA is not the same as the best time to post on Saturday in Australia – so the only true way to figure out what’ll work best for you is to analyze your stats and see where your followers are and when they’re most active.
To find the best times and days to post on TikTok, we recommend using the ‘Most active times’ section of your analytics to see when your audience is online.
- Best time of day to post on TikTok: On TikTok, there’s no ‘magic’ time to post – use your analytics to figure out the best time of day to post for your audience (more on this later!).
- Best days of the week to post on TikTok: The stats vary, but as a general guide, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are good days to post on TikTok.
- Ideal posting frequency on TikTok: The team at TikTok recommends posting between one and four times a day for maximum engagement. While that might seem like a lot, consider the different types of content you can utilize to help your business get there, as well as using a scheduling tool like Plann to take the stress out of posting.
Keep Reading: Learn how to deep dive into your analytics on TikTok to find your page’s perfect posting time and more in our comprehensive guide to the best times to post on TikTok.
Platform 4: YouTube
Like most other platforms, the best time to post to YouTube is heavily reliant on user trends. Even with the introduction of YouTube Shorts, the platform deals predominantly with long-form videos, and user behavior reflects that. If you click into your analytics, it’s likely you’ll observe peaks in the mornings before work, during typical lunch hours, and from 5pm onwards. This is because users have more free time during these periods to watch content that might last for 10, 30, or even 60 minutes, compared to a short TikTok.
Four side-by-side screenshots of YouTube Studio depicting a variety of analytics including impressions, views, and top posts.
- Best time of day to post on YouTube: Between 3pm and 4pm to ensure your content is ready to go for the post-work peak time.
- Best days of the week to post on YouTube: Most research suggests that Fridays are the best days to post on YouTube, followed by Saturdays and Sundays.
- Best time to post a YouTube Short: Because Shorts are super snackable (especially compared to your typical YouTube video), they perform better on weekdays when people may have less time to watch. Mondays and Tuesdays are historically the best days to post to YouTube shorts. The best times of day are once again in those ‘free time’ windows – before 9am, between 11am and 1pm, and after 5pm.
- Ideal posting frequency on YouTube: Because of the nature of YouTube content, it’s unrealistic to post every single day – and the algorithm doesn’t demand it. Most data indicates you’ll see an uplift in engagement from posting once or twice a week.
Platform 5: LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a pretty unique platform – find out how to get your content in front of as many eyes as possible by posting at the right times.
Two things make LinkedIn’s algorithm unique to other platforms: its professional nature and the ‘shelf life’ of its content.
If you’re a regular LinkedIn user, you’ll notice that a post can often garner reactions and shares days, if not weeks, after it was first published. However, this doesn’t mean that you can forget about the best times to post on LinkedIn! This is still a relevant factor and one that’s heavily influenced by the 9 to 5 grind.
You’re far more likely to see a post get traction on weekdays and around traditional working hours, when job seekers and corporate workers alike are actively seeking out professional content.
- Best time of day to post on LinkedIn: As always, studies vary – but safe times to post include mid-mornings, lunch time, and around 5pm according to data aggregated by LinkedIn themselves.
- Best days of the week to post on LinkedIn: Weekdays are when your LinkedIn content will see the most engagement! Surprised? Yeah, neither are we.
- Ideal posting frequency on LinkedIn: Some LinkedIn creators are posting upwards of three times per day, but research indicates the sweet spot might be between three and five times a week.
Learn more about the best times to post on LinkedIn, as well as what affects your LinkedIn posting times, in our always-up-to-date best posting times on LinkedIn guide.
Platform 6: Facebook
Lastly, let’s look at Facebook. While Facebook is practically a legacy platform at this point and is becoming increasingly more ‘pay-to-play’, posting times are still relevant for brands looking to cut through the noise. Like Instagram, Facebook scores its content based on relevancy, and the more out-of-the-gate engagement a post gets, the more likely it’ll be earmarked as ‘relevant’. So, knowing when most people are online – especially your people – could be the deciding factor between a flex and a flop.
In the Insights section of Facebook Business Manager, you can find out when your fans are online – and thus, nail down the best time to post.
- Best time of day to post on Facebook: Facebook’s demographic is slightly older than, say, Instagram – so you’ll likely find people are online around traditional work hours. Content tends to perform well around 8am, 12pm, and 6pm.
- Best days of the week to post on Facebook: Like many other platforms, you’ll see your best engagement on weekdays! Some studies suggest slotting your best posts in between Monday and Thursday.
- Ideal posting frequency on Facebook: While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, a bunch of different studies tell us posting once to twice a day on Facebook could help skyrocket your engagement on the platform.
Learn more about the best times to post on Facebook, and tips on finding your best posting time, in our always-up-to-date best posting times on Facebook guide.
How to find the best time to post on social media for your brand
Before you pencil all the times and dates we’ve suggested into your social media calendars, we’ve got one last critical step – understanding when the right time to post on social media is for your brand. After all, this data is just an aggregate of the many studies out there. If you’re looking to really nail your engagement, there’s nothing more valuable than having concrete evidence that relates to your brand and your audience’s behavior.
Depending on which platform you’re dealing with, the easiest way to find this out is to dig through your analytics. Most social media platforms have an insights or analytics section that shows audience behavior, including which times of day your followers are active. Use this data to drive the times you post on social media to start with, then adjust and move things around as needed.
If you want to take all of the guesswork out of when to post on social media, Plann Analytics can help. For Instagram, TikTok and beyond, we’ve rounded up the metrics you should be measuring in one handy place. We’ve even got a ‘best times to post’ feature embedded within our post composer so you can figure out when to drop your next viral video and schedule it immediately instead of digging around on Google.
Level up your social media marketing game with Plann
Whether you’re struggling to keep up with the fast-paced nature of social media or simply want to devote more time to growing your business and focusing on those tasks that take place offline, Plann’s range of features is sure to help save you time with an automated social media strategy.
From AI-generated captions to cross-posting, analytics, hashtags and more, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on business growth. We even auto-post your Instagram Reels to take the hassle out of growing organically on the platform!
Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!
