No brand wants to broadcast into a void.
A new report from Sprout Social looks at the social media usage trends of some 30,000 of its customers over the past year to understand when content was most, and least, engaged with.
When messaging via social media, regardless of the platform, the strategy should always be to engage as many people as possible to amplify the message and maximize its reach. Afterall, there’s a lot of potential reach out there, with nearly 4 billion social media users around the world, and the average person bouncing between seven different social networks each month.
While the report offers insights that serve to enforce general best practices, the best practice of all is for every brand should analyze its own data and optimize its communications strategy for its specific audience. Note that all times are Central Time (CST).
Here are the top takeaways from the report.
General Social Media Bests
If you’ve yet to truly dig into your own brand’s data, or test various broadcast days and times on your own channels, the following serve as general rules of thumb to follow.
- Best times to post on social media in general: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.
- Best days to post on social media: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
- Worst days to post on social media: Sundays
Best Times to Post on Facebook
With nearly 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook is by far the largest social media site in the world. It’s no surprise that it’s also the most-used platform by marketers worldwide (93%). True, the Facebook has made recent news by recording its first-ever daily active users drop in Q4 2021, but it’s important to keep perspective. The platform added back 30 million users in Q1 2022 and today boasts 1.96 billion daily active users.
Keep in mind that the times shown are recorded in U.S. Central Time (CST). While the "middle of the night" spike in engagement may, at first, seem counterintuitive, the data reflects Facebook’s significant global reach, and the audience engagement that takes place even as U.S. businesses sleep.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Facebook;
- Best times to post on Facebook: Mondays through Fridays at 3 a.m., Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and noon
- Best days to post on Facebook: Tuesdays through Fridays
- Worst days to post on Facebook: Saturdays
Best Times to Post on Instagram
Marketers love Instagram, too. In fact, some 78% of marketers leverage the platform, second only to Facebook. That’s because Instagram recently exceeded 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, suggesting the app still has room to grow, despite increased competition from competitors like TikTok.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Instagram;
- Best times to post on Instagram: Mondays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
- Best days to post on Instagram: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Worst days to post on Instagram: Sundays
Best Times to Post on Twitter
Despite the drama surrounding Elon Musk and his relationship with the social platform, Twitter still a worthy marketing platform commanding a significant audience. Twitter has about 436 million monthly active users. More than half (52%) use the platform daily, and with 84% using Twitter weekly.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Twitter;
- Best times to post on Twitter: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 a.m.
- Best days to post on Twitter: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Worst days to post on Twitter: Sundays
Best Times to Post on LinkedIn
If B2B is your bag, there’s no more notable social platform than LinkedIn. In 2022, the professional networking platform is projected to reach 66.8 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 58.5 million users in 2018. Approximately 16% of LinkedIn users are on the platform daily.
Best practices to optimize engagement on LinkedIn;
- Best times to post on LinkedIn: Tuesdays 10 a.m. to noon
- Best days to post on LinkedIn: Wednesdays and Thursdays
- Worst days to post on LinkedIn: Saturdays and Sundays
There’s No Substitute for Developing a Custom Communications Strategy
Keep in mind, these are broad data points across a wide range of brands and geography. While useful as a general guide, its critical to keep in mind that every brand, and every audience, is unique.
The truly “best” practice will always be to analyze the data for your brand's specific audience, test a range of broadcast times (and other variables), and tailor your communication strategy to maximize engagement.
For assistance with identifying the best times to post for your specific brand, reach out to the Screen Pilot team.
Did you enjoy the read?
Get original hospitality industry insights delivered to your inbox. Sign up to receive Screen Pilot’s "Unpacking" Newsletter.
No brand wants to broadcast into a void.
A new report from Sprout Social looks at the social media usage trends of some 30,000 of its customers over the past year to understand when content was most, and least, engaged with.
When messaging via social media, regardless of the platform, the strategy should always be to engage as many people as possible to amplify the message and maximize its reach. Afterall, there’s a lot of potential reach out there, with nearly 4 billion social media users around the world, and the average person bouncing between seven different social networks each month.
While the report offers insights that serve to enforce general best practices, the best practice of all is for every brand should analyze its own data and optimize its communications strategy for its specific audience. Note that all times are Central Time (CST).
Here are the top takeaways from the report.
General Social Media Bests
If you’ve yet to truly dig into your own brand’s data, or test various broadcast days and times on your own channels, the following serve as general rules of thumb to follow.
- Best times to post on social media in general: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.
- Best days to post on social media: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
- Worst days to post on social media: Sundays
Best Times to Post on Facebook
With nearly 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook is by far the largest social media site in the world. It’s no surprise that it’s also the most-used platform by marketers worldwide (93%). True, the Facebook has made recent news by recording its first-ever daily active users drop in Q4 2021, but it’s important to keep perspective. The platform added back 30 million users in Q1 2022 and today boasts 1.96 billion daily active users.
Keep in mind that the times shown are recorded in U.S. Central Time (CST). While the "middle of the night" spike in engagement may, at first, seem counterintuitive, the data reflects Facebook’s significant global reach, and the audience engagement that takes place even as U.S. businesses sleep.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Facebook;
- Best times to post on Facebook: Mondays through Fridays at 3 a.m., Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and noon
- Best days to post on Facebook: Tuesdays through Fridays
- Worst days to post on Facebook: Saturdays
Best Times to Post on Instagram
Marketers love Instagram, too. In fact, some 78% of marketers leverage the platform, second only to Facebook. That’s because Instagram recently exceeded 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, suggesting the app still has room to grow, despite increased competition from competitors like TikTok.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Instagram;
- Best times to post on Instagram: Mondays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
- Best days to post on Instagram: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Worst days to post on Instagram: Sundays
Best Times to Post on Twitter
Despite the drama surrounding Elon Musk and his relationship with the social platform, Twitter still a worthy marketing platform commanding a significant audience. Twitter has about 436 million monthly active users. More than half (52%) use the platform daily, and with 84% using Twitter weekly.
Best practices to optimize engagement on Twitter;
- Best times to post on Twitter: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 a.m.
- Best days to post on Twitter: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Worst days to post on Twitter: Sundays
Best Times to Post on LinkedIn
If B2B is your bag, there’s no more notable social platform than LinkedIn. In 2022, the professional networking platform is projected to reach 66.8 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 58.5 million users in 2018. Approximately 16% of LinkedIn users are on the platform daily.
Best practices to optimize engagement on LinkedIn;
- Best times to post on LinkedIn: Tuesdays 10 a.m. to noon
- Best days to post on LinkedIn: Wednesdays and Thursdays
- Worst days to post on LinkedIn: Saturdays and Sundays
There’s No Substitute for Developing a Custom Communications Strategy
Keep in mind, these are broad data points across a wide range of brands and geography. While useful as a general guide, its critical to keep in mind that every brand, and every audience, is unique.
The truly “best” practice will always be to analyze the data for your brand's specific audience, test a range of broadcast times (and other variables), and tailor your communication strategy to maximize engagement.
For assistance with identifying the best times to post for your specific brand, reach out to the Screen Pilot team.
Did you enjoy the read?
Get original hospitality industry insights delivered to your inbox. Sign up to receive Screen Pilot’s "Unpacking" Newsletter.
