When Is The Best Time To Post To Your Social Media Accounts

When is the best time to use social media for business?

If there is one question any social media manager, small business owner or internet marketer would like the answer to it’s this one.

The truth of the matter is that there is no one time that will guarantee your social media campaign is successful. There are timeslots that will undoubtedly be beneficial but part of winning at social media is experimenting and learning what works best for you. After all, methods that prove effective for another company may not be beneficial to your business.

Still, there are certainly some trends you might like to follow. We’ve documented these below, starting with weekdays before moving on to the weekend. Read on and learn when is the best time to use social media for business, or at least when it might be.

WEEKDAYS

What follows is a list of the best times to use social media for business. The list comes after reading a variety of studies on the topic as well as mulling over some personal observations.

The Morning Commute (7:00 – 9:00)

 More and more people are using their smartphones to access the likes of Facebook and Twitter meaning that social media is now very much an ‘on the go’ phenomenon. This has led to an increase in the number of people logging in early in the morning. Commuters on buses and trains now spend their idle time catching up on the latest gossip instead of reading the newspaper which makes the morning commute an excellent time to reach out to your followers.

Lunchtime (12:00 – 14:00)

 Lunchtime is no longer for eating sandwiches. It’s for reading blogs, sharing links with friends, and watching the latest video to go viral. Office workers login at their desk while builders, nurses, salespeople and the entire retail industry reach for the sanctity of their smartphone. If you want your tweet or post to be read now’s a good time.

The Tiresome Afternoon (15:00 – 18:00)

 The working day is too long for most people. That’s why attention spans go awry around about three o’clock. It’s at this time people dip back into social media looking to while away the remaining time at work. It’s worth noting that while activity rises at this time, it remains less than at lunch, during the commute or other, shall we say, authorised social media timeslots.

The Afternoon Commute (16:00 – 20:00)

Like the morning commute, people are looking for a distraction as they journey home. However, you may find that your impact is lessened at this hour, a result of three things. Firstly, finishing time often varies more than starting time. Secondly, commuters are more inclined to head off for a drink, go shopping or eat a meal after work, which staggers the time they’ll be online. Thirdly, with evening plans being made, weekends being prepped and excess work being completed, evening commuters are less likely to login to social media.

The Lazy Evening (20:00 – 22:00)

When social media existed solely on laptops and desktop computers, the evening was the busiest time for traffic. In all likelihood that’s still the case, although social media usage is spreading throughout the day. Evenings can be a productive time to lure new followers or engage with existing fans as it tends to be the quietest time of the day. You might have to contend with Coronation Street, I’m a Celebrity or the last Champion’s League match but you’ll find multitasking – at least in the form of social media and television – is fairly commonplace.

Day-to-Day Observations

 If you’re considering when is the best time to use social media for business you cannot simply look at things on a daily basis. You also need to take into account what day it is and consider how this may impact potential engagement.

There have been plenty of studies conducted to establish which days see most social media activity, and while some of these contradict each other, there are some conclusions to be drawn.

Best Day of the Week to Use Social Media for Business: Thursday or Friday

Just as social media activity increases as the working day draws to a close, so it does towards the end of the working week. By the time Thursday rolls around, people are tired and looking ahead to the weekend. Work ethic slips a little and social media steals in. On Friday, people are well and truly geared up towards the weekend, and plans are underway to make it an enjoyable one. Social media is a big part of planning weekends now, so you’re presented with an opportunity to reach out to those making plans.

Worst Day of the Week to Use Social Media for Business: Monday or Wednesday

Depending on which school of thought you follow, either Monday or Wednesday is the worst day of the week to try and engage with your fans and followers. Those that believe Monday is the worst cite it being the polar opposite to Friday. People are hunkering down to work, focused on getting through the week. That’s a fair point but those arguing Wednesday is the worst day also make a plausible case. Nobody likes Hump Day. All the festivities of the weekend past have been shared on Monday and Tuesday and the following weekend still seems so far off. Both arguments hold water so you’re best to leave the bulk of your social media campaign to later in the week.

WEEKENDS

As you can imagine, weekends generally see a whole lot of social media activity. Basically, people like to spend their time flitting between their social media accounts. This makes it a good time to reach out, promote your brand and increase engagement.

However, the weekend is one of the most awkward times to establish when is the best time to use social media for business. Unlike weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays are generally much less regimented and people will login as and when they please. They’re social media routine might be put on the backburner in favour of a trip to town, a Sunday league football match, a visit to family and friends, a night out on the tiles, or any of countless other factors.

Still, the weekend still offers more time for social media users to interact and engage, not only with friends but also brands plying their wares on the internet. That includes your company. Your best bet then is to experiment with your posting schedule. Try a few different timeslots on each of the days and see which of these generate most interest.

Work Smarter

 In an ideal world, you’d be available 24/7 for your followers and fans. Of course, we all know that is simply impractical. It’s also unnecessary.

Social media activity dies down overnight so there’s little point logging in after 22:00. As for evenings and weekends, there are a number of free and paid for tools that can help you out. ManageFlitter.com allows you to see when your Twitter following is online most often, which means you can tailor your social media schedule accordingly. Meanwhile, the likes of HootSuite.com and TweetDeck.com allow you to schedule your social media posts so that they can go live outside of working hours. These are just three examples of tools currently available.

While these tools undeniably make life easier, you should at least give some consideration to being available to respond to your followers and engage in other manners during the evening or on the weekend. Real time engagement is a big part of social media so if you stick to traditional nine-to-five working hours, you may be missing out.

Finally, it’s worth reiterating one very important point: social media is constantly in a state of flux which means there are no hard and fast rules as to what works and what doesn’t. To learn when is the best time to use social media for business you’re going to need to experiment a little.