Discovering the best times to post on social media platforms is the best way to optimise your brand’s social media marketing.

This is because users on specific platforms tend to follow a particular pattern or routine in the day.

For example, it would not make sense to post on LinkedIn after business hours as that’s when a majority of the users on the platform (who happen to be business people) are driving home, stuck in traffic or just ending their day, and would therefore not see any of your brand’s content (but more on that later).

With that said, Social Media Today recently released an updated outline of the optimal times to post on social media platforms.

Here, the team at content management platform amaSocial reveals what the outline entails:

What time should I post on Instagram?

With Instagram, most users login over the weekend and during lunch hours. The majority of the users log in from mobile devices, meaning that they are likely to use the platform whilst performing other tasks.

This is most likely due to this tech-savvy audience being so young, with 29.3% of Instagram users being between the ages of 18 and 24, and 33.8%, being between the ages of 25 and 34.

This is a global percentage, which means that over 50% of worldwide users on Instagram are under the age of 34. These young people like to go onto the platform the most between 11am and 1pm, and then again between 7pm and 9pm. What does this tell us? Well, these users work hard and when they’re ready to get some downtime, they hop on the ‘gram during lunch and after a long day.

Additionally, the best performing day is a Wednesday, followed by Monday and Thursday. Sundays are by far the worst days to post, so avoid that day if you can.

What time should I post on Twitter?

People love to talk and share ideas during the week, but after it hits 5pm on a Friday, most people want to go home and relax, or spend time with friends. And the same goes for users on Twitter.

This platform’s audience is most active during lunch breaks and throughout the weekday — but hardly any users bother to Tweet over the weekend.

In fact, most of them are active on the platform from Monday to Friday, with the best time being around lunchtime, so between 11am to 1pm.

In fact, it’s suggested in Social Media Today that marketers should try to post every lunch hour during the week in order to garner optimal engagement and increase their followers.

To sum up, post during the week, and not on weekends.


What time should I post on LinkedIn?

Since LinkedIn is a business-oriented platform, most users are actively online during their workday. Almost no one is looking at posts in the early mornings, and especially not in the evenings.

As for the best days to post, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays are your best bet. Mondays are crazy, with everyone planning their schedules for the week ahead, meaning that LinkedIn is a no-go zone. You’ll also want to steer clear of weekends and Fridays, as those are the days where you’ll get the least visibility.

Because a majority of the people on the platform are either in business, recruiting or work in marketing, the best time to post on LinkedIn is between 10am and 11am, or during work hours. These people already practically live on social media platforms so it would only make sense for you to post during the times they’re most active.

What time should I post on YouTube?

YouTube is a massive platform with two billion users worldwide as of 2020. With so many people subscribing, liking and sharing on this social media platform, it would be easy to assume that there wouldn’t be any specific times to post. This assumption is incorrect. Why?

Every platform has a pattern and peak times of content consumption — and YouTube is no different. Most of these users are active on weekends, meaning the optimal days to get views are Saturday to Sunday between 9am and 11am.

If you do want to post during the workweek, there are users that scroll through the platform on Thursdays and Fridays between 12pm and 4pm.

What time should I post on Facebook?

Facebook is like a wonderful mixed bowl with all kinds of users, ranging from stay-at-home moms to retailers and marketers. So, what’s the best time to reach audiences on this platform?

Well, it should first be noted that Tuesdays are the absolute worst days to post. Do not post on this day at all.

The majority of users globally are between the ages of 25 to 34, making up 19.4% of the audience worldwide. Many of these people enjoy browsing through their pages during whatever downtime they have, which is from 1pm and 4pm on Thursdays and Fridays.

Weekends receive the most engagement, with Sundays at 3pm being the most optimal time to post if you want people clicking on your content.

For more information, visit www.amasocial.co.za. You can also follow amaSocial on Facebook, Twitter or on LinkedIn.