Best Time to Post on Facebook in 2024: Getting The Timing Right

When Is The Best Times To Post On Facebook?

Businesses must look into every marketing strategy and hack to get more visibility for their content. Especially given that Facebook’s algorithm for outreach is not the best one. One way to get a better reach for content is to upload at the right hour. Whether it be Instagram or Twitter as well, it is then important to know when is the best time to post on Facebook. Putting up content at the right moment will help increase engagement and ensure that it is being visualized by as many users as possible.

Knowing what the best option to publish on Facebook is similar to a game. It is crucial to understand what is the right second to do it, what kind of content will get going, and understand that there will sometimes be some hits and misses.

Studies Made By HootSuite

HootSuite found out that the best times are between 12 pm and 3 pm every day of the week (Tuesdays lag a bit) and from 12 pm to 1 pm on weekends.

Studies Made By CoSchedule

CoSchedule found that posts on Sundays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays generate more engagement. Interestingly, they found that 3 pm content get most clicks, but 1 pm gets more engagement.

Studies Made By HubSpot

1. The highest rate of clicks happens between 1-4 pm weekdays. 3 pm is the best on Wednesdays.
2. For the weekend, the best is between 12-1.
3. The worst times to post are before 8 am and after 8 pm, especially during the weekend.
4. Trackmaven rounded up the best time to post is Thursdays at 8 pm.

Studies Made By Sprout Social

• Best times are Wednesday at noon and 2 pm and Thursday at 1 and 2 pm.
• The best day of the week to post is Thursday
• The safest to post during weekdays is from 10 am to 3 pm.
• Saturdays are the days with least engagement.
• Early mornings and evenings are the worst times.

It seems a lot to digest. The above is a general guideline – more details on the subject below.

The Exact Best Time of the Day to Post on Facebook is Not an Exact Science [Infographic]

Taking into consideration the amount of content being generated on FB, one can see that it is impossible ever to be able to see everything. That being said, it is important to crack through the noise to compete with all that. Unfortunately, although there are studies, like the ones previously shown, this is not really an exact science. Businesses may use marketing studies and their outcomes as a starting point. But deciding what the very best times are will be the result of a particularly thorough investigation. The same goes for Instagram and Twitter and pretty much any social media site.

Today, a study might say that the best times to post are around 1 pm and 3 pm. But right around the corner, another data shows that it is actually best between 12 noon and 1 pm. So, what gives? Why is there no accurate schedule to rule them all? The reason for that is actually pretty obvious. That is that people are too different. It is impossible to try and place human behavior in one box and expect results to be exactly equal. People all have various schedules and hobbies. Perhaps the time to reach a High School student that wakes up at 6 am will not be the same for someone in the professional workforce. Even within the same guild, schedules can be not the same.

Fortunately, tools to schedule Facebook posts in advance make a real difference to change habit and plan everything in advance.

Posting for Likes: 4 Key Factors To Consider

Although the right time to post is the result of further studies, some factors must be taken in to improve the chances of getting some engagement. Because it does not only come down to the right times but other aspects also factor in:

1. Location of the Audience and Timezone

All the best times provided to upload posts consider local times of course. This means that there needs to be an awareness of different time zones. For example, if a said business has an international audience, they should consider where their bulk audience and focus on that. Now, if part of this audience is located overseas, it does no good to ignore them especially if there are apps that offer post-scheduling services.

2. Day of the Week and Time

This is basically is the main topic of this article. A good post that drains down the oblivion hole is a total waste! Make sure to try with the suggested best times to post to get better results. The opposite will actually harm a business.

3. Quantity and Quality

Days and times to post are important things to consider, of course. But even if the uploads go at the right moment, it is pointless if these are not consistent or if they are rag content. Poor-quality content will negatively affect the image of a business.

4. Type of Media

Different types of media (photo, video, etc.) get distinct types of attention. This will greatly affect the amount of engagement you get with a post.

What Do All These Dates & Times Mean?

The most noticeable thing that one can learn from the data presented above is that there is a consistent peak of engagement during weekdays in the midday. Lunch breaks are the best times to get content visualized. This is basically people’s downtime. During weekends, people are not trying to reach out for help, so they are less likely to retort to social media for anything. They are out and about, so don’t expect to get much engagement.

Best Facebook-Posting Times for Nonprofits

Embedded from: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#times-fb

Nonprofits have a special schedule in which their content get engagement. Facebook is a great place for them to make announcements about events, activities, etc. The following are the best times for this sector:

1. Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 pm are the best times for nonprofits to post their content.
2. Some other times that were noted are Monday at 9 am, Tuesday at 6 pm, Thursday from 10 am to noon, and Friday at 9 am, and 11 am.
3. n weekdays, the optimal frame goes from 9 am to 4 pm.
4. Weekends and Mondays are the days that get the least engagement for nonprofits.
5. Within the weekend, Sunday is the worst day for nonprofits.

Just like other types of organizations, if nonprofits want to see likes and shares rolling, pay attention to the best times and days is fundamental.

Best Facebook-Posting Times for Consumer Goods

Regardless of what is being sold, consumer goods businesses will find great value in creating FB posts. To bring awareness, drive leads, and generate sales, these are the best times to post:

1. Consumer goods brands will find that the best times to post are Thursday at 2 pm and Friday at 11 am.
2. It is safe, though, to post during weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm. This probably reaches to online shoppers at home. Since the frame is rather wide, trial and error for some weeks will be necessary before going full front.
3. Some other times that find a high peak in engagement are Wednesdays from 11 am to 3 pm, Thursdays at 4 pm, and Friday from 10 am to 3 pm.
4. Weekends are down in the low for consumer goods brands.

Given that consumer goods will always have an audience, the time slots to guarantee engagement are larger. Note, however, that the weekend is still no good.

Best Facebook-Posting Times for Consumer Tech

Tech brands might get a higher level of expectation given that their product is actually technology. Knowing the correct moments to post as well as the quality of this material is fundamental to the success of a brand in this sector.

1. The times where tech brands will get the best results are Mondays at 11 am, and Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 pm.
2. On weekdays, photos loaded between 8 am, and 4 pm have a good chance of generating reactions.
3. The worst day to post for tech companies is Saturday. This is when they see less amount of interactions.
4. Early in the morning and late at night are not good times to post either.

The span for tech companies seems to be rather ample too.

Best Facebook-Posting Times for Education

Facebook provides a valuable platform for schools to communicate with their community or to promote their services. It works even better than Instagram and Twitter. But what is the best moment to engage for educational institutions? Let’s take a look:

1. Thursday between 2 pm and 3 pm is when schools get the most engagement.
2. However, publishing on weekdays between 11 and 5 pm is also safe to post.
3. Fridays and weekends are not good for education to post.
4. Interestingly, weekend evenings get a spike on interaction.

Whether it be addressed to students or parents, the proper times to post are also important for schools to get the engagement they want.

Best Facebook-Posting Times for Healthcare

Due to the importance of health issues for the community, healthcare services need to be on social media (Instagram, Google+, etc.). Therefore, they need to be more organized about their content and the times they are being posted.

1. Friday at noon is the best for Healthcare institutions to post.
2. Healthcare gest some interaction spikes on Monday at 2 pm, Wednesday from 12 pm to 1 pm, Thursday at 2 pm and from 7 pm to 8 pm, and Sunday at 12 pm and 2 pm.
3. Midday works better from Sunday to Friday.
4. Healthcare brands do not get enough engagement on Saturday.

Healthcare brands should thrive on getting their information seen as much as possible. This industry has an important social role that cannot be unseen.

Utilizing Insights to Find the Best Time to Post on Facebook

As stated earlier, in order to find the best times to post content some trial-and-error might be needed. Of course, to reduce the error part, guidance with the above information is the most appropriate thing to do. But this testing of what works best needs not to be done haphazardly. Facebook includes a section called Insights. This section offers businesses valuable information on how followers interact with their material.

Facebook Insights is a powerful tool to learn what the best times to upload content are. It is actually very simple to work with. (It is very similar to Instagram analytics. Insights show how the audience has interacted with the content being published. In the form of visually appealing charts, the amount of engagement per hour is visual at a glance. The data there also includes the type of content that generated more likes and shares.

The comparison of charts from different days of the week within several weeks offers much better insights on what might work in the future. If a post has the most likes at a certain hour, the next times to upload will be around those times. The charts even have a comparison between the days of the week. This helps determine which are the best days to place content.

With the information about what posts got better results, one can extract what type of content generates better responses. It was already stated that the form of media being posted is another important factor in getting positive results.

Google Analytics Tool

Google Analytics Tool is powerful to use, and it helps determine the times of best interaction with the audience. When using Google Analytics custom reports, users can choose which social media site to use.

Best Days to Post on Social Media Report

This report shows you the amount of interaction of any post across any social media platform per day. Clicking on this report takes users to a list of social media platforms.

Clicking on the site needed takes users to the days. Each day has its own report. With this information, businesses can see what the days that generate the most social activity are.

Best Time To Post on Social Media Per Hour Report

Knowing which days are the best to post are great, but the hour is also important. When you click on the social media platform-Facebook in this case-the site displays numbers from 0-23. This data reveals the hours of the day in which there was more traffic to a post. This is definitely the best moment to publish as it is when most activity occurs.

Social Media Traffic By Date and Hour

When it comes to knowing the best date and hour to post, the information provided by this report is invaluable. When clicking on Facebook, the user is taken to a list of dates. Clicking on the date will bring up a chart with the best times of that day. This information, put together with the other two reports can help determine the best time of the week and time to post.

Finding Out the Times in Which Fans are Online

Another powerful information obtained from Facebook Insights is the times in which fans are online. On the Insights page, tap on the section that says “Posts” on the left column. This opens a detailed breakdown of the times and days in which fans are most active. The chart reveals the average time across the week. Hovering over each day shows the relationship between the activity compared to the rest of the week.

Once this information is analyzed, determining the best times to post becomes an easier task. For instance, say there is an increase in people online at 9 am and then gradually increases until 4 pm. After 4 pm, there is a decline in the number of online fans.

This suggests that the best times to post content is from 9 am to 5 pm. Now, it is best to use time sections between this long span. Run experiments on smaller times within that one. In this way, the window becomes narrower and more effective. This means, finding the moment in which there is more engagement.

One thing to consider here is that more fans online does not necessarily mean that they will actually interact with the content. To test this, uploading at times that are not high with traffic is a good idea. There will be a frame where some success is found. Tap on that to decide if whether that off-peak time is convenient to post or not.

Finding the Time of Successful Posts

Another feature of Facebook Insights is the record of the reach and engagement figures of every post published. This information is found in “Posts” too. Below the graph showing times, users will find “All Posts Published.”

This shows, in detail, the times and dates in which they were published. This data helps to give insight on trends regarding times. In other words, what posts received more engagement during what times. It is important to note here that publications that were paid for will get a major engagement as a result. This will tip the scale, and when it comes to analyzing the best organic times, it should be factored out.

Luckily, the information in this section provides a ratio of organic and promoted posts. With this data, one can determine not only the times in which there were more likes, shares, and comments, but also the type of publications that generated it.

How Many Times To Post? – Posting Frequency

One very important aspect to factor in is what the ideal frequency is. Ideally, it should not be too frequent as not to spam the fans. On the other hand, less frequent publishing will make people forget about the brand altogether.

A Study by Hubspot Revealed Two Important Discoveries Regarding the Frequency of Publishing:

1. When fan pages with over 10,000 fans posted with a frequency of over 31 posts per day, the number of clicks and likes received did not increase greatly from when done 1-5 times a month.
2. FB pages with less than 10,000 fans posted around 60 times per month saw a decrease of up to 60% fewer clicks and likes per post than when doing so 1-5 times a month.

So, what is the line between spamming the audience and rarely publishing and thus losing their interest? A study conducted by coschedule.com revealed that the best frequency is at least once a day.

This will create a good balance between being forgotten by the fans and spamming their timelines with promotional content. Go lower than this and people will forget the brand. Get over the top and people will walk away towards the competitors.

Types of Media That Gain More Likes and Engagement

As stated earlier, the moment at which a post is situated and the quality of that post are not the only aspects to consider to evaluate a successful post. The type of media being shared also has its quota of credit on this.

1. Posts with Photos

In overall, photos get around 39% more interaction. A study revealed that featuring a photo, meme, and a small comment in a post generates around 53% more likes, 84% more click-throughs, and up to 104% more comments per post.

2. Posts With a Question or Questions

When the audience is polled or asked about something they are interested in, they are compelled to collaborate more. The six main types of question posts are general questions, brand-related questions, questions with images, opinion questions, open questions, and closed questions.

3. Posts With a Short Comment

Short comments generate more likes when, in a few words, they are able to express an entire thought. These straight-to-the-point publications receive 66% higher reach and reactions than those that are longer.

4. Jokes

People need to be cheered up sometimes, and a good chuckle can come a long way. Joke posts will engage your audience, and they will more likely give it a “like”. Just make sure the jokes are more complex than your typical “a guy walks into a bar…”.

5. Funny Images

Memes and funny photos will always generate engagement. These surface “feel good” sentiments and people will like it. The image itself can improve your business. Add a funny picture, and you will get reactions.

6. Posts to Inspire

These also trigger feelings of happiness in people. But not only happiness but positivity. This gives them hope and motivation.

7. Funny videos

If one funny image can get engagement, imagine a funny and short video. YouTube allows playing videos directly on Facebook. A funny vid will make wonders for a brand looking for likes and reactions.

8. Give Back and Share it

Give to a charity and post it on Facebook. This will also generate a warm heart on the audience. People will not only like the charitable action, but they will like the image of the company.

9. Give Free Stuff Away

Offering giveaways to followers can help boost engagement. People like free stuff and whenever they get the chance they will jump in. This is where brands require followers to recommend their page in exchange for a participation ticket.

FAQ Section

Is Facebook Free For Businesses?

Yes, it is free for businesses to use. There is no monthly fee or contract involved. This is why it is a great opportunity to boost business without having to spend hundreds of dollars in marketing options. This free Facebook will allow businesses to convert passive followers into active users of their page and, ideally, your brand, service, or product.

FB also provides the option to boost a post for a relatively low cost. This must be considered if the purpose is to reach out to people not interested in a product yet but that they might be. One great thing about this practice is that it allows the selection of a sector that one believes might be interested in the product or service.

How Can One Promote Their Business on Facebook For Free?

The following are 10 proven ways to promote a business on Facebook taking advantage of all the free tools:

1. Create a business presence that feels personal and responsive.
2. Post regularly and stay active.
3. Join Facebook groups.
4. Make a group of your own.
5. Create an event page.
6. Automate postings, especially those with special dates.
7. Ask followers to share your publications, blogs, etc.
8. Reach out to others via messages.
9. Live-stream with Facebook live.
10. Create a loyal community.

How Many Facebook Posts Per Day Are Too Many?

Indeed, it is important to promote a brand on Facebook. It might seem like; the more content is being shared, the higher the level of interaction and reactions. Studies have shown, however, that pretty much the opposite is true. A fan that feels spammed by a company will try to let go and run to the competition.

It has also been found that the most successful companies in the world post only once per day. This sounds like one needs surgical precision with the exact second and it kind of its true. Companies who post more than once per day saw a decrease in their engagement.

How Long Should a Facebook Post be?

Making sure that the marketing content of a post does not generate people to run away is equally important. People will read long articles in the newspaper because it is something they want to know about.

But what will make anyone, even followers, want to read a long document that is most likely promotional?

Twitter offers a limit of characters that do not exist on FB. Interestingly enough, posts made on Facebook should not have a length greater than 40 characters. Try longer than that, and the number of followers and engagement will start to wane down. Use images to communicate a longer message without having to write anything.

Putting It All Together

Uploading content on Facebook is as equally important as the type of content that is being shared. Generating engagement and reactions from users through social media will depend on placing them at the right instant.

Social media has become a crucial part of any business and its marketing strategy. It is imperative, even for smaller ones, to create a community there.

FB has millions of users, and one can be tempted to think that, by statistical probability, a post will receive proper views, likes, and shares. This is a mistake, and one must work on a strategy that will include publishing at the times that provide better results.

How long did it take for your team to master the art of timing posts on Facebook? Tell us about the challenges you have overcome and how social media benefits your business.

Matt Robinson

Matt is an experienced technical writer and translator skilled in writing targeted texts for a variety of audiences. He has a diversified background, including social media management of various products. He is a data-driven strategist and a passionate story-teller. He posts about all social innovations and delivers high-quality research and content to our readers.