Timing is everything.
It doesn’t matter how good your content is.
If you don’t get it to the right audience at the right time, it’s not going to be efficient.
And worse, it’s not going to bring in the engagement that you need.
We’ve discussed the best times to post on LinkedIn before, and in this guide, we’re going to explore when is the best time to post on Facebook.
Ready?
It’s time.
Facebook Post Times are Complicated but Here’s the General Rule…
Post anywhere from Tuesday to Thursday.
And, make sure you post from 8 am to noon.
However, here’s the problem with this general rule.
There are a lot of conflicting reports out there if Wednesday is better than Tuesday and so on, and the truth is, it will really depend on your audience.
We’ll try to break this down for you today.
When is the Best Time to Post on Facebook?
The best time to post on Facebook is anywhere between 8 am to noon.
And, this is then followed by 1 to 4 pm in the afternoon.
Here’s why.
People could be checking their phones during the workday for a couple of reasons:
- They want to pass time
- They’re in between meetings
- On their way to their commute
- Right after lunch
- As a reward for completing a task
- For messaging
When people take a break for lunch, they usually grab a bite to eat, and this means that for a brief hour, social media usage time takes a hit until they’re done eating.
When work starts, you’ll see traffic start going up again.
Curious about the best time to post on LinkedIn? It’s not Monday.
The Worst Time to Post on Facebook
Don’t post content when people are asleep or away from their devices.
This means anywhere from 8-9 pm until 7 am.
Even if your prospects are awake, they might not be in the right mindset to receive your message.
Catch them at the right time.
When is the Best Day to Post on Facebook?
Some studies have shown it to be Wednesday where people are trying to get over the midweek hump and could casually be browsing through Facebook during the workday.
However, Tuesday and Thursday are also close contenders with Monday and Friday coming in last.
Here’s the theory behind it.
Monday is the beginning of the week, so people generally have more to do and they’re trying to set the mood for the rest of the week. This means that they’ll spend less time on Facebook as they’re more focused on work-related activities.
On the other hand, Friday is the end of the week, there’s stuff to finish off before the weekends so they’re also pressed for time.
Hit them in the middle of the week for the best effect.
The Worst Day(s) to Post on Facebook
According to our data – and a lot of other digital marketers – the worst day to post on Facebook is Sunday.
A close runner-up to Sunday is Saturday, which isn’t too surprising.
Our data on LinkedIn posting times also suggests the same phenomenon with weekends being the worst day to post content.
This is probably because most people spend less time on social networks than on weekdays where they use social platforms as a way to pass time.
But, here’s another consideration.
Your prospects won’t be in the right mindset to be receptive to the content that you put out on the weekends.
It’s highly likely that they’re resting from the work that they’ve done from Monday to Friday (or Saturday for a few).
This makes it an inefficient use of marketing resources.
And, that’s not how growth hackers function.
It Depends on Your Audience
There are general best practices when it comes to posting times and dates on Facebook.
But, here’s the problem.
They don’t always work because it will still depend on your audience.
The Facebook usage behavior of decision-making units of industries is different from each other.
Some people work longer shifts or are more active on the weekends.
Some barely check their phones when they’re working in something intensive like manufacturing.
Some have weird times for breaks.
All this has to be taken into account.
What’s important is that in your ideal customer profiles, you also note down industry-specific break times and Facebook usage time.
You can derive this data through research and by simply asking people then doing your own experiments and testing.
The Time Zone Issue
Another critical consideration is the time zone difference between you and your prospects. Always follow the time zone of your prospect.
It might seem tricky if you’re targeting the United States but have to account for people on the West Coast and East Coast.
However, this can be a good thing.
The more you have to tweak your post release and scheduling, the more you get into the habit of making sure everything that you put out for people to see is hyper-personalized.
Instead of just personalizing the content release schedule for your prospects in New York or Los Angeles, you can even add geographically-tweaked content elements that you can use.
Look At Your Insights
No matter if you follow the best practices for posting on Facebook or not, you have to check out your own data.
You’ll find that it will provide you a wealth of information as to how your content is doing given your audience.
All you have to do is head over to Facebook Business Suite for your page and head over to the left pane.
Click on “Posts & Stories”
This will take you to your post and stories and show you your engagement rates and reach.
You can also proceed to insights for more detailed information.
Once you figure out the days of the week or the time where your posts have gotten the most engagements, you can leverage your own data and integrate that with Facebook best practices the next time your post content on Facebook.
However, beware of bias.
You need to spend at least a couple of weeks posting before you can get a good sample of your data, and from there you have to identify the patterns you’re getting week-on-week.
This is to make sure that you don’t accidentally decide to start posting on Saturdays only just because your engagement spiked due to a good piece of content.
Look at your averages, they’ll help you make a more informed decision regarding when is the best time to post on Facebook.
Takeaways
When is the best time to post on Facebook?
Tuesday to Thursday from 8 am to 12 pm.
But, that’s just the best practice.
You still need to rely on the data that you’ve gathered internally.
That’s what Facebook growth hacking is all about.
Using what works while leveraging the data that you have.
Nobody knows your specific markets more than you.
Trust your gut once, but trust your data twice.
At BAMF, we don’t just specialize in LinkedIn marketing solutions, we’ve got your other bases covered as well.
