Good and Bad Times to Post on Social Media

If you want to use social media to promote your business, you must learn the best social media tips to incorporate into your strategy. One of the keys to success is making your social media posts at the right times. Doing so maximizes the number of people who see your content and makes it more likely that they will share it with others. Use these social media tips for sharing content with your followers.

In a June 12 article, Kristin Piombino of "Entrepreneur" reported on an infographic created by Social Caffeine. This infographic includes information about peak traffic times and the best and worst times to make social media posts on some of the most popular networks. Each network caters to a different audience, so the best time to post on one network may be a less appropriate time to post on another.

All of the times in the infographic are based on Eastern Time. According to the Social Caffeine infographic, Facebook traffic peaks between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The worst time to make social media posts on this network is between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. This makes sense, as Facebook has users ranging in age from preteen all the way to elderly. The best time to make social media posts on Facebook is between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Avoid making social media posts on weekends.

If you want to include Pinterest in your social media strategy, try making social media posts on Saturday mornings. Many people are off work on Saturdays, so more will have time to browse and pin their favorite items. This network actually has two best times of day for making posts. Try posting between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Do not post in the late afternoon if you want to maximize the results of your social media campaign.

Because LinkedIn caters to business professionals, make your social media posts before the workday starts or just after it ends. The best times are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., when people are just starting their days, or 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., when they have finished their work. Avoid posting between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as many business professionals will not see your social media posts during those hours.

Adding social media to your marketing strategy is one way to take advantage of all the tools available to you. However, your campaign will not produce results if you do not post to popular social media networks at the right times. It is important to remember that these suggestions are based on averages, so you may want to do some testing to determine the best and worst times to make social media posts for your target audience.

(Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net)