The Best Times to Post On Social Media in 2021

by Burke Dorman
3 mins read
Best times to post on social media

A report by SproutSocial based on insights from over 20,000 of their users highlights the best times to post on each social media platform. 

Outside of the golden rule that content is king, knowing the best times to post on social media is crucial for for achieving optimal engagement. With so much saturation on every platform, it isn’t enough to have the perfect assets, come up with a great caption, or work with the best of the best influencers.

Being aware of when your audience is online is the only way to get your brand strategy to work effectively and successfully. With new patterns of interaction and engagement emerging every few months, staying on top of the data is key.  

According to Sprout Social’s 20,000+ customers, they’ve calculated the best times to post on each social platform, as well as the overall best and worst days to post. We recommend jotting this down and implementing it into your own social calendar. You might discover it was the missing piece to reaching your audience.

The Best Times to Post on Instagram

Got your high-quality image that’s on brand with your visual identity complete with witty post copy? Good. You’ll want to upload it on Tuesdays between 11 AM to 2 PM as well as Monday through Friday at 11 AM since these are the best times to post on Instagram, according to 2021 data. Your best day to post on instagram is on Tuesday, your worst day—Sunday. 

Instagram is more than just a pretty face. Over the past year, it’s been expanding its features such as Reels, Stories, and push discovery on the Explore page. You better believe Instagrammers are taking full advantage of them. It’s been through these new channels within the app that they’ve been discovering new hobbies, trends, conversations, and ways to express themselves. Your goal is to tap into that habit and organically weave your brand’s message into the mix. 

The Best Times to Post on Facebook

Facebook continues to be the most used social media platform in the world. Which is quite an accolade. It means there’s very little downtime and very few moments when eyeballs aren’t staring at its pages. Whether it’s the weekend, late at night, or early in the morning, engagement has shown to be consistent.

That being said, there are a few standout times. They are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 AM to 1 PM. Your best days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, your worst day—Saturday. 

When differentiating between social platforms, keep in mind that Facebook has a more global audience. Implementing an international or multi-location strategy would be effective here. 

The Best Times to Post on Twitter

If you want to know what’s happening in the world, you don’t open the newspaper, you go to Twitter. Just look at how we all followed the US Presidential Election and COVID-19. On this platform, you want to stay relevant. What you say and how you say it should add value to your audience’s daily scroll. When should you say it? Wednesdays between 9 AM and 3 PM, as well as Tuesday through Thursday between 9 and 11 AM are the best times to post on Twitter. Your best day to reach your audience is Wednesday, your worst day—Saturday. 

This doesn’t mean all your content needs to be serious, professional, and educational. It can be purely for entertainment. However, it will be most effective when it’s in line with the current news, latest developments, and trending topics. At the end of the day, your audience is coming here to take something interesting away. 

The Best Times to Post on LinkedIn

Most content on LinkedIn is pretty-much career-related, meaning people are usually on this platform throughout the work week. You should avoid the weekends altogether and post on LinkedIn Tuesday through Thursday between 9 AM and noon. Your best day to connect with your audience is Tuesday and Wednesday, your worst day—Sunday (obviously). 

LinkedIn has been expanding their audience base over the past year, with so many working from home and adjusting their professional careers as they go—the platform has been racing to accommodate this new work life balance. As such, LinkedIn is the platform to watch as they’ve been instrumental to the success of employee advocacy campaigns and recruitment. Content on LinkedIn is on the move. 

Creating a Calendar That Works For You

Ultimately, your brand’s social media strategy will look different from your competitors, even though you both are aware of the best times to post. The key is to look at your unique data. Whether you measure a post, story, reel, or video’s success based on likes, reposts, comments, sends, or tags—use them to your advantage. These numbers aren’t just a measure of how much your audience appreciates your content anymore. It’s a measure of how well you got it in front of them. 

Best times to post on social media 2021 infographic

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