Daniel Smith
How do you know the peak time to release your company’s new blog article? That all depends on who you are and what your target audience is. One of the most easily accessible tools at your disposal to answer this question is your company’s social network presence. It’s interesting to see that although the different social media sites themselves are similar, they each have specific and vastly different peak user hours. According to research reports from TrackMaven including a Twitter report, Instagram report, and Facebook report and case studies of LinkedIn and Pinterest by Digitas there are optimal times to post, and you’ll maximize the engagement of your audience by posting at the peak day and time of each of those networks.
Facebook: Studies show the optimal time to post is Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The largest demographic of Facebook users is ages 25-34. Facebook users also spike between the hours of 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Since company posts must now be sponsored (i.e. paid for) to gain traction with followers, this information is particularly important for those companies looking to get the most bang for their buck.
Twitter: The optimal time to post is Thursdays and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Recent data has shown that the highest demographic of Twitter users is ages 18-29 by a fairly wide margin, so if this is your audience, you have a small window for peak engagement. There is also data to suggest that Twitter engagement sporadically increases by almost 30% during the hours of 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. That means making sure you’re testing the waters on Saturday and Sunday since the pay off could be immense. Tweets don’t take days off.
LinkedIn: The optimal time to post is Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and their largest demographic of users is between 30-49. Not surprising information considering it is primarily a site for employment, but it’s important to note that it is an age bracket that doesn’t appear elsewhere on the list — an older demographic that isn’t being catered to elsewhere.
Pinterest: The optimal time to post is Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and their largest usage demographic is 18-29 which consequently mirrors Twitter. This is something to consider if you’re not looking to retread similar ground. But it could also translate to a “two birds with one stone” situation where you post one both Wednesday and Friday to cover more ground.
Instagram: This site is a bit of an oddity as studies show multiple optimal times to post. Weekdays the times are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday tends to be the best overall day to post but between the hours of 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. are optimal, while Sunday has been shown to be the day that will allow you the most interactions (likes and shares).
Although this data is incredibly useful, don’t forget to take human behavior into account. Think about yourself and the times you scroll through your social media. Is it at night while you’re watching television? Is it while you take your break at work? If you find yourself in certain viewing habits, make note of it and use it to your advantage when posting your own blogs. Then, armed with the information compiled here, begin experimenting and find what works for you. It’s a surefire combo for getting your blog in front of your audience at the optimal time and place.
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