It is important to find the best time to post to Facebook in order to stand out from your competitors and reach more people, and also to increase Facebook’s organic reach. We would love to help you figure out the best times to post. We will explain how to determine the best time to post content to your Facebook page so it reaches, exposes, and engages the most people. Are you interested in learning more?
Facebook accounts run by businesses are different from those run by individuals. Also, you don’t (usually) share more than one image of your baby or child doing something cute.
“Remember, With 32 percent of users frequently engaging with Facebook and leaving roughly 5 billion comments on the network each month, Facebook fans are ready to participate.”
Your Facebook business page (or group, if you have one) contains posts that you think your followers will find interesting. There might be a few (but hopefully not all) of your posts where you promote your brand and its product.
Can you post on Facebook at a certain time of day?
The best time to post on Facebook is likely to vary depending on the situation. We have numerous studies that attempt to figure out the ‘best time to post to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and almost every other social media marketing channel. Buffer has even created its own studies based on the wide range of results found in each study.
It has been suggested that posting to Facebook should take place between 1 pm and 3 pm on the weekdays or on Saturdays, according to a Buffer study. Thursdays and Fridays also have a higher engagement rate of 18%.
Posting to Facebook during the week and on Saturdays is best done between 1pm – 3pm.
In another study, Hubspot found that Thursdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. worked best for posting to Facebook.
Marketing professionals can use data from these studies to guide their efforts. Most studies conclude that there is no single ‘best time to post’ and, in reality, the best time to post depends on different factors for every company. Which region do your target customers reside in? What time of day do they typically visit websites? Would you consider sponsoring your post? In our mind, it would be more effective to focus on what time is best for your brand, instead of looking for a universally appropriate time to post.
Facebook posts cannot be made at a universally optimal time
Facebook posts more content than any of us could possibly consume, and as such, the News Feed algorithm determines what is shown to us every single time we open the Facebook app.
A person’s News Feed contains an average of 1,500 stories every time they log onto Facebook, according to Facebook’s VP of Advertising Technology, Brian Boland. There could be up to 15,000 potential stories every time someone logs on to Facebook if they have a lot of friends and like their Page.
The result is increased competition in News Feed – an area on Facebook where users can view content posted by their friends and families, as well as businesses – and it’s harder for stories to get traction there. There are at least 1,500 people who post to Facebook every day and timing is only one of several factors that determine which posts appear in a reader’s News Feed. Taking this into consideration, it’s also possible that the best time to publish could also be the worst.
Posting on Facebook: When is the best time?
Exactly when to post on Facebook is not an easy question to answer. Many studies have examined this topic, but they all arrive at different conclusions.
The results of a survey of clients’ Facebook postings by Sprout Social allowed them to draw some general conclusions. Central Time Zone (CST) was used to express all of their times. The same results could be found if you target your market in the same time zone.
It was concluded by Sprout Social that Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. were the best times for posting.
Generally, Wednesday is a good day to post.
During weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm, you’ll have the most consistent engagement. Sundays are the least engaging day.
Engagement is lowest in the early morning and evening hours before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. every day. Your Facebook posts are more likely to be noticed mid-week, around midday to mid-afternoon.
SproutSocial: Facebook Global Engagement
The majority of people probably check their Facebook apps during their morning tea, lunch, or afternoon tea breaks. On weekends and in the evenings, people are less likely to check Facebook.
With Facebook Insights, you can find the best time to spend
Facebook Insights is a tool that can help you determine the best time to post to your social audience on Facebook. Access to it is restricted to Facebook pages. At the top of your page, there is a link that gives you access to your insights. You’re interested in knowing when your Facebook fans are online. Just click on the Posts link on the left. A breakdown of how many of your fans are online each day and at what time can be found here.
You can identify peak times of activity by looking for spikes in the data. Also on the same page as your audience data, Facebook Insights provides data about your most successful posts. Keep track of the ones that get the most engagement. This information will be displayed when they appear. If you post more frequently at the same time, you may gain more engagement.
Sector specific best times to post on Facebook
Separate posting times have been found for different sectors for Facebook posts in several studies. Optimal times differ according to the sector in which your firm operates. Sprout Social and CoSchedule have both published reports that highlight the different peak times businesses experience on social media. Time of day and week are usually emphasized in these studies.
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Brands offering B2C services
For B2C businesses, CoSchedule determined that the best times to post on Facebook are between 9–10 am, 11–12 noon, and between 4–5 pm.
Researchers found that Wednesday at 1 pm and Friday at 11 am were the best times for B2C companies to post on Facebook.
On Thursday at 5 p.m., Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., were also high engagement times.
Consumers’ engagement with firms selling products online is most consistent between 10 am and 5 pm on weekdays.
Image: Coschedule
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Brands in the B2B sector
B2B companies and consumers are not so different, according to CoSchedule data.
Around 9 am or 3–4 pm is the best time for these firms to post.
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Brands in the media
A CoSchedule analysis shows that media brands are somewhat different from each other.
Their best Facebook posts often coincided with top tv news broadcasts at 7 am, 11 am, and 6 pm.
Data from Spring Social is not all that different for media companies.
On Facebook, they find that media companies post best on Tuesday around 5pm and on Friday around 8–9am.
Wednesday is an appropriate time, as are 5 pm on Thursday and 8–9 am on Wednesday.
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Brands associated with education
It may be a stereotype that students spend a lot of time on Facebook, but it does not appear to reflect reality. Higher education brands reach their biggest audiences before or during class breaks.
At 8 am, noon and 3 pm are the most crowded times for higher education. However, it is a more holistic view of education.
Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon were found to be the best times for posting on Facebook.
Engagement is highest during the weekday school hours, 9 am to 3 pm.
It is also reasonable during the Saturday lunch hour between noon and 9 pm.
The Best Time to Post on Facebook with Social Media Management Platforms
You can schedule your Facebook posts using most social media management platforms. Many of these platforms have been reviewed previously. An essential function of a social media marketing calendar is the ability to plan your posts in advance.
The posts can be scheduled in advance without being online. You can choose what time you want your posts to appear.
So, you can choose the best times to post on facebook based on your own social analytics or based on the research you’ve read. Many of these platforms will even suggest times when your posts would be most effective. You’ll most likely see a wedding photo on top of your News Feed throughout the day if one of your Facebook friends gets married. People flocked to see wedding photos as soon as they were posted, whether they liked them or not.
How do you choose the best time to post on Facebook?
The answer varies based on the situation. When building your own schedule, you can start with the most popular times overall, and then analyze and tweak as necessary as you become more familiar with your audience and when they’re most active. In order to make informed decisions about your social media strategy, you should always consider factors such as time zone and target audience.
