How long is a piece of string? Realistically anyone looking for social media marketing advice relating to ‘the best time to post’ has a long search ahead. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make some informed decisions.

A new report from Sprout Social— based on data from the firm’s 25,000 or so customers— reveals the points in the week when brands get the most out of their social media marketing output. Better yet, it breaks this down into different networks.

Facebook

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays see the most interaction-per-post on Facebook. Wednesdays are particularly strong, between around 11AM and 1PM. Sundays should be avoided overall, but that’s pretty obvious considering nobody wants to do anything except Netflix by that point in the week.

Instagram

Although you might think Instagram’s prime hours would be outside the working day, this apparently isn’t true. Wednesday— apparently the Goldilocks day— around mid-morning is ideal. Friday 10AM – 11AM also shows standout results.

Twitter

They say the early bird catches the worm, and this is certainly true of Twitter. 9AM is a great time to tweet, specifically on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Fridays also ranking high. Anything after 10PM better be aimed at users in timezones behind yours, too, as things drop off after that point.

LinkedIn

Research shows engagement on LinkedIn has been increasing recently. To make the most of that, you’ll want to post content Monday to Friday, with the middle weekdays strongest. Again first thing— or at least between 9AM and 10AM— looks good. It’s also worth noting that later in the day, around 2PM – 3PM, can be a goldmine for engagement.

Be careful of false profits offering social media marketing advice

No, we’re not saying Sprout Social is trying to mislead anyone. And nor are we. Nevertheless, it’s vital you understand there’s no silver bullet when it comes to social media, and no social media marketing advice can be truly comprehensive.

Every business is unique and— to a point— so is the demographic it’s selling to. If you want to figure out when the best time to reach your target audience is you’ll need to start using insights the way they were supposed to be used. By that we mean ongoing monitoring of the responses to your content and adjusting strategies to suit. Oh, and it’s wise to understand how to build a PR strategy with social media at its heart

Take a look at the full Sprout Social report here.

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